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Lot Essay
Featuring an innovative movement housed in a "lighthouse" case, this timepiece stands as one of the most celebrated clock forms of early America. In 1819, Simon Willard (1753-1848) received the third patent for his "alarum timepiece," a clock, which as his title indicates was noteworthy for its inclusion of an alarm that he claimed would "not fail to go off at the hour you wish to rise." However, it is the "lighthouse" shape of the case, with a tall cylindrical body and glass dome, that distinguishes these clocks as a group and like the Blair Collection example, most were made without the alarm component. So-named in the early twentieth century, Willard's "lighthouse" clocks display a variety of case models, including forms with rectangular or cylindrical bases. The Blair Collection model, with a tall cylindrical body and octagonal base, is the same as that illustrated by Willard in his 1822 advertisement (fig. 1). With broad surfaces, figured veneers and ormolu details, this model features high-style Classical design fashionable in 1820s America. As Willard noted, these clocks were meant to be displayed in the parlor, the most elegant and public room of the house. Thus, they were intended to not only complement the similarly ornamented furniture of the era but, with the works visible through the glass dome, serve as conversation pieces. See R.W. Husher and W. W. Welch, A Study of Simon Willard Clocks (1980), pp. 171-205; Paul J. Foley, Willard's Patent Time Pieces: A History of the Weight-Driven Banjo Clock, 1800-1900 (Norwell, MA, 2002), p. 10; Bob Jackman, "Federal and Empire Treasures: The Lighthouse Clocks of Simon Willard," Antiques and the Arts Story Archive (2002), online at: https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/CS0-10-01-2002-12-14-44.
Custom-made with fragile parts, "lighthouse" clocks were made in relatively few numbers and rarely survive fully intact. While the dome and feet are replaced, the Blair Collection clock retains a number of its original details, including the "dummy" bell (which, without a corresponding strike is a decorative device) and knob, felt lining on the saddle plate of the movement and brass rim at the top of the cylindrical body. The original ormolu bezel, with naturalistic floral motifs, is the most elaborate of those used by Willard and rivals the quality of French-made timepieces of the period. Signed "Simon Willard & Son's PATENT" the dial indicates that it was made after Willard brought his son, Simon Willard, Jr. into the business in 1823. The father and son were in partnership for five years and in 1828, Simon Willard, Jr. established his own shop in Boston.
The clock was acquired by Mrs. Blair in 1922, early on in her collecting days and before the heyday of the reproduction of these forms in the 1930s. Always keen to learn more about her purchases, Mrs. Blair wrote to Charles Woolsey Lyon and Henry W. Belknap, Secretary of The Essex Institute, to uncover the clock's history. From their letters, it is evident that the clock was owned by two unmarried sisters, Misses Marion Cleveland and Elizabeth Cleveland Allen of Salem, Massachusetts, acquired by Eleanor T. Frost, who lived with the Allens from about 1905 to 1914, and purchased from her by Lyon. Born in 1848 and 1850 respectively, Marion and Elizabeth were the daughters of John Fisk Allen (1807-1876), a renowned botanist and his second wife Mary Hodges Cleveland (1818-1873). While the clock may have been made for the family, the Allens were also noted to be collectors. They lived in their father's home, which was on Salem's historic Chestnut Street; many of its contents were given or bequeathed by the Misses Allen to the Peabody Essex Museum.
Custom-made with fragile parts, "lighthouse" clocks were made in relatively few numbers and rarely survive fully intact. While the dome and feet are replaced, the Blair Collection clock retains a number of its original details, including the "dummy" bell (which, without a corresponding strike is a decorative device) and knob, felt lining on the saddle plate of the movement and brass rim at the top of the cylindrical body. The original ormolu bezel, with naturalistic floral motifs, is the most elaborate of those used by Willard and rivals the quality of French-made timepieces of the period. Signed "Simon Willard & Son's PATENT" the dial indicates that it was made after Willard brought his son, Simon Willard, Jr. into the business in 1823. The father and son were in partnership for five years and in 1828, Simon Willard, Jr. established his own shop in Boston.
The clock was acquired by Mrs. Blair in 1922, early on in her collecting days and before the heyday of the reproduction of these forms in the 1930s. Always keen to learn more about her purchases, Mrs. Blair wrote to Charles Woolsey Lyon and Henry W. Belknap, Secretary of The Essex Institute, to uncover the clock's history. From their letters, it is evident that the clock was owned by two unmarried sisters, Misses Marion Cleveland and Elizabeth Cleveland Allen of Salem, Massachusetts, acquired by Eleanor T. Frost, who lived with the Allens from about 1905 to 1914, and purchased from her by Lyon. Born in 1848 and 1850 respectively, Marion and Elizabeth were the daughters of John Fisk Allen (1807-1876), a renowned botanist and his second wife Mary Hodges Cleveland (1818-1873). While the clock may have been made for the family, the Allens were also noted to be collectors. They lived in their father's home, which was on Salem's historic Chestnut Street; many of its contents were given or bequeathed by the Misses Allen to the Peabody Essex Museum.