Clock, Mirror

Object Name:

Clock, Mirror

Object ID:

1972.089.072

Creator:

Durgin, Clark (1814-1893)Clockmaker

Place of Origin:

Andover, NH

Date:

circa 1840

Description:

Mirror Clock. Made by Clark Durgin (1814-1893), Andover, NH; c. 1840. Materials: mahogany; bone (escutcheon); brass (movement); tulip poplar (dial); secondary woods white pine and birch. Vertically oriented rectangular door with two glazed panels; clear glass above and mirror below. Upper panel 9.5" in height, lower panel 16.5". Case with flat base and cornice having scrolled gallery at front and sides; plinths at ends of front gallery. Door flanked by angular pilasters triangular in cross-section and extending between applied corner blocks. Square, painted wooden dial, beneath upper glass panel, with roman hour numerals and pierced steel hour and minute hands matching in design. Painted gilt decoration, partly in relief including wreath surrounding central hand hole and stylized scrolled foliate in spandrels. A winding hole with brass grommet on each side of center. Eight-day brass movement with strike. Case veneered. Lock with inlaid lozenge-shaped keyhole escutcheon of bone and steel key. One large hole at center top of backboard used in hanging clock. Two nail holes at center of backboard. Large paper label glued to inner surface of lower backboard. Label has appearance of being printed, but is actually a composite of printed elements glued to large sheet of paper with added ink borders and hand written ink inscription: "Warranted / if well used by / Clark Durgin / Andover / N.H.". Mirror backed with white pine on the inner surface of which are several pencil inscriptions giving names and dates relating to approximately 17 cleanings and/or repair work between 1854 and 1944: "Cleaned Nov. 7 19_6 / H. W. Pettengill / Tilton NH", "Cl __ __cord / July 22, 1944 HWP", "Dec 8 1854 [L] Green", "JG Dodge / cleaned Dec 29 1860", "Regulated Oct 1_, 1875. / by G. Fellow", "cleaned __ 1889 / A. ___", "cleaned Jan 8- 1904 / C.R.A.", "1887 June 26 cleaned by / [C or G or J] Heath / Feb. 13 1893 / Jan 190_ / [C or G or J.] Heath 94 / [C or G or J] Heath 1883 / 90", and printed paper label "C. R. Adams / Franklin NH Nov. 11 __" along with dates in pencil "Dec 12 - 12 / clen Sept 3 - 14 / May 18 17". Weight sheaves projecting through top of clock. One side gallery may be a replacement; the two differ in thickness of veneer and in secondary wood, one being of pine, the other of birch. Separately stored parts: winding key, two cast iron weights (rectangular), pendulum.

Material:

Wood
Mahogany
Birch
Poplar
Pine
Bone
Brass
Iron
Glass

Dimensions:

H-34.5 W-17.25 D-4.5 inches

Provenance:

Clock with maker's mark of Clark Durgin (1814-1893), of Andover, NH. Acquired by donor in 1957 from Edwin B. Burt of Auburndale, MA. Part of a large clock collection (and related materials) including not only clocks made in NH, but also several made elsewhere, acquired in NH by the donor, Charles S. Parsons (1904-1988), and probably used here.

Credit Line:

Gift of Charles S. Parsons

People:

Adams, C. R., Pettengill, H. W., Dodge, J. G., Fellows, G., Heath, C. J., Durgin, Clark (1814-1893), Parsons, Charles S. (1904-1988), Burt, Edwin B. (1894-1971)

Subjects:

Manufacturing