Clocks · Bracket clock
Quarter striking Verge bracket clock by John Watson, London, c. 1775
- Maker / attribution
- John Watson (maker)
- Date
- c. 1775
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Bracket clock
- Materials / technique
- mahogany
- Dimensions
- Height 22.5 in (57 cm)
- Stock no.
- Product 568
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 568)
- Catalogue title (original)
- A rare Quarter striking Verge bracket clock by John Watson of London (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 568), this is a bracket clock by John Watson, made in London, England, dated c. 1775. 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 22.5 in (57 cm). The record is illustrated with 4 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
A magnificent flame mahogany veneered quarter striking bracket/table clock. The large triple fusee movement of 8 day duration with verge escapement, striking the quarters on 8 bells, the hour on a single bell and repeating on demand. Also with repeat on demand. The backplate profusely engraved with scrolls and foliage and secured to the case with matching brass brackets. The dial features a silvered brass chapter ring, gilt brass spandrels and also with twin subsidiary dials to the arch facilitating strike/silent and a calendar. Also showing the makers name John Watson of London and matching spandrels. The exceptional mahogany veneered bell top case with gilt brass caryatids, ornate side frets, carrying handles and bracket feet. A superb and impressive example. Note: Triple fusee bracket clocks from the 18th century whether they be quarter striking or musical are very rare. They were certainly not made in large numbers due to the complexity of their movements. John Watson is known to have worked in the latter half of the 18th century at St. Michael’s Alley, Cornhill, London. He was also a Watchmaker. This clock has just arrived and although in working order the movement will require a full service and overhaul before delivery. It will then be guaranteed for 3 years.
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
Bracket, table and spring-driven clocks
Spring-driven clocks freed timekeeping from the hanging weight. The coiled mainspring, documented from the fifteenth century, made portable table clocks possible; to even out its declining force, makers used the fusee, a conical pulley connected to the barrel by a gut line or chain. Renaissance table clocks from Augsburg and Nuremberg — drum-shaped, square or tower-shaped in gilt brass — were luxury scientific objects, often with astronomical dials and alarms.
After the pendulum, English makers developed the bracket clock: a wooden case with a carrying handle, a short pendulum with a verge escapement, and often repeating work to sound the hours on demand at night. Later examples use the anchor escapement. In the nineteenth century, 'table clock' became a broad term for spring clocks of every nationality.
What to look for
- A fusee in the movement (cone-shaped pulley) and the type of line — gut or chain.
- Verge escapement with a short bob pendulum, often with a decoratively engraved backplate.
- Repeat cords or buttons that make the clock strike again on demand.
- Gilt-brass engraved cases and horizontal dials on Renaissance pieces.
- Case shapes: inverted bell, bell top, break-arch, lancet or balloon.
Dating clues
- Drum and tower table clocks: c. 1520–1650.
- Ebony veneered English bracket clocks with verge escapements: c. 1670–1800.
- Engraved backplates were usual on English clocks until c. 1800, then generally plain.
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.
Read next:Anchor (recoil) escapement
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