Images(7)

Tall case clock

Date1755-1765

Artist/Maker Henry Taylor

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumBlack walnut, chestnut, and glass; brass, steel, iron, and lead

DimensionsOH: 100"; OW: 20 3/4"; OD: 10 1/4"

Credit LineGift of Mr. & Mrs. Miodrag R. Blagojevich

Object number1976-433

DescriptionAppearance:
Case: Tall case clock with stepped hood or "sarcophagus" top with three plinths, two short and one slightly taller in center, for turned and gilded urn and flame finials across the front. Glazed arched hood door flanked by turned columns. Hood sides have arched glazed lunettes surmounted by an arched molding supported by the front turned columns and rear engaged columns. Wide cove molding above an arched trunk door. Rails and stile of trunk face mitered at corners. Wide cove molding above base. Base supported by complex base molding.

Dial:
One piece brass arched dial measuring 12” W x 16 ¾” H. Dial is .059” thick. Silvered chapter ring with Roman hour numerals and large Arabic minute numerals, seconds dial above hands with Arabic numerals engraved in center with compass star and eight circles, and an applied name plate below hands inscribed "Heny Taylor/ Philadelpha" (Y in Henry and A in Philadelphia superscript) above a square date aperture flanked by the pierced silvered brass portion of name plate in designs of two birds and leaves. In the arched section of the face is a painted boss representing the sun. The center of the dial is engraved with tulips and the arched portion of the dial plate around the spandrels is engraved in a chevron motif. Cast brass spandrels adorn dial corners and either side of the arch.

Movement description:
Eight-day brass time, strike, and calendar weight-driven movement measuring 6 11/16” H x 4 13/16” W. Plate thickness is 0.107” and clearance between front and back plates is 2.35”. Clock has an anchor-recoil escapement regulated by a seconds beat pendulum. A rack-and-snail strike driving a pyramid shaped hammer sounds the hours on a 4.6” diameter cast bell.
Four brass pillars are riveted into the back plate and pinned at the front plate. A fifth brass pillar located near the center bottom is riveted into the back plate and secured to the front plate via a sliding latch. The movement is fastened to the seat board by steel hooks that hook over the bottom movement pillars and are fastened under the seat board by nuts. The time and strike barrels are grooved for the weight cords. All time and strike train wheels have four-arm crossings. The conventional motion work is three-arm crossings.
The rectangular steel crutch-rod has a closed-end fork. The pendulum bridge base is rectangular in shape with a rounded base. It is fastened to the back plate with two screws and two locator pins. The bell stand is screwed to the outside of the back plate and passes underneath the pendulum bridge.

There are cast-brass pulleys with riveted brass stirrups. The overall length of the pendulum is 39 3/4”. The pendulum rod is steel. The bob is lead with a brass face. It is 3.8” diameter and 0.95” thick at its center. The weights are tapered cast lead cylinders with rounded bottom edges and cast in metal hooks. They are both 2 5/8” and 2 7/8” diameter at the top and 2 ¼” and 2 ½” diameter at the bottom. They are both 7 ¼” long.

Woods: chestnut backboard.
InscribedPencil inscriptions on the inside of the trunk door (seen with infra red): "W. (H?). C./ 12-11-1889 / repd by Messr Barnard 11-28th-1894 / rd(?)/ Jefry Tow/ 1/3/1830 / Sturford/ Cleand 1830 / J J ...dc/......./Cleand by ......./ Sturford 38 / 3/m/20 / 1854 / Repaired/ by Wm V. Happle/ 12/20/1934 / C (M?)"
MarkingsApplied name plate below hands engraved "Heny Taylor/ Philadelpha" (Y in Henry and A in Philadelphia superscript.)

Exhibition(s)