Clocks · Longcase clock
Quarter striking longcase clock by John Ellicott, London, c. 1765
- Maker / attribution
- John Ellicott (maker)
- Date
- c. 1765
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- mahogany
- Dimensions
- Height 8 ft 11 in (272 cm)
- Stock no.
- Product 636
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 636)
- Catalogue title (original)
- A rare quarter striking longcase clock by John Ellicott of London (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 636), this is a longcase clock by John Ellicott, made in London, England, dated c. 1765. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: mahogany. Recorded dimensions: Height 8 ft 11 in (272 cm). The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — P A Oxley
John Ellicott - London A quite spectacular, finely made and important George III longcase clock by John Ellicott, London. The exceptional mahogany case features a double broken arch top fitted with front elevation fretwork and also fretwork to the sides. The pagoda top also has blind fretwork to the front, and unusually this is also on the side of the pagoda. A very rare feature. The top of the pagoda is surmounted with three solid brass flame finials. The mahogany and brass reeded pillars are fitted with brass Corinthian capitals and Doric capitals to the base. The trunk is veneered with the most glorious flame mahogany and a block top moulding to the trunk door. A sign of quality and only really seen on exceptional London cases. The base stands on a shaped double plinth. The raised shaped panel to the base is also veneered with superb flame mahogany. The entire case is also inlaid with brass. This is very rare to see on not only London clock cases but also on London furniture, at this period. The 12.5 inch break-arch dial is signed “Ellicott, London” and has a strike/silent dial, unusual “Ladies Head” spandrels to the arch and elaborate scroll type spandrels to the corners. The dial also displays a silvered brass chapter ring with Roman numerals, Arabic minutes, seconds ring and a square date aperture. The blued steel hands are very finely made and typical of the period. The substantial 6-pillar, 8-day movement has thick shaped plates, a deadbeat escapement and a very large brass pendulum bob. The movement strikes the quarters on two large bells and strikes the hours on a third. The movement is currently in working order and retains much of its original patina. It will require a full service before delivery and will be guaranteed for 3 years. Note: John Ellicott F.R.S. was one of the leading 18th-century English clockmakers and was appointed Clockmaker to the King. He was particularly renowned for his work on temperature-compensated pendulums and precision clockmaking. An outstanding example of Ellicott’s work and perhaps even made for a
Historical context
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.
The age of the deadbeat escapement, compensated pendulums and observatory regulators. Domestic clocks spread through the middle classes: English longcase and bracket clocks, French gilt-bronze mantel clocks, Viennese Biedermeier wall clocks, Black Forest painted-shield clocks, and the first American shelf clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Early Modern Horology
Atlas type guide
Longcase (tall-case or grandfather) clocks
The longcase clock was born from two seventeenth-century innovations: Christiaan Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) and the anchor escapement (c. 1670). A long seconds pendulum, nearly a metre long, swings with a small arc, and enclosing it together with the driving weights in a tall wooden case protected the mechanism and created a new piece of furniture. London makers such as Ahasuerus Fromanteel, Thomas Tompion and Joseph Knibb set the pattern.
By the eighteenth century longcase clocks were made throughout Britain, the Netherlands, Scandinavia (the Swedish Mora clock), France (the Comtoise from the Franche-Comté), Germany and colonial America. Eight-day movements with two weights became standard in better clocks; thirty-hour clocks with one weight and a rope or chain were cheaper alternatives.
What to look for
- Winding holes in the dial: two (eight-day, going and striking) or none (thirty-hour, pulled up by a chain).
- Brass dials with applied chapter rings (earlier) versus painted iron 'white' dials (after c. 1770 in Britain).
- Moon-phase arches, date apertures, seconds dials and maker's name on the dial.
- Case woods and style: ebonised, walnut marquetry, lacquer, oak or mahogany; regional styles from London, Lancashire, Scotland or America.
- Whether the movement and dial match the case — 'marriages' are common.
Dating clues
- Square brass dials suggest c. 1670–1720; arched brass dials c. 1715–1790.
- Painted (white) dials were made by Birmingham dial-makers from about 1772.
- Comtoise clocks with repoussé pendulums are mostly nineteenth century.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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