Dating clock dials
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Ok so youve got a grandfather clock and you want to know roughly how old it is. Here are some basic paramaters to allow you to see the date ranges of the various features so you can get an idea without doing a whole load of reasearch on makers and suchlike. The first Grandfathers produced in London because Christian Huegens invented the pedulum clock. Before this clocks were…well they sucked really as timekeepers. If a clock lost 5 minutes a day it was doing well but with the pendulum clock you could get it down to 5 minutes a week. The pendulum clock was therefore a very useful thing but of course you needed a long case to cover the long pendulum the longer the more accurate and the Grandfather or Longcase clock was born.
The square dial persisted until by which time it was going out of fashion ans was completely replaced by the arched dial with exceptions of course by All faces were brass up until when the painted dial came along. Less expensive to produce and engineer it became the favourite for the majority of clocks produced outside the cities.
In clocks were tall and thin with small faces. The change was gradual and so the size of a clock can often date it within 50 years or the years from to when clocks stopped being produced. Clocks produced in the tended to be a bit more brash and large to their contemporaries in London so you need to adjust for that a bit in the date estimate if the clock is from a norther maker.
If you have what looks like a tall thin clock with an old small square clock face it could be valuable. Some of the early makers command huge prices.
One handed clocks — if you have one of these then you probably know what you have already. Clocks in the first 50 years of production were one handed — no second hand. These markings are on the inner edge of the dial plate in quarter hour segments which are themselves separated into half quarter hours. Most of them only had one hand, because the average person had no need of knowing the time to the nearest minute, and with a bit of experience you can tell the time to the nearest five minutes on one of these early clocks. By the vast majority of grandfather clocks had two hands, for the hours and minutes.
One-handed clocks continued to be made in country areas for a long time, so one hand is not an absolute guarantee of an early clock, but is a good guide. From around all these figures are approximate the brass dial clock was made all over England in ever-increasing numbers, and the dials became more ornate as time went on, especially on the eight-day clocks. More features appeared, such as seconds hands in a small subsidiary dial, date hands or wheels, and moon phases, usually in an arch on top of the dial, but sometimes in small aperture in the dial itself.
Here are a few more features to look for when dating your clock: Brass dials continued to be made in the Southern counties until or even later. The later Southern clocks usually have a dial which is a single sheet of thin brass, silvered all over and resembling an early painted dial at first glance. Another late feature on Southern dials was a plain, un-matted engraved and silvered dial centre - C. Brass dials tended to simplify again from C.
Dial centres were matted till C. Some dials were then engraved over a matted centre, the Sam Lomax dial below right is a good example of this. Eventually most clocks went back to a plain or matted centre again.
Tips to help you estimate the age and date of your antique clock.
Yes, it can all get a bit confusing at times - - -. Early 8 day dials had decorative rings round the winding holes, these were left off from C. The lunette date aperture appeared C. This feature started to appear C, and continued afterwards on good quality work. Early clocks to had a small dial, eight or nine inches square. There are exceptions to these sizes of course, but they are a good general guide when taken with other features.
Another date clue I have noticed during clock repairs is that any screws in an early movement to have square heads. After the screw heads are round, and the thread profile is better cut.
How To Date Painted Dial Longcase & Grandfather Clocks They are basically three style periods of painted clock dials however these are to be used as. Pendulum of Mayfair offer a superb detailed blog on all aspects of antique clocks and furniture. This blog will give readers better knowledge on.
From longcase clocks ceased being made in London, the clockmakers followed the demands of fashion, and made bracket, or shelf clocks. Provincial clockmakers, many trained in London, made large numbers of longcase clocks from right through to , when imports of cheap German and American wall and mantle clocks put an end to the making of longcase clocks altogether. A "bird-cage" movement it has vertical pillars and the plates are horizontal top and bottom is often taken to be a sign of an early clock.
This is not guaranteed however, in Southern England the clockmakers continued to make this type of movement from the start right through to The bird-cage movement is a guide to location, not date. Very few Northern makers used this movement, it was essentially the same as the even earlier Lantern Clock movement. Northern makers had no tradition of making these clocks, so used the normal plated movement vertical plates, horizontal pillars from the start of their clockmaking. Some case features - - - Early clock trunk doors fit flush inside the door opening, from onwards the door was given a larger edge and covered the hole sides by fitting against the case front.
A convex moulding under the hood is another reliable sign of a pre clock, after this date again with a very few exceptions, usually in rural areas, the mouldings were always concave. Hood pillars were barley-sugar twist until , then either plain or fluted after this date. Some Southern clocks continued this to the end of the brass dial period, but by the vast majority were separate from the door, fitted to the hood frame.
Cast brass capitals were fitted to the columns on the hood, and on the trunk if fitted, from onwards on the more expensive clocks. Country clocks often have a rather plain, but nicely proportioned Oak case, often with a flat top, but after the fashion came in to put horns on the top, often decorated with round wood or brass facings. The "caddy" top was used from to , then the fashion changed to the "pagoda" top, often with three ball and spire decorations screwed on right, left and centre. This type of hood top carried on from right to the end of the brass dial period.
Marquetry was used on top-end cases in London from to There are almost no provincial marquetry cases. Japanned, or Lacquered cases were fashionable from to , some Northern examples are around, but many were stripped back to the wood years ago, when our climate caused the finish to deteriorate badly. Pendulums too have a time progression, to they had a thin wire rod with a small rounded bob, often plain lead. From to the wire rod stayed, but the bob became flattened into a saucer shape, around four inches in diameter, often with a brass case. The late ones to have a wide flat strip of iron instead of the wire rod, and the same four inch brass-faced bob.
Sometimes the bob is cast iron with a decorative pattern, and painted gold or black.
CLOCKS MAGAZINE The day clock
Lead weights were always used until C. Quality clocks had brass-cased lead weights. Cast Iron weights were used on nearly all painted dial clocks - - - a cast iron weight on a brass dial clock is not original. A good reliable sign of an early clock is the half-hour marker between the big roman numerals being a cross with arrow heads.
The base of the cross runs right down into the chapter ring edge.
Dating a longcase clock
The same early clocks had the minutes numbered inside the minute band, and quite small C. From the minute ring is moved inwards on the chapter ring, and the numbers engraved outside the minute ring. Another clue - - - the minute number 5 had a short tail until , this tail grew longer over time, by the tail almost curled right round to form a circle.
Easier to see than describe, but unmistakable once you have seen it. A bit of detective work looking for all the clues, then taking them all together should enable you to have a very good idea of when your clock was made.
Dating Antique Clocks
South in these notes means all the South of England, as far up as the South Midlands. North means Birmingham to Scotland. If you are thinking of buying a clock, these notes should help you to avoid some of the "altered" clocks, of which there are many - - - unscrupulous antique dealers used to put a good brass dial eight day movement in a nice Mahogany case to increase it's value. Unfortunately there are lots of these clocks around still, if you want a nice original clock you need to know what to look for.
I hope some of the features I have given here will help you make an informed choice of clock.
These hands were usual on London clocks from about to , then were re-used in the provinces later. Very common pattern provincially to H: Used in the provinces to K: Again, much used North and South to N: Final form of hands on brass dials to Also used on the first painted dials of the same period P: No 1 An early period "finned" pillar, often used by London makers, and good provincial clockmakers. These tend to be a better date guide than hands, which were often broken and replaced. London, pre , very rare on provincial clocks 2. First appeared C, peak use provinces. Often used by Thomas Thompion, but appears.
Very popular outside London to Can be seen on the early brass dial pictured above.