There has long been a need for a book that deals in detail with the technicalities and other aspects of the British longcase clock and the American tall-case clock. There is a great deal of new information in this publication that has never appeared in print before, and with hundreds of photographs and diagrams it is an IMPORTANT NEW HOROLOGICAL BOOK, due for publication in July 2001.
Below is a summary of the contents to date, and as each chapter is completed this will be updated.
An introduction to the development of the longcase clock, its dial, case and movement, from 1660 to about 1860, in London, the provinces and America.
Discusses the clocksmiths, blacksmiths, whitesmiths, locksmiths, gunsmiths and bellfounders, who also made clocks as well as clockmakers. Trade guilds and the influence of the Clockmakers' Company are put in context, with many misconceptions dispelled, as well as casemaking and dial engraving, including a list of known specialist dial engravers. A major section is about those who made and supplied the components to clockmakers: specialist clock brass founders (and casting marks found on clock parts), pinion makers, clock iron forgers, hand makers, etc. There are list of known makers and suppliers of these components, and a great deal of evidence is presented to show that most clockmakers relied heavily on these sources for their parts, rather than making them for themselves.
This chaper describes how clocks were actually made during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and it is often quite different to how many assume they were made. The basic materials of brass, iron and steel are discussed, as well as the tools used by the clockmaker. A study of over a dozen clockmakers' inventories shows the types of tools that they had and what work they were capable of doing. What is just as important is what tools they did NOT have, and there are some surprises here. As well as describing how a clockmaker set about making a clock, there are many examples of the different shapes of movement plates and pillars to help date and identify movements. A study of the wheels of longcase clocks, and a comparison with the available documentary sources, enables the cutting and depthing the wheels to be described. Again the process was quite different to how it is done today.
Topics include the pendulum, rating adjustment, escapements and their operation (verge, anchor and deadbeat), including examples of anchor and backcock shapes, unusual escapement arrangements, the going train, with tables of wheel counts for 8-day and 30-hour clocks, maintaining power, motionwork (including centre seconds) and strike let-off.
A very important chapter with countwheel and rack striking for both 8-day and 30-hour clocks described in detail, along with classification systems that make it easy to identify the great variety of arrangements that are found. Not only are all the normal systems included, but also many unusual and ingenious arrangements. Strike/silent mechanisms are detailed, as well as bells, hammers and stops, and a couple of what can only be described as odd-ball striking systems, that rely on neither a countwheel nor a rack.
A numer of different methods of two-train quarter striking are described, also three-train and four-train chiming and musical clocks, using various combinations of countwheels and racks. Pin barrels as well as chime/tune change are also included.
Simple once-a-day, twice-a-day and pointer calendars are described. Moonwork (rolling moons, three quite different types of penny moon, and also globe moons) and their operating mechanisms are considered. From feeback already recieved it is clear that many will buy this book for these details alone.
These movements are often dismissed as being uninteresting and very 'standard', but they actually show a wide diversity in their details and are usually very well made, often to a higher standard than hand-crafted ones. They were not made in a few large factories, as is often thought, but were made in many small workshops, still using traditional techniques. An attempt is made to identify the source of these movements and there is a list of known makers from names on movements and from trade directories.
How brass dials were made is discussed, including the subject of gapped and solid dial sheets, and who actually made them. The development of the brass dial for the longcase clock. London square and arch dials are described and illustrated as well as provincial square, arched and round dials. Also thirty-hour and country clocks. More spandrel patterns are illustrated than any other publication.
The techniques of producing painted dials is outlined, with a list of all known names on falseplates and many other dialmakers, some not recorded before. The development of the decoration on the dials, with many examples illustrated. Moons and hemisphere maps also dealt with.
Both the fashionable longcases made in London and the other major cities and towns in Britain and America will be considered, and compared to those made by rural cabinetmakers and joiners. Details of case construction is discussed.
A selection of clocks, both thirty-hour and eight-day, with interesting or unusual features, or made for a special purpose.
A list of all recorded case makers in both Britain and America, their dates and the clockmakers for whom they made cases.
This is in addition to the detailed notes and references at the end of each chapter (for instance Chapter 2 has over 100 references).
This is very detailed with numerous cross references, enabling the reader to quickly pinpoint the topic of interest.
This is one of the few clock books that actually tell me things I want to know. I would happily give up all my other books on the longcase just to keep those two volumes.
If you have photographs of interesting or unusual longcase clocks that could be included in future editions, then the author would be be interested in considering them for inclusion (photographs will only be retained for a short period for scanning, and then returned). Photographs of movements that have a maker's name cast or stamped on the plates are particularly sought. These makers include, Ainsworth/Warrington, Spencer/Birmingham, Hardy/Birmingham, Hawthorne/Newcastle, Vale/Lichfield, Roskell/Liverpool, Nicholas/Birmingham, King/Loughbourough, Thompson/Darlington, but many more were involved and ALL signed movements are of interest.