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Tavern clock by John Taylor, London, c. 1780 — view 1 of 2
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Clocks · Tavern clock

Tavern clock by John Taylor, London, c. 1780

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
John Taylor (maker)
Date
c. 1780
Historical period
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Country of origin
England
Place
London
Object type
Tavern clock
Dimensions
Height 110.5 cm
Dealer
Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London
Stock no.
Product 5229
Credit line
Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (product 5229)
Catalogue title (original)
JOHN TAYLOR. A round dial tavern clock of rare small size. (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 Product 5229), this is a tavern clock by John Taylor, made in London, England, dated c. 1780. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 110.5 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 — Howard Walwyn

A classic round dial tavern clock in a good state of preservation and of rare small size. The case is of the round dial pattern in which the base of the dial meets the top of the trunk and the foot of the case is a simple ogee shape. The trunk door is decorated with a scene of a Chinese pavilion and trees set above a pair of oriental figures and there are chrysanthemums to the trunk sides. The painted white dial is made up of two oak planks and has black Roman hour numerals and an outer band of Arabic minutes. The pierced brass hands with their heart-shaped pointers appear to be original. The 8-day movement has its original anchor escapement, short pendulum with brass bob and a tavern clock style lead weight. Height: 43 ½ in (110.5 cm) Dial width: 20 ½ in (52 cm) * John Taylor was a known London maker working in the last quarter of the 18th century. References: Martin Gatto, The Tavern Clock , p.181 Brian Loomes, Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World , p. 759 HW6724

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

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