Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-01-15
CLOCKS COLLECTORS SEEK.
marks That Determine What ls Worth
Hayinu,

Having.
The very early house clocks, which
are the kind in which ordinary col
lectors are chiefly interested, were
called birdcage or lantern clocks,
There were some of them very
small, four or five inches high, that
could be hung on the bedpost, which
was where Catherine Of Braganza
had hers and where Pepys saw 1t.
He says in his diary (166D, '
and her holy water at her head as
she sleeps, with a clock at her beds
side wherein a lamp burns and tells
her the time Of night at any time"
The first record Of a clock in the
Massachusetts, colony was in 1928.
Lechford mentions in his notebook
for that year that Joseph Stratton had
OF his brother a clock and watch.
In 1910 Henry Parks of Hartford left
clock by will to the church.
These lantern clocks have a square
body and dome top, and the dial Of
ten is so large that 1t extends beyond
the sides Of the body. The weights
extend below the works on two chains,
but I'm some Of the specimens found
i'm this country the chains have been
shortened and the works altered. The
date of these clocks can be told with
some degree Of accuracy by the style
Of fret or brass ornament In front of
the dome. The earliest and a favor
ite pattern for years has two dol
phins with crossed tails and Is called
the dolphin fret.
1t was said to have originated with
Thomas Tompion of London, a IA
nous clockmaker who lived during
the last half of the seventeenth CEN
tury and died in 1913. He was called
the father Of English clockmaking and
has left a more enduring fame than
any Of his contemporaries, and Incl
dentally more clocks.
Next to Tompion the two most ia
nous watchmakers Of this time were
Daniel Quare, who succeeded Tom
pion and died in 1925, and George
Graham. who followed Quare and died
in 1775. 1t is curious fact that they
all belonged to the Society of Friends.
Besides the dolphin fret there were
other patterns. the heraldic fret fol-
lowing the dolphin. This was a coat
Of arms with scroll work on either
side. This design was not used till
1850, so any clocks bearing this de-
sign are after that date.
Bracket clocks that Is. short clocks
made to stand on a shelf or bracket.
were also early patterns, and there
are many Of them In this country,
one very fine one being sheltered at
White Plains, N. Y, where It has
been in the owners family for more
than a century and a half, and 1t still
keep excellent time.
Indeed there are probably more Of
these old clocks tucked away than
people suppose. Many Of the modern
clockmakers cannot repair them, mod
ern clocks are cheap and there has
been such-a tendency to tnck. away
old things that the old clock went
too.
The bracket clocks were followed
by long case or grandfather clocks,
and there are many admirable speci-
mems of the latter to be found here.
To the best English clocks 1t was
usual to apply either the gridiron
pendulum of Harrison or Graham's
mercurial pendulum. A good fact to
bear in mind is that the length Of the
made before 1900 was 80 inches, that
is. after the long pendulum came in
to use at ALL The first pendulums
were called bob pendulums because
they swung so far to the side that Ii
was necessary to cut slits in the side
of the case to allow them to swing
free. Many clocks which started with
bob pendulums were later supplied
with long pendulums. which came In
to use about the year 1880.
Tompion and William Clement were
both making long case clocks by
16SO-81, and these clocks have pecu-
liarities which are plainly marked. In
the first place. the dials were square,
and the wooden hood which covered
dial and works had to be lifted off to
permit the clock to be wound.
Now. a word as to these early dials.
The first things to be observed are
the hour circles. Before the minute
hand came into use the double cir
cles seen on the mantel clocks were in
use. Between them the hours are
divided into quarters, the half hour
being shown by an extra ornament
like a dagger or a fleur de lis.
After the minute hand was added,
besides the double circles showing the
numerals denoting the hours and the
smaller figures showing the minutes
there were marks on the outer edge
of the larger circle showing the quar-
ters The dials Of the period Of Will
liam III and Of Queen Anne were en-
riched by beautiful engraving, and
the metal was not only brass. but sill
yer as well. and there were ornaments
or ormolu in the form of figures and
scrolls.
Not a scrap Of the face was left
undecorated. On the extreme edge
was placed a border Of leaves or
herring bone pattern. The whole In
terror of the hour circle was filled with
flowers. scrolls or set patterns, either
engraved or etched. and about the
winding holes were extra circles and
wreaths.
The earliest seventeenth century
clocks had the names Of the makers
put on in Latin and set straight across
the bottom Of the dial. The next Pc
riod showed the makers name placed
across the lower part of the dial face
between the figures V and VII.
1t Is safe to say that these two meth
DDS of marking were prior to 1850,
for at that time name plates began to
be used, and makers consulted their
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