By Jeremy Woodoff, Bowne House Trustee
During Spring 2024, the movement and dial of the Bowne House Collection’s Anthony Ward Tall Clock were removed from the case for servicing.
It was apparent that the clock had not run in many years.
The Anthony Ward Tall Clock. Photograph by E. Helmers, 2024.
Anthony Ward was born in Cornwall c. 1669. He began his clockmaking career in Philadelphia in 1717. He moved to New York in 1724 and worked until 1750. Based on the characteristics of the dial and movement, the Bowne House clock is probably from the earlier part of his time in New York, from 1725-35.
Inscription on Dial: “Anthony Ward; New York.” Photograph by E. Helmers, 2024.
It’s believed that the Ward clock was purchased new by the Bowne family. It has been in its current spot in the southeast corner of the dining room for a very long time. A drawing of the room appears in an 1880 edition of Scribner’s Monthly and shows the clock in this corner. A 1936 photo shows it in the same spot. A member of the public on tour of the house while the refurbished movement was being set up noted that the sound of the bell counting the hours is the exact sound that members of the Bowne family would have heard almost 200 years ago.
The clock shows characteristics that point to its having been fully manufactured in America and not imported from England, as many were at this time. These characteristics include casting flaws throughout the brass components (these don’t affect the clock’s operation), a very thin brass dial plate compared to the thicker brass of English clocks, and the use of cast lead or pewter corner spandrels on the dial rather than gilt brass spandrels.
The Steps of Servicing
The movement was disassembled, cleaned in a lightly ammoniated clock cleaning solution, rinsed in water and alcohol, reassembled, and oiled. The second wheel of the strike train--the strike pin wheel--was loose and not centered on its arbor. A new hub was made for the wheel, and it was recentered. The hub was designed to match the original. This work was done by David LaBounty of About Time Clockmaking in Mitchell, South Dakota. The 12 pins on this wheel had been previously replaced. The old ones were cut off, new holes drilled, and new pins installed. Most likely the old pins had become too worn to function properly.
View of the movement before cleaning. Photograph by About Time Clockmaking.
View of the movement before cleaning. Photograph by About Time Clockmaking.
The movement has been tested and timed for more than a week. The testing was done using weights that are about half as heavy as those that appear to belong to the clock. It has been running and striking just fine with the lighter weights. These clocks were often overpowered so they would continue to run long after they should be serviced. This clock should be inspected and oiled at least every five years.
Clock Dial
This dial originally looked much like typical English and American dials of the period. The dial plate was polished brass and had a matted center. The engraved hour, seconds, and date rings were silvered brass, and the corner spandrels were gilt, in this case likely painted with gold paint.
The dial and hands BEFORE cleaning the brass, touching up the gilding on the spandrels, and re-blueing the hands. Photograph by About Time Clockmaking.
Over many years the dial has been polished, removing all of the silvering, except on the date ring, which retains some of its silver plating because it wasn’t accessible to polish. (There are spots of silvering on the back of the hour ring, demonstrating that it was once silvered.) Most of the gold on the spandrels was worn or oxidized away, but remnants could be seen in the recesses. Portions of the dial—the dial plate including the center, and the spandrels--were coated with shellac, varnish, or lacquer that had darkened.
The dial and hands AFTER refurbishment. Photograph by E. Helmers, 2024.
There is some controversy over whether clock dials like this should be restored to their original appearance. In England and Europe, they are typically restored to look as they would have when new. In the U.S., some collectors prefer to retain all the evidence of age. The dial on the Ward clock could be fully restored in the future. For now, only a very light touch was applied, brightening the dial slightly while leaving its aged appearance. It would be possible in the future to polish and resilver the dial, and more fully paint the spandrels, in order to return the dial to its original appearance.
The old coatings on the dial plate and spandrels were removed with alcohol and lacquer thinner. The brass underneath is tarnished and has areas of corrosion, but these were not polished out. The hour, seconds, and date rings weren’t coated, so they were washed in soap and water. These also were not polished. The date ring was cleaned with cream of tartar, which brightened the remaining silver. All these features were waxed with Renaissance microcrystalline wax, which will retard further tarnishing. The brass pendulum bob similarly had its darkened coatings removed, and it was waxed.
Spandrels
Photograph by E. Helmers, 2024.
Photograph by E. Helmers, 2024.
The spandrels were touched with shell gold, though not to fully cover them. Shell gold is paint made with real gold powder. It would be possible in the future to polish and resilver the dial, and more fully paint the spandrels, in order to return the dial to its original appearance.
Dial Hands
Photograph by E. Helmers, 2024.
The three hands appear to be original. They were cleaned, reblued, and coated with Soluvar varnish for protection. This varnish can be removed with paint thinner.
Photograph by E. Helmers. 2024.
“Cup and Ring” Decorations
Photograph by E. Helmers, 2024.
Beneath the dial hands, there are "cup and ring" decorations. These are known to have been used by two groups of Quaker clockmakers in England, who lived in areas of Cumbria and North Oxfordshire. This group of Quaker clockmakers likely sold clocks to other Quakers, as they were in areas with relatively large Quaker communities. Quaker clockmakers in other areas, who made clocks for the non-Quaker population, tended to use standard engraved scrollwork on their dials. Although the “cup and ring” decoration seems to us quite striking, it was perhaps viewed at the time as simpler and therefore more appropriate than scrolling or floral engraved decoration. Ward was not a Quaker and we don't know whether he was familiar with the use of “cup and ring” decoration from his time in England or whether the Bowne family requested it. No other Ward clocks we have seen pictured have this type of dial decoration.
Trunk Door Lock
Photograph by E. Helmers, 2024.
The cabinet lock for the trunk door is old but not original. Its key was lost, and finally the door was opened by removing the pins from the hinges. Once the lock could be accessed a new key was made for it.
Trunk Door Glass & Case
Photograph by E. Helmers, 2024.
The original round door glass was missing. The replacement was an oversized convex glass held in place with a sheet of plastic. A bullseye glass was obtained and fitted. Old pendulum view glasses are seen in both plain and bullseye patterns.
No work was done to the case except for the replacement glass. Cases for tall clocks like this weren’t made by the clockmaker but by a cabinetmaker. It would be interesting to investigate who might have made the case for such an early New York clock.
Text & Images edited by Elise Helmers, Executive Director