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Wall clock by Grant, London, c. 1830–1840 — view 1 of 2
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Clocks · Wall clock

Wall clock by Grant, London, c. 1830–1840

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Grant (maker)
Date
c. 1830–1840
Historical period
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Country of origin
England
Place
London
Object type
Wall clock
Materials / technique
mahogany, ebonised
Dealer
Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London
Stock no.
SKU 455
Credit line
Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 455)
Catalogue title (original)
GRANT, FLEET STREET. An English ebonised mahogany wall 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 SKU 455), this is a wall clock by Grant, made in London, England, dated c. 1830–1840. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: mahogany, ebonised. 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 English ebonised mahogany wall clock of rare small size by this famous maker, with single fusee 8-day duration timepiece movement. The 8-inch white painted convex dial retains its original steel hands and is signed by the maker in an arc between X and II. The outer wooden bezel of the case is ebonised. Dial width : 8 in (20.25 cm) Overall diameter : 9 ½ in (24 cm) * The Grants were a highly distinguished clockmaking dynasty active in London in the last quarter of the 18 th century until the mid-18 th century. This clock was made by John Grant Junior . HW6303

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.

Read next:Deadbeat escapementAnchor (recoil) escapementGrasshopper escapement

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