DIAL SIGNED BY JACOB EBY (1776-1828), THE CASE SIGNED GEORGE DEYER, MANHEIM, PENNSYLVANIA, DATED 1814

The Deyer (Dyer) family of Manheim, Pennsylvania, is well known both for architectural woodwork and for furniture making. Particularly associated with the Deyer shop are clock cases with eagle-inlaid reserves housing works of Jacob Eby (1776-1828), the preeminent clockmaker of Manheim who was responsible for the majority of Deyer clock movements. Deyer workshop oval eagle inlaid clocks are readily distinguished by the specific attributes of the eagle, including a striped shield as its body, a banner reading "E Pluribus Unum" in its beak, an arrow in one claw, and an olive branch in the other. Two versions of the eagle were used: one with symmetrically spread wings and one with wings angled to the left, as in the clock here. Interestingly, the layouts are said to have been inspired by contemporary U.S. currency, from 1801 to 1807, which featured a symmetrical spread-wing eagle, and after 1807, which appeared with an asymmetrical eagle. For more information on the Deyer workshop, please see Wendy A. Cooper and Lisa Minardi, Paint Pattern & People: Furniture of Southeastern Pennsylvania 1725-1850 (Winterthur, Delaware, 2011), pp. 183-188.

Additional clocks with dials signed by Jacob Eby can be found in the Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware. (See Charles F. Montgomery, American Furniture: the Federal Period&i (New York, 1966), pp. 200-201) and in the Henry Ford and Greenfield Village Museum, Dearborn, Michigan.