Clocks, Watches & Scientific Instruments
Description:
Benjamin Willard No. 295 Mahogany Tall Clock, Grafton, Massachusetts, c. 1795, scroll-top case with freestanding turned columns flanking the roman numeral painted iron dial with moon phase in arch, seconds bit, and date aperture, and signed "No. 295/Benjamin Willard./Grafton," molded edge tombstone-shaped waist door over the step-molded base, eight-day time and hour-strike movement, with half-moon cutout plates, regulated by a brass-faced pendulum and two iron weights, ht. 96 in. with finial.
Provenance: Previously on loan from F.R. & T. Downs to the American Clock & Watch Museum, Bristol, Connecticut, with museum's typed tag by Chris Bailey.
Note: A similar sheet-brass example, no. 142, is discussed in The Willard House and Clock Museum and The Willard Family Clockmakers, by Dr. Roger W. Robinson and Herschel B. Burt, p. 24.
Estimate $4,000-6,000
dial signature appears untouched, number 295 is faint but original, some numerals have been enhanced, small touch-ups on dial and on movement post areas, original seating board, case scroll appear to be original, moons phase has been repainted, some new interior glue blocks, feet shortened, case uprights have been restored, case refinished.
Items may have wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging. Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
Keywords
Chris Bailey, Roger W. Robinson, Herschel B. Burt, GraftonJonathan Dowling
Director, Clocks, Watches & Scientific Instruments
508-970-3131
Clocks, Watches & Scientific Instruments
From early timekeeping devices to precision regulators, the Clocks, Watches & Scientific Instruments department covers centuries of invention and function with trusted appraisals and world-competitive auctions.