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Lot Essay
Made of mahogany and profusely decorated with applied carved ornament, the case of this tall-case clock is an outstanding example of the Reading school, which flourished at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries in Pennsylvania’s Berks County. Besides the applique, the carved dentils and egg-and-dart molding in the swan’s-neck pediment and double-lobed shaping to the top of the door are also details employed by craftsmen working in this tradition. As noted by Alan Miller, virtually all survivals from this school are clock cases and a single high chest represents the only known instance of a variant form in this group (for the high chest, see Christie’s, New York, 21 January 2010, lot 354; for a related clock case with works signed by Jacob Klingman (1758-1806), see Christie’s, New York, 20 January 2012, lot 129).
Benjamin Hill (1771-1848) is recorded as living on a 25-acre farm on the Easton Road in Richmond Township, only 1 ½ miles from Kutztown, the home of the Kirby family who are thought to have previously owned this clock. Hill has the dubious honor of being known primarily as the maker of a town clock for the Berks County Courthouse that after running well for several years became unreliable and eventually inoperative following the clockmaker’s death. Hill’s probate inventory, which included clocks and large assortment of valuable clockmaking tools, suggests he was successful in his trade (Richard S. and Rosemarie B. Machmer, Berks County Tall-Case Clocks 1750-1850 (Reading, Pennsylvania, 1995), p. 89).
Christie’s would like to thank Alan Miller for his assistance with the preparation of this essay.
Benjamin Hill (1771-1848) is recorded as living on a 25-acre farm on the Easton Road in Richmond Township, only 1 ½ miles from Kutztown, the home of the Kirby family who are thought to have previously owned this clock. Hill has the dubious honor of being known primarily as the maker of a town clock for the Berks County Courthouse that after running well for several years became unreliable and eventually inoperative following the clockmaker’s death. Hill’s probate inventory, which included clocks and large assortment of valuable clockmaking tools, suggests he was successful in his trade (Richard S. and Rosemarie B. Machmer, Berks County Tall-Case Clocks 1750-1850 (Reading, Pennsylvania, 1995), p. 89).
Christie’s would like to thank Alan Miller for his assistance with the preparation of this essay.