Images(3)

Tall case clock

DateCa. 1800

Artist/Maker George Woltz

Marked by James Wilson (d. 1809)

OriginAmerica, Maryland, Hagerstown

MediumWalnut with sumac and holly inlay, yellow pine, glass, iron, brass, lead and steel

DimensionsOH: 102 1/8"; OW: 22 3/4"; OD: 11"

Credit LineGift of Dr. David C. L. Gosling

Object number1998-155,A

DescriptionAppearance:
Tall-case clock with broken scroll pediment outlined under cornice molding on front and sides with lightwood stringing; carved rosettes, tall central plinth and three (replaced) urn and spire finials over a central inlaid pendant garland of three graduated bellflowers and two inlaid oval patterae on either end of tympanum; hood with arched glazed door outlined with inlaid lightwood stringing; hood sides with astragal arched lunettes and four freestanding columns supported by a complex molding over a wide cove molding above a cross banded veneered band around top of trunk; trunk, trunk side, trunk door, base, and base sides outlined with lightwood stringing; trunk face, trunk door, and base string outline have stepped corners; trunk door has inset top corners and an inlaid central pendant garland of four graduated bellflowers hanging from an inverted inlaid triangle outlined in lightwood stringing; broad cove waist molding above base with central inlaid square base panel with light and dark wood banded outline and lightwood corner fans; molded base molding above bracket feet.

Dial:
One piece, arched, white painted metal dial measuring 18 3/8”H x 13”W. Dial is 0.075” thick. Moon phase in arch with country house scene and warship between the two moons on the dial. Labeled hemispheres project into the arch. Painted floral spandrels with raised gold border. Painted chapter ring with Roman numeral for hours. Arabic minutes in five minute intervals at outer edge of chapter ring. Intermediate minutes indicated by dots. Arched aperture for calendar centered below scrolled hour and minute hands. “George Woltz” in cursive below date aperture. ‘HAGERS TWN” in block below name.

Movement description:
Eight-day brass time, strike, and calendar weight-driven movement measuring 6 1/4” H x 4 9/16” W. Plate thickness is 0.165” and clearance between front and back plates is 2.4”. Bottom of both plates are arched. Clock has an anchor-recoil escapement regulated by a seconds beat pendulum. A rack-and-snail strike sounds the hours on a 3.8” diameter cast bell. The underside of the bell has a cast protrusion of “I * D”.

Four brass plain cylindrical pillars are pinned at both the front and back plates. The pillar protrudes through the front plates and contacts the false plate behind the dial. The rear top of the false plate has the name “WILSON” cast into it. The pillars protrude a short distance through the back plates where they have two concentric grooves turned in them and end in a sphere with a dimple at the center. 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 side hook is at the front of the movement. The strike side hook is at the back of the movement. The brass tube time and strike barrels are not grooved for the weight cords. All time and strike train wheels have four-arm crossings. The pinions are wire, not cut steel teeth. The conventional motion work is uncrossed. The round steel crutch-rod has an open-end fork. The pendulum bridge base is rectangular in shape. It is fastened to the back plate with two screws. The bell stand is screwed to the outside of the back plate under the left side of the pendulum bridge.

There are wood pulleys with steel riveted stirrups. The overall length of the pendulum is 45 5/16”. The pendulum rod is steel. The bob is cast lead with a brass face. It is 4.4” diameter and 0.7” thick at its center. The weights are cylindrical tinned iron cans with cast in metal hooks. One is 3 1/4” diameter, 11 1/2” long, and weighs 16 pounds. The other is 3” diameter, 10 5/8” long, and weighs 14 pounds. Both weights have had additional weight cast below the cans.

Label TextColonial Williamsburg owns two tall case clocks with movements by clockmaker George Woltz of Hagerstown, Maryland. The cases for these two clocks were made by two different local cabinetmakers each inspired by a different design tradition influenced by migration and trade routes. This example follows a traditional eastern Pennsylvania model with the carved rosettes on the ends of its broken scroll pediment. The inlaid bellflowers, ovals, and corner fans were produced of sumac indicating they were made locally, likely by the cabinetmaker himself. The stripey-looking sumac was primarily used for light-colored inlaid elements in western Maryland and West Virginia.

Colonial Williamsburg's other Woltz clock (1980-200) is housed in a case that follows a high-style British-inspired tradition popular in Philadelphia and Baltimore. The decorative oval with the ruffled leaf design on the trunk door was probably purchased from a specialist in Baltimore and inlaid into the case by the Hagerstown cabinetmaker.
Inscribed"G 9" painted in black on white daub of paint back of face.
MarkingsOn Face: "George Woltz / HAGER'S TWN"
Back of front plate and face are stamped "Wilson"
"[W]ILSON*BIRMI..." stamped on rear of moon dial.
The underside of the bell has a cast protrusion of “I * D”.

Exhibition(s)