A Victorian mahogany, brass and flint glass skeleton timepiece

ATTRIBUTED TO EDWARDS OF STOURBRIDGE; MID 19TH CENTURY

Details

A Victorian mahogany, brass and flint glass skeleton timepiece
Attributed to Edwards of Stourbridge; mid 19th century
The scrolling brass frame with six substantial tapered pillars screwed front and rear, the wheels of star-cut flint glass with brass teeth, anchor escapment, the pendulum with star-cut flint glass bob, the large great wheel with chain fusee extending through a slot in the mahogany base to an individually secured spring barrel, the dial with Roman numerals cut from the rear with motion work held behind within a flat brass barrel sub-assembly, the mahogany base with front and rear sliding panels, the reverse of the front panel pasted with a trade label signed Jams. Edwards Watch and Clock Maker Stourbridge
24¼ ins 24 cm high

Provenance

The Heathcote Collection

Literature

F.B. Royer-Collard F.B.H.I., Skeleton Clocks, N.A.G. Press Ltd., 1969, p.p. 41-45, illus. front and rear covers & figs. 3-11/13
Derek Roberts, British Skeleton Clocks, Woodbridge, 1987, p.p. 174-8, fig8

Lot Essay

Possibly inspired by the French glass plate Skeleton clocks the present example is a unique variant using the local product flint glass which was star-cut and polished and then snapped into a conventional brass wheel having had its centre cut out.
Royer-Collard op. cit. was so taken by this clock he illustrated it on the back and front cover of what was then the only reference book on Skeleton Clocks. He also writes "His clocks drew large crowds of sightseers when shown at the Great Exhibition". This is the first example to have appeared on the open market for 20 years, the last one having been sold in these rooms, 25 January, 1978, lot 61.

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