THE PROPERTY OF A LADY
A GEORGE II WALNUT-CASED WHEEL BAROMETER

BY JOHN HALLIFAX, BARNSLEY, CIRCA 1740

Details
A GEORGE II WALNUT-CASED WHEEL BAROMETER
By John Hallifax, Barnsley, circa 1740
The feather-strung case after the form and style of a longcase clock with moulded tapered base to the plinth, the trunk shaped in the centre for a silvered barometer recording ring with manual pierced steel pointer, the hood with simple baluster three-quarter columns supporting a moulded caddy-top with two gilt-brass urn-finials, the brass dial signed J Hallifax Barnsley invt. & fecit on a silvered plaque in the arch flanked by Indian-mask and scroll spandrels, the central barometer dial engraved with the various weather conditions and with pierced blued-steel indicator hand, mask and scroll spandrels
44 in. (112 cm.) high
Provenance
Admiral Sir Aubrey Smith
Thence by descent

Lot Essay

The case, formed as a bracket-supported miniature longcase clock with vase finials and Doric-columned hood, relates to that of a barometer in the F.R. Poke Collection also signed by John Hallifax (d. 1750), who was established around 1710 as a clock and barometer manufacturer in Barnsley (N. Goodison, English Barometers, London, 1977, p. 146). Another barometer with similar ribbon inlay is illustrated in R.W. Symonds, English Furniture from Charles II to George II, London, 1929, fig. 213 and R. Edwards and P. Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, London, rev. ed., 1954, vol. I, p. 31, fig. 14.

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