Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-01-15

did lacquer, like the one which be-
longed to Thomas Hancock. and de-
scended to John Hancock. and is now
in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Besides the names already mention
ed Of Tompion, Quare and Graham
there were other makers whose clocks
can be found here. Edward East sent
over some clocks in 1890 in splendid
cases. Joseph Knibb and James
Cloves made clocks about 100, and
James Lownes was noted for his long
case clocks as early as 1905.
The corners Of the dials were soon
to engage the attention Of the makers,
and by these also you can judge Of the
age Of a clock. Till about 100 the
ornaments were cherubs' heads.
The spandrels, as these ornaments
handsomely chased. sometimes gilded,
were called, were generally Of brass,
and after the eighteenth century came
in two cupids holding up crown was
the fashionable device. Then came a
crown with crossed sceptres. and To-
liage, and when the passion for rococo
ornament seized the furniture makers
the clock makers followed suit, and
the spandrels degenerated greatly,
were made Of cast brass, and fire.
quently not even touched with the
graver's tool.
Almost all clocks before the eigh-
teenth century had straight tops
Tompion's last clocks, made about
1909, shortly before his death, show
an arched top. in which was placed
register for the equation OF time.
This arched top was regarded as
great improvement In the appearance
of the clock, and was used for orna-
ment IL not for the register. Some
times name plates were put there, and
these plates, bearing either the name
Of owner or maker. have proved most
annoying to collectors, since II the
name is not that of a well known
maker, 1t is difficult to tell which 1t
is. owner or maker.
Not all clock makers belonged to
the guild. and in many towns like
Canterbury, Preston and Worcester
there were makers who sent their
clocks to all the English colonies, and
many Of these were marked with the
purchasers name. In this country by
1774 watches and clocks were COM
mon enough.
They were made here in small
numbers from almost the first, but IL
was not till about 1880 that the man
ufacture was carried on to any great
extent. New England started the
business and Ell Terry Of Windsor.
Conn.,, James Harrison Of Waterbury
and Benjamin Hanks Of Litchheld
were among the first makers.
All these men made brass works,
which made the clocks expensive, and
then Eli Terry began to use wooden
works in his clocks, some OF which
keep good time to this day. In 1907
Terry undertook to make 500 clocks
with wooden works, but this over
stocked the market to such an extent
that he was forced to reduce the price
from s25 TO SIS, and-then to SO.
II you have a clock marked Daniel
Harland, Timothy Peck, Seth Thomas.
Herman Clark. James Harrison, Asa
Hopkins or by any of the Willards.
you have something good. Have II
put in order and hang or set 1t up.
In 1914 what was called the short
shelf clock was invented by Terry, and
the earliest ones were made with
wooden works, but after the invention
by which blank wheels could be struck
out Of a sheet Of brass and the teeth
cut by machinery the brass wheel
clocks could be made cheaper than
those with wooden wheels. This was
not, however. till about 1887.
The next Improvement was making
springs which could be substituted for
weights. Springs had been in use In
Europe for 200 years, but they were
so costly that they could be used only
on the most expensive clocks. Amer
lean ingenuity invented a steel spring
which could be used in low priced
clocks, and which revolutionized the
business.
Perhaps the most famous name In
clock making annals in America Is
that of Willard. There were at least
four clock makers Of this name. 81
mon, Aaron, Benjamin and Simon. Jr.
1t is supposed to be the last who In
vented that peculiar style. OF clock
known as the Willard or banjo.
In 1902 Willard Of Boston, who was
no doubt, Benjamin, and had work
shops at Grafton and Roxbury, as well
as at Boston, took out a patent for
his timepiece. OF all the old clocks
these seems to be the ones most de-
sired.
Twenty-Five dollars is not large
price to give for one that is out OF
order, and when you find one keep
ing good time, with the picture on the
glass showing some old scene connec-
ted with our early history, secure II
by all means. 1t will be an ornament.
and a pleasure to you as well.-NeW
York Sun.