THE DIAL SIGNED BY JOHN STILLAS (ACTIVE 1784-1793), PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1790

Details

A LATE CHIPPENDALE MAHOGANY TALL-CASE CLOCK
THE DIAL SIGNED BY JOHN STILLAS (ACTIVE 1784-1793), PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1790
the white-painted dial inscribed JOHN STILLAS
91 ¾ in. high, 20 ½ in. wide, 10 ¼ in. deep

Provenance

Probable line of descent:
John Custis Wilson (1761-1830) and his wife Margaret "Peggy" Custis Wilson (1763-1825), Westover, Somerset County, Maryland
Possibly John Custis Wilson, Jr. (1784-1832), Westover, son
Possibly The Lankford family, Westover
Dr. Henry Parke Custis Wilson (1827-1897), Baltimore, son of John Custis Wilson, Jr.
Henrietta Chauncey (Wilson) Whiteley (1863-1908), Baltimore, daughter
Eleanor Custis Whiteley (Mrs. Edwin Nash Broyles) (1896-1984), Baltimore, daughter
Eleanor Custis Broyles (Mrs. Charles Alan Wright) (1924-2023), Austin, Texas, daughter

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

John Stillas (active 1784-1793) worked as a clock and watchmaker in Philadelphia's Chestnut Ward, where his shop was set up on Front Street between Market and Chestnut Streets.

According to tradition, the clock has never been out of the family apart from a brief period during which the Lankford family, presumed neighbors of the Wilsons, took ownership. It is understood that the clock then returned to the Wilson line by Dr. Henry Parke Custis Wilson and thence descended in the family.

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