Clock Cases

Chapter 1

Introduction

BACKGROUND

Over the years a great many books have been written on the subject of clocks, dealing in detail with technical innovations about timekeeping and with the development of various clock types. Often, books are specific to one type of clock or, sometimes, to just one British county or region.

Inevitably, books about clocks contain some information about clock cases but usually in an incidental way and only a very few books have been written specifically about the subject. This might seem strange, since the outward appearance of a clock is likely to be a significant factor for a potential buyer. It seems even more strange when clocks are compared with antique furniture, where the superficial or decorative characteristics receive far more attention than the hidden details of the construction. Like antique furniture, clocks varied widely in terms of quality or status, with styles frequently changing or evolving to reflect prevailing fashions. The older examples tend to be more sought after, although old does not absolutely guarantee quality. It might, however, mean scarce.

Clocks made for the wealthy elite in the days before mass production were hand-crafted by highly skilled craftsmen. The carefully selected mahogany veneers and intricate gilded brass-work applied to the case of this three-fusée chiming clock are intended to give an impression of opulence. (Steve Daniels)

Ignoring clock cases in books about clocks has a historical precedent: one early book about clocks was written in the 1480s by a German monk working in the Vatican. The manuscript of Fra Paulus Almanus (Brother Paul the German), discovered in the twentieth century in a monastery library, contains quite detailed descriptions of thirty clocks. It seems that Brother Paul was a clock-mender and that his clients were the senior hierarchy of the church. Although there are a few tantalising clues about the clocks' cases, the manuscript is a clock-mender's record showing wheels, striking arrangements and other mechanical detail. Brother Paul the clock-mender was so focused on the mechanical parts of the thirty clocks that their cases must have seemed insignificant.

Although this book covers the cases made for mechanical clocks during a limited period - from the middle of the seventeenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century - the clocks within that time span represent a very wide variety of size, form and status. The term 'status' is significant; largely overlooked within the clock and antique trades, it is an indicator of the classes that existed within society and the position within those social strata of the first owner.

When the English monarchy was restored in the year 1660, following a short experimental republic, wealth was concentrated in the hands of a very small proportion of the population. Being hand-made, clocks were very expensive. Over the two and a half centuries that followed, clock ownership spread across the social classes; from being the sole prerogative of the wealthy, it had effectively become universal by the time of the First World War. An understanding of the growth of clock ownership in a stratified society is crucial to understanding clock cases in their social and historical context. In the preservation of clocks, status is one of the factors that affect decisions about conservation or restoration policy.

As clocks evolved from one technical innovation or social requirement to the next, new forms of clock case were adopted to accommodate the changes. Over the years, a number of factors have influenced the development of clock-case designs:

  Mechanical improvements in time-keeping. One example is the introduction of the longcase clock, which was a direct consequence of the discovery of the pendulum and the innovation of the anchor recoil escapement. The case had to be designed to accommodate a pendulum of 1 metre in length while providing for the long vertical travel of the driving weights.

  Domestic arrangements. As people became more conscious of time as the basis for organizing society, clocks and watches were made to present the hour almost continuously. From the earliest days, there was a requirement for both portable and fixed domestic clocks to supplement the public clocks that had been installed in towns across Europe since the late thirteenth century. Contemporary writings show an awareness of time beginning to enter domestic life. Up-and-coming middle-class public servant Samuel Pepys was one writer who made reference to it, in his diary entry of 31 December 1664: 'As soon as ever the clock struck one, I kissed my wife in the kitchen by the fireside, wishing her a merry New Year, observing that I believe I was the first proper wisher of it this year.'. It seems that, as Pepys was rising up through the social classes, he was having to come to terms with concepts of time measurement and the division of the day. (Nowadays, he might have kissed his wife at one second past twelve instead of waiting until one o'clock!)

  Fashion. Clock cases are rarely merely functional. With special exceptions, decorative elements incorporated into clock-case design and construction broadly followed contemporary fashions in furniture and decoration. Thus, the subdued and puritanical styles of the late seventeenth century gave way to sumptuous embellishment in the early eighteenth century. The exponential growth in clockmaking in the late nineteenth century gave rise to all sorts of design revivals and throwbacks.

  Economy of construction. Following the rise of industrialization and the establishment of a waged society, clocks were made for all budgets. By far the greatest proportion were aimed at the lower end of the market, with high-volume manufacturers finding ever more economic ways of using materials and benefiting from standardization and economies of scale. Thousands of identical movements were fitted into thousands of identical cases and the cases themselves were often cleverly designed, with mass production and shipping in mind.

  Diversity of choice in an expanding market. With consumers looking for something 'different' - a particular feature of the American market - hundreds of different designs were supplied, all housing somewhat similar movements. (In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries it was not a new phenomenon and, apparently, there were no two identical English longcase clocks made in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries.)

The growth of time-consciousness in an increasingly organized society is mirrored by clock ownership. Mass production of cheaper clocks coincided with the beginning of the Railway Age, industrialization and consumerism.

Dated 1906 on the inscription, this English clock is made in the classical architectural style. The gilded, incised floral flourish is a typical late Victorian and Edwardian feature. The inscription gives a clue to the status of the first owner, a sergeant-major in the British Army.

The ogee clock (sometimes wrongly called 'OG') was made in great quantities by several American makers from the mid-1820s. The veneered ogee-shaped moulding on the front of the case allowed the door to be set back, making packing and stacking easier. The case is large enough to accommodate the vertical travel of the driving weights but transporting weight-driven clocks was problematic and they were discontinued in favour of spring-driven.

These pages in Brook Palmer's 1967 Treasury of American Clocks (The Macmillan Company, New York) give an idea of just how many variations of just one basic design were available.

The movement and dial of this clock were made in London in about 1730; the case seems to have been made in the mid-twentieth century. The type of wood is completely inappropriate as is much of the design detail, but the clock has survived, albeit without its original case.

This book aims to show how a clock case can deteriorate with the passing of years, or generations or centuries, and how it can be preserved, either as an attractive domestic feature or, sometimes, as an important item of cultural heritage to be passed on to subsequent generations.

Clock cases are often damaged beyond repair or, worse, discarded in the mistaken belief that they are beyond repair. Consequently, it may be necessary to make a copy or replica of an old clock case. This book gives an example in which the design, materials and construction are based on an existing early clock case. Close attention to detail is critical - it often becomes apparent that even the minutest construction detail serves some hidden purpose. The clock-case restorer should always be on the look-out for the duality of form and function - subtle features that look like design peculiarities but which actually mask some construction detail.

It might seem unlikely that a pair of clock restorers would suggest making a replica case to house an old clock but there are some very convincing conservation arguments in favour of the correct replacement case. First, as long as the replacement case is not passed off as genuine, it serves to keep the sense of the clock, and, second, it is a really good way of preserving a clock that might otherwise be far more vulnerable to damage or complete loss.

Since we are craft-workers and restorers, we do not suggest new designs and the limit...