Clocks · Skeleton clock
Skeleton clock by Edwards, Stourbridge
- Maker / attribution
- Edwards (maker)
- Date
- c. 1850
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- Stourbridge
- Object type
- Skeleton clock
- Dimensions
- Height 33 cm
- Stock no.
- Product 2815
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, The Antique Clock Company (product 2815)
- Catalogue title (original)
- FINE SKELETON CLOCK BY EDWARDS OF STOURBRIDGE (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by The Antique Clock Company (dealer), Dorset (stock number Product 2815), this is a skeleton clock by Edwards, made in Stourbridge, England, dated c. 1850. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 33 cm. The record is illustrated with 2 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 — The Antique Clock Company
A Quality Victorian Skeleton Clock by Edwards of Stourbridge The 8-day timepiece fusee movement (chain driven) with six spoke wheels to the train, fronted by a narrow shaped silvered engraved brass chapter ring with blued steel spade hands. The high quality workmanship of the movement is highlighted by the size of the plates and fine escapement with the original rosewood veneered base with velvet pad, under the original oval glass dome. The scroll shaped framework to the clock is typical of the design used by James Edwards of Stourbridge and can be safely attributed to his workshops. Height: 14” or 33 cm (Including dome)
Provenance
Private collection – U.K.
Historical context
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.
Factory production transformed the clock into an everyday object. American makers (Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Waterbury) and German factories (Junghans, Gustav Becker, Lenzkirch) sold millions of shelf, wall and alarm clocks worldwide; France produced standardised Paris movements and carriage clocks; electric time distribution began.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology
Atlas type guide
Skeleton clocks
A skeleton clock displays its movement: the plates are pierced to a minimum so that wheels, escapement and fusee can be seen, usually under a glass dome. French makers produced fine skeleton clocks in the late eighteenth century; in Victorian England they became popular showpieces, with frames in the shapes of cathedrals and famous buildings.
What to look for
- Pierced brass plates in scroll or architectural shapes.
- A glass dome and wooden or marble base.
- Fusee movements and sometimes passing strike on a bell.
Dating clues
- French skeleton clocks: c. 1780–1830.
- English cathedral-style skeleton clocks: c. 1840–1890.
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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