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Lot Essay
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
Dr. F.A.B. Ward, A Mean and Sidereal Time Clock, The Horological Journal, vol.LXXXVII, No.1058, November 1946, pp.466-7.
R.T. Gunter, Early Science in Oxford, vol.II, p.262, (concerning Cary)
This clock is one of only three known examples;
The Hall clock
The present clock signed James Gorham
The Patek Philippe Museum clock
Signed by James Shearer, London, probably originally made for the Duke of Sussex, sold by Christie's from the Estate of the late Duke in 1843. Once again, sold in these rooms, 14 June 2000, lot 77 for (£289,750) to the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva
The Oslo City Museum clock
Signed by James Shearer, London, donated privately to the museum, provenance unknown.
These astonishing clocks are believed to be the only English skeleton clocks to show mean and sidereal time. All three clocks have virtually identical component designs comprising four columns, triple plate movements with the same wheel count, the same dated globes by J. & G. Cary and the same peculiar mesmeric escapement rotating against a mirrored plate. The Patek Philippe museum clock and the Oslo City Museum clock are both signed by James Shearer, a clockmaker listed as working between 1825-40, but no further information can be found about him. The present clock however has a few small variations, notably: the thermometer and magnetic compass between the globes; the mean time hour ring calibrated I-XII (the others being calibrated twice-XII); the base is ebonised as opposed to mahogany; and lastly the clock is signed by James Gorham.
James Gorham is listed as working 1815-54 at 5, Kensington High Street, a stone's throw from Kensington Palace, the London residence of the Duke of Sussex. As the signature plaque says, Gorham was clockmaker to Queen Victoria. However, he was also known to receive the Duke's patronage, the Duke being an avid and highly knowledgable clock collector. His remarkable collection, sold on his death by Christie's on 4 July 1843, comprised 137 clocks by makers such as Breguet, Tompion, Knibb, Gray, Recordon, Vulliamy and Pinchbeck. Gorham in fact bought a number of the clocks in the sale, but not the Duke's mean and sidereal skeleton clock signed Shearer. It is worth noting that the Sussex Tompion, which was presented to the Duke of Sussex by Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy, was discovered to have scratched on the back of its dial This clock was cleaned by James Gorham, Kensington 1834. The Duke had no less than six clocks made by James Gorham in his collection, all of which were sold in the sale of his great collection in 1843.
John Herapath (1790-1868)
A scientist whose theories were neglected by the wider scientific establishment of his day, Herapath is best known as the first to work out extensive calculations and applications of the kinetic theory of gases.
The son of a maltster, John Herapath was born in Bristol and upon his father's death he inherited the business. He soon gave this up to study chemistry and was one of the founders of the Chemical Society of London and also of the Bristol Medical School, for which he became professor of chemistry and toxicology when it opened in 1828. He was frequently retained as a professional witness in criminal trials, notably at the trial for arsenic poisoning of a woman called Burdock in 1835 where he acted for the prosecution.
Largely self-educated Herapath learned French and was familiar with some of the works of the great mathematical physicists of the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. It has been suggested that he may have inherited their fondness for grand speculations in science; this may have led to the kinetic theory (which assesses the relation between temperature and particle velocity) but may also have alienated him from the empirical attitudes of English scientists of the day, who regarded him as an eccentric amateur.
Dr. F.A.B. Ward, A Mean and Sidereal Time Clock, The Horological Journal, vol.LXXXVII, No.1058, November 1946, pp.466-7.
R.T. Gunter, Early Science in Oxford, vol.II, p.262, (concerning Cary)
This clock is one of only three known examples;
The Hall clock
The present clock signed James Gorham
The Patek Philippe Museum clock
Signed by James Shearer, London, probably originally made for the Duke of Sussex, sold by Christie's from the Estate of the late Duke in 1843. Once again, sold in these rooms, 14 June 2000, lot 77 for (£289,750) to the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva
The Oslo City Museum clock
Signed by James Shearer, London, donated privately to the museum, provenance unknown.
These astonishing clocks are believed to be the only English skeleton clocks to show mean and sidereal time. All three clocks have virtually identical component designs comprising four columns, triple plate movements with the same wheel count, the same dated globes by J. & G. Cary and the same peculiar mesmeric escapement rotating against a mirrored plate. The Patek Philippe museum clock and the Oslo City Museum clock are both signed by James Shearer, a clockmaker listed as working between 1825-40, but no further information can be found about him. The present clock however has a few small variations, notably: the thermometer and magnetic compass between the globes; the mean time hour ring calibrated I-XII (the others being calibrated twice-XII); the base is ebonised as opposed to mahogany; and lastly the clock is signed by James Gorham.
James Gorham is listed as working 1815-54 at 5, Kensington High Street, a stone's throw from Kensington Palace, the London residence of the Duke of Sussex. As the signature plaque says, Gorham was clockmaker to Queen Victoria. However, he was also known to receive the Duke's patronage, the Duke being an avid and highly knowledgable clock collector. His remarkable collection, sold on his death by Christie's on 4 July 1843, comprised 137 clocks by makers such as Breguet, Tompion, Knibb, Gray, Recordon, Vulliamy and Pinchbeck. Gorham in fact bought a number of the clocks in the sale, but not the Duke's mean and sidereal skeleton clock signed Shearer. It is worth noting that the Sussex Tompion, which was presented to the Duke of Sussex by Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy, was discovered to have scratched on the back of its dial This clock was cleaned by James Gorham, Kensington 1834. The Duke had no less than six clocks made by James Gorham in his collection, all of which were sold in the sale of his great collection in 1843.
John Herapath (1790-1868)
A scientist whose theories were neglected by the wider scientific establishment of his day, Herapath is best known as the first to work out extensive calculations and applications of the kinetic theory of gases.
The son of a maltster, John Herapath was born in Bristol and upon his father's death he inherited the business. He soon gave this up to study chemistry and was one of the founders of the Chemical Society of London and also of the Bristol Medical School, for which he became professor of chemistry and toxicology when it opened in 1828. He was frequently retained as a professional witness in criminal trials, notably at the trial for arsenic poisoning of a woman called Burdock in 1835 where he acted for the prosecution.
Largely self-educated Herapath learned French and was familiar with some of the works of the great mathematical physicists of the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. It has been suggested that he may have inherited their fondness for grand speculations in science; this may have led to the kinetic theory (which assesses the relation between temperature and particle velocity) but may also have alienated him from the empirical attitudes of English scientists of the day, who regarded him as an eccentric amateur.