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Wall clock by J. Butler, Reading, c. 1825–1830 — view 1 of 2
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Clocks · Wall clock

Wall clock by J. Butler, Reading, c. 1825–1830

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
J. Butler (maker)
Date
c. 1825–1830
Historical period
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Country of origin
United Kingdom
Place
Reading
Object type
Wall clock
Dimensions
Height 37 cm
Dealer
Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London
Stock no.
SKU 495
Credit line
Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 495)
Catalogue title (original)
J. BUTLER. A good George IV period wall timepiece in original condition. (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 495), this is a wall clock by J. Butler, made in Reading, United Kingdom, dated c. 1825–1830. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 37 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 good George IV period wall timepiece in original condition. The 12-inch wooden painted convex dial has a single band of Roman numerals and an outer band for the minutes. The finely tapering spade-shaped pointers are almost certainly original. It has a Georgian concave brass bezel with an integral lock and it sits on a turned patinated outer mahogany bezel. The 8-day timepiece movement has shaped brass rectangular plates, anchor escapement and brass bob spring-suspended pendulum. Date : circa 1825 -1830 Height : 14 ½ in (37 cm) Overall Diameter : 14 ½ in (37 cm) Dial Width : 12 in (30.5 cm) Depth : 6 in (15 cm) * John Butler is listed on page 125 of Brian Loomes’ Clockmakers of the World: 21 st Century Edition as working in Reading, Berkshire between 1823 and 1840. This clock is a beautifully presented example of a pre-Victorian wooden dial wall timepiece and as such is quite rare. HW6315

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 escapementGrasshopper escapement

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