Walnut Queen Anne Tall Clock

Walnut Queen Anne Tall Clock, Gawen Brown, Brattle Street, Boston, c. 1760, with sarchophagus top, tombstone-shaped glazed hood door flanked by plain free standing columns, hinged waist door, low bracket feet with central drop, 12 in. brass composite dial with moon's age in the arch, applied spandrels, silvered chapter ring with Roman numerals, alarm disc, seconds bit, recessed calendar and name boss engraved Gawen Brown, Brattle Street, Boston , eight-day time, strike, and alarm five-pillar movement with rack and snail strike, side mounted alarm mechanism powered by a brass-cased weight, wooden pendulum rod with brass-faced bob, all powered by two iron weights, (no significant repairs or restoration), ht. 92 in. Note: Gawen Brown's Calibre Book , dating 1753-1757, is in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society. This fascinating account describes the technical details and drawings of thirty-hour, eight-day, alarm clocks, watches and a chart to determine equation of time. A biography of Brown appears in "The Proceedings of the Boston Clock Club, 1934-1940," Gawen Brown, Soldier and Clockmaker by David Hansen; more readily available material is found in Philip Zea and Robert C. Cheney, Clock Making in New England, 1725-1825 , pp. 12-13. Case retains an old "Spanish brown" surface, finials appear to be period, but central finial is likely from another source, base is original; seating board marked in ink "Cleaned by E. Taber, Roxbury, May 1839". No signi Read more…