Clocks · Tavern clock
Tavern clock by Edward Tomlin, London, c. 1770–1775
- Maker / attribution
- Edward Tomlin (maker)
- Date
- c. 1770–1775
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Tavern clock
- Materials / technique
- gilt
- Dimensions
- Height 129 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 562
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 562)
- Catalogue title (original)
- EDWARD TOMLIN. A George III period gilt chinoiserie tavern clock. (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 562), this is a tavern clock by Edward Tomlin, made in London, England, dated c. 1770–1775. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gilt. Recorded dimensions: Height 129 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 — Howard Walwyn
A fine George III period gilt chinoiserie tavern clock, the 8-day timepiece movement with A-shaped plates, original anchor escapement and long pendulum. The white painted 18-inch dial has Roman hour numerals and Arabic outer five minutes. It retains its original pierced brass heart-tipped hands, the minute hand with a crescent shaped counterpoise. The maker’s signature Edward Tomlin, London is signed in the form of a cartouche within the integral earpieces below the dial. The long trunk door is stunningly decorated in gilt with three distinct oriental scenes. A house, birds and trees at the top, two riders on horses in the centre and four courtly ladies with a child at the bottom standing in front of a very decorative table. The original ogee shaped base section retains its beautiful foliate decoration. Height : 50 ¾ in (129 cm) Width : 19 ¾ in (50 cm) * Edward Tomlin is listed on page 775 of Brian Loomes’ Clockmakers of the World: 21 st Century Edition . He was a member of the Clockmakers’ Company from 1768 t0 1798 and was active in Bartholomew Lane and Royal Exchange. This clock was illustrated in the Horological Journal in 1996. HW6467
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
Domestic clocks
A clock combines four systems: a source of power (falling weight, coiled spring, or later electricity), a gear train that divides time, an escapement and oscillator that regulate it (foliot, pendulum or balance), and an indicating system of dial and hands or a bell. Its history runs from the large iron weight-driven clocks of the late thirteenth century to Renaissance spring-driven table clocks, the pendulum revolution of 1656, the factory clocks of the nineteenth century and electric and quartz clocks of the twentieth.
Domestic clocks also reflect regional furniture and decorative traditions — English longcase and bracket clocks, French pendules, Viennese regulators, Black Forest and American shelf clocks — and therefore record changing tastes as much as technical progress.
What to look for
- How the clock is powered: weights, spring barrel, fusee, electric coil.
- The oscillator: foliot, short pendulum, long seconds pendulum or balance.
- Whether it strikes: hour only (count wheel) or hours and quarters (rack striking).
- The maker or retailer's name on dial and movement, and any factory trademarks.
- Signs of alteration — replaced dials, converted escapements, 'married' cases.
Dating clues
- Before 1656 clocks used foliots or balances; after, most domestic clocks have pendulums.
- Anchor escapements spread after c. 1670; minute hands became common at the same time.
- Factory production in America and Germany transformed prices after c. 1840.
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:Verge escapementFoliot
Related records
Clocks · 1740–1760
Longcase clock, English, 1740–1760, japanned wood, John Ellicott
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · c.1750
Long-case clock, English, ca. 1750, by Richard Peyton of Gloucester
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · 1751
Large wheel engine, signed and dated "John Tipping, Whildon Green, 1751".
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1755
Bracket clock by John Fordham, England, 1755
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Clocks · c. 1760
Longcase clock by James Cox, England, c. 1760
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · 1766
Clock by Alexander Cumming, England, 1766
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1768–1769
Regulator clock by John Shelton, England, 1768–1769
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · c. 1775
Longcase clock, England, c. 1775
Victoria and Albert Museum, London