Clock, Tall Case

Object Name:

Clock, Tall Case

Object ID:

1911.004

Creator:

Webb, Francis; Little, Samuel

Place of Origin:

Southwark, England/Haverhill, MA/Concord, NH

Date:

1749

Description:

Tall Case Clock. Movement made by Francis Webb, Southwark, England; Case made by Samuel Little, Concord, NH; 1749. Owned by Rev. Timothy Walker (1705-1782). White pine and unidentified hardwood. Domed hood, composed of an ovolo above a scotia molding. Hood has a glazed window at front, glass having arched top; engaged colonettes at corners -- 3/4 round at front and 1/4 round at rear. Hood door is attached with a pivot-pin hinge, made up of a single wood dower. Colonettes have sections of ring and ball turning at ends and extend to cornice; no frieze. Rectangular sidelights. Waist with rectangular door. Base with scotia molding at top and straight bracket feet. Steel lock on waist door; no escutcheon. Wrought brass dial with arched top. Applied, cast brass ornaments in spandrels, each with two phoenixes flanking an urn; cast and applied dolphin ornaments flanking circular name boss in arched top. "Fran. Webb. / Southwark." engraved in script on boss. Roman hour numerals; no 1/4 or 1/2 hour graduations; arabic minute numerals at outer edge of chapter ring. Steel hour and minute hands, differing in design, the hour hand being of type known as "cross over loop" pattern. A seconds dial above center; date aperture below; and winding holes at either side. Surface within chapter ring given matted finish by stippling. Eight-day brass movement with strike. Hood painted brown; remainder of case grained using brown or yellow over base. Evidence of earlier coat of red paint except on hood. Hood previously not painted but varnished. Right side of case below hood incompletely grained. Cut nails used exclusively in construction of case below hood. Both wrought and cut nails present in hood, latter apparently added as reinforcement. Nail holes on back of case indicating attachment to wall. Pencil inscription on inside wooden door reading: "Wm A Emery / Poland / Oct 2 1859." Heavy paper label with early accession information nailed beneath inscription.

Material:

Wood
Pine
Metal
Brass
Glass

Dimensions:

H-86.6 W-20.1 D-11.5 inches

Provenance:

Said to have belonged to Rev. Timothy Walker (1705-1782) of Concord, NH, the great-great- grandfather of the donor. He is said to have brought the first clock into Concord from England (Bouton 1856) and is known to have "pd Sam Little for making clock case" in 1749. Lower case seems to be a replacement of c.1800. The clock descended in the family of Rev. Timothy Walker. For the first three generations, the clock went from father to son: Hon. Timothy Walker (1737-1822); Charles Walker (1765-1834); Timothy Walker (1813-1882); and lastly from father to daughter Cynthia Walker (1845-1911), donor. It was taken to Maine shortly after 1834 (after the death of Charles Walker), and donated to NHHS in 1911.

Credit Line:

Gift of Cynthia Walker

People:

Webb, Francis, Little, Samuel, Walker, Timothy (1705-1782), Walker, Timothy (1737-1822), Walker, Charles (1765-1834), Walker, Timothy (1813-1882), Walker, Cynthia (1845-1911)