Antique American Clocks January 2021
247. $1800
English tavern clock, ca. 1820? Approximately 62 inches from finial tip to the bottom of the carved
base – you’ll need plenty of room to hang this clock. The case is quartered oak with burled English walnut insets and base. The door glass is old, the dial glass likely a replacement. The painted iron dial is original, signed “Kirk & Co., Limited,
Liverpool”. The brass plate, double-fusee movement is not signed or marked that I can see. It is running and striking
on the hours a very large wire gong attached to the backwall. The pendulum rod is metal, painted gold, with a heavy brass bob. I like this clock more than I thought I would. These are sometimes called “Act of Parliament” clocks because in 1797 a tax of
five shillings was imposed on clocks by the English Parliament, proving Ben Franklin’s 1748 statement that “time is money”. The tax was repealed after 9 months. $2000-$3000.
