47.                   $800

Willard school timepiece, ca. 1830.  A 32.25-inch case with the eagle finial (28 inches without the finial and mount).  The box door, wooden bezel, and throat frames are rounded and veneered in mahogany; half-round mahogany frames became popular around 1830.  The bezel closes with a push latch, the lower door with a j-hook.  The number ‘VII’ has been stamped into the case edge, lower door, and throat frame.  The dial glass has been replaced, the throat and box glasses appear to be later replacements, although the tablet and throat glasses are like those Aaron Willard, Jr. would have used (see page 46 of Paul J. Foley’s book, Willard’s Patent Time Pieces for two similar glasses used by Sylvester Edgerly, a likely apprentice of Aaron Willard Jr.).  The iron dial holds very old paint but I can't be sure the signature is original, as it was popular in the past to add a Willard signature to dials.  Willard did sign some (but not all) of his dials, but he also added a number above the mainstem.  There is no evidence of a number on this dial.   The barbed arrow hands are likely original and are finely carved.  I do not see a witness mark on the minute hand or canon pipe.  The brass, single bridge movement is 3.75 inches long and mounts to the backboard with a single center screw from the back; Willard used diagonal through-bolts to mount his movements until late in his career.  The long straight click pawl is not distinctive and is characteristic of many Willard school clockmakers, notably including Edgerly; Edgerly also used a center screw mount.  The single bridge is mounted slightly left of center.  The pendulum bob is 3 inches in diameter and the weight is lead, but probably not original.   The tin weight shield and tie-down are likely original.  The 3-inch eagle finial is brass with a brass post.  This is a beautiful banjo clock that, while not all original and the maker remains unknown, accurately represents what the Willard school makers, including Aaron Willard, Jr. were producing around 1830.  $800-$1200.