Japanned Quarter-striking Musical Longcase Clock by Joseph Eayre

Description:

Japanned Quarter-striking Musical Longcase Clock by Joseph Eayre, St. Neots, England, c. 1765, three original brass finials atop the oak case black and gilt japanned decoration on waist door, base, and sides, engaged columns flanking the hood door, tombstone-shaped waist door, base plinth with two-stage base molding and low bun feet, 13-in. composite brass dial with finely matted center and recessed date ring, silvered components including a roman numeral chapter ring with quarter-hour marks, seconds bit, subsidiary dials for "Chime-Not Chime" and "Strike-Quarter Silent-Silent," ten-tune selection arch listing The 113 Psalm, The Recruiting Officer, A Minuet by Mr. Handel, Britain Strike Home, and others, recessed name boss marked "Joseph Eayre St. Neots" framed with floral and herringbone engraving, brass spandrels and blued-steel hands, three-train, seven-pillar movement with recoil escapement, rack and snail hour- and quarter-hour strike on two bells, a nest of fourteen bells and twenty-eight hammers mounted above the 13 1/4-in. pinned cylinder, all regulated by a pendulum and powered by three cast iron weights, ht. 104 in.

Literature: Movement described and pictured in Keeping Time, Musical Clocks of Early America 1730-1830 exhibition catalog, Gary R. Sullivan & Kate Van Winkle Keller.

Note: For information on Joseph Eayre see T.M.N. Owen, Church Bells of Huntingdonshire, 1899, pp. 100 and 120, and John Milburn, "Some Horological Extracts from Stukeley's Diaries," Antiquarian Horological Society, Vol. 6, No. 4, 1969, pp. 206-11.
Estimate $12,000-18,000

Japanned decoration restored, caddy top replaced from the crown molding up, bun feet possible old replacements, movement complete but needs cleaning and adjustments as striking and musical functions are sluggish. Pendulum rod and bob are probably old replacements, weights are period cast iron.


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