Clocks · Wall clock
Wall clock by Ellicott, London, c. 1765–1770
- Maker / attribution
- Ellicott (maker)
- Date
- c. 1765–1770
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Wall clock
- Dimensions
- Height 71.5 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 431
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 431)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Ellicott. A fine George III period hooded wall clock by this eminent maker. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 431), this is a wall clock by Ellicott, made in London, England, dated c. 1765–1770. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 71.5 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 fine George III period hooded wall clock by this eminent maker. The mahogany case has a shallow moulded break-arch cornice, flanked by stop fluted canted corners and glazed sides. The top has a fretwork frieze with three gilt flambeau finials on reeded blocks. The 10-inch silvered brass dial has Roman hour numerals and Arabic minutes and well pierced blued steel hands. There is an unusual strike/silent option to the right of I o’clock and a 0-60 slower/faster semi-circle above XII in the shallow arch. The dial is signed by the maker Ellicott , London in the centre. The two-train bell striking double fusee movement has five knopped pillars and an anchor escapement. The original moulded under-curved mahogany bracket incorporates a key drawer and provides access for adjusting the pendulum bob. Height: 28 ¼ in (71.5 cm) without finial Height : 32 ¼ in (82 cm) with finial Max. Width : 15 ¼ in (38.5 cm) Depth: 5 ¼ in (13.5 cm) * John Ellicott is respected as one of the most eminent clockmakers of the 18 th century and as a great inventor. He was born in 1706. Like his peer, George Graham , he became a member of the Royal Society for which he wrote several papers. He made many precision clocks and his work is included in museums and royal collections throughout the world. His workshop was established in Swithin’s Alley, Royal Exchange. When he died in 1772 his son, Edward, succeeded to his business and the firm retained the title John Ellicott & Son. Reference: B.Loomes, Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, Complete 21st Century Edition , p.244 HW6156
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
Regulators, wall and Vienna clocks
A regulator is a precision pendulum clock used as a time standard in observatories, workshops and railway offices. Typical features are a deadbeat or Graham escapement, a temperature-compensated pendulum (mercury jar, gridiron or later invar), maintaining power and a regulator dial that separates hours, minutes and seconds. George Graham's deadbeat escapement (c. 1715) and his mercury pendulum, together with Harrison's gridiron, set the pattern for two centuries.
Wall clocks span a much wider range: the elegant Viennese Laterndluhr and Dachluhr of the Biedermeier period, the Dutch stoelklok and staartklok, English 'dial' clocks used in schools, offices and railway stations, and mass-produced spring and weight wall clocks from Germany (Gustav Becker, Junghans, Kienzle) and America.
What to look for
- Deadbeat escapement and compensated pendulum (gridiron rods, mercury jar or wood rod).
- A regulator dial with a large central minute hand and separate hour and seconds dials.
- Vienna regulators: glazed cases, slender pendulum, small weights, enamel two-piece dials.
- German factory trademarks stamped on the backplate (e.g. Gustav Becker anchor and crown, Junghans star).
Dating clues
- Graham-type deadbeat regulators: from c. 1720.
- Viennese Laterndluhr: c. 1800–1850.
- German factory 'Vienna-style' regulators: c. 1870–1930; Gustav Becker serial numbers allow close dating.
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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