Tall case clock w/ 8-day movement housed in a cherry Chippendale style case with scroll pediment, carved floral rosettes and three flame finials. Arched glass door and side lights. Partially engaged, smooth columns at front corners, forming part of the hinged door.
Brass dial has Roman numeral chapter ring, C-scroll and vining foliate engraving at spandrels as well as above and below moon wheel which is painted with a star-spangled sky and moon with face. Engraved "Wilton Atkinson" on lower dial.
Waist has broken arch door and recessed, plain quarter columns. Base has raised, scalloped panel at front with quarter columns that match those in the waist section. Feet are bold ogee bracket style.
Atkinson is believed to have been the son of Matthew Atkinson of Lampeter Twp. Wilton was in the Borough as early as 1763 as a cutler. In tax records, he was listed in 1770 as a watchmaker and in 1772 and 1773 as a clockmaker. He married Anna Maria, daughter of the early Borough clockmaker Abram Laroy. Legend states that Anna Maria also made clocks in Lancaster that were sold bearing her husband's name. The Atkinsons eventually moved to Baltimore where, following his death, Anna Maria conducted business until 1819. (Clockmakers of Lanc. Co.)
Snyder notes on p. 40 of Clockmakers of Lanc. Co, that this case is considered one of the earliest examples of the Chippendale style in Lancaster Co., based on the brief working career of Atkinson (1770-1773).
Provenance
Owned by Dr. George Rohrer, then to son Henry A. Rohrer, then to daughter Mary Louise Webster. Tape adhered to reverse side of dial has the name of the donor's father, "Henry Rohrer/ 9-22-87."
Case has been overcleaned, finished with a glossy varnish then handrubbed with steel wool to remove gloss. Vertical scratch on right side of base; feet marred. Crack at lower right corner of base, below raised panel. There are about nine nail holes over the expanse of the tympanum suggesting missing carving. Heavy dent on dial at left edge, center, and hammer marks at this point on reverse side. Lower left corner distorted.
Object ID
G.01.49.1
Notes
Entry for Wilton Atkinson in "Clockmakers of Lancaster Co. and Their Clocks 1750-1850" notes that: "Atkinson married Anna Maria, a daughter of the early Borough clockmaker Abrum Laroy and legend states that she also made clocks in Lancaster that were sold bearing her husband's name. "
Brochure of the First Reformed Church (UCC) notes that in the 1760s, "the French Laroys" belonged to this church. "One chronicler called the LeRoy sisters (four daughters of a local clockmaker) the 'Belles of the congregation.'... Anna Maria, the youngest of the sisters, learned her father's trade and was said to be 'as good a clockmaker' as he was. She and her husband, Wilton Atkinson, took over the family business." (Note: Abrum Laroy died in 1763).
Above brochure is http://visithistoricalancaster.com/pdf/02LP109 HOW-FR-UCC
Call to church office & conversation with paster Dana Schlegel offered no clues to source of above information (Jan. 2017).
Place of Origin
Lancaster
Credit
In memory of Dr. George Rohrer and Mrs. & Mrs. Henry A. Rohrer by Mary Louise Webster, Heritage Center Collection
Eight-day, tall case clock by John George Hoff, Sr., in a flat-top Chippendale walnut case.
Brass dial has pewter chapter ring with Roman numerals for the hour and Arabic numerals for the seconds. Separate seconds dial below XII. Pewter spandrels. "George Hoff" engraved at bottom of dial, above a calendar window. Painted moon wheel at top has moon on a field of stars.
Bonnet has molded cornice, arched door and arched side windows. Engaged columns at all four corners. Waist has wide chambered corners with lambequins at top and bottom. Door has arched top and molded edges; brass escutcheon (replaced?); door is hung by two brass steeple butt hinges. Base has plain sides and chamfered corners that match those at waist. Molding above four ogee bracket feet.
J.J. Snyder notes that this clock case with wide chamfers relates to other pieces with the same feature, e.g. G.03.1.1 (Jenkins family bookcase on desk) and P.78.76 (Old family bonnet top high chest). The Hoff clock chamfers, however, are not fluted like the large case pieces.
See photo of clock in Wood and Kramer's clock book, p. 37.
Provenance
Professor Kauffman said on 4-23-99 that he purchased this clock from a dealer after Joe Kindig refused it because it was a flat top. A receipt (now in file) was tacked to inside of clock case documenting the purchase from collector/dealer Melvin Hubley of Lancaster City in 1955 (cost $545).
Modest wear, right side light is cracked, molding missing at right side of waist at bottom. Base is scarred, some cracks, especially aroung feet and moldiing. Unfilled nail repair holes at base.
Finish has orange peel surface.
Object ID
G.96.37.1
Place of Origin
Lancaster
Credit
Gift of Henry J. Kauffman, Heritage Center Collection
Eight day tall case clock with works by Isaac Chandlee. White dial has Roman numeral hours, a seconds dial under XII and a date wheel above the VI. Spandrels painted with stylized shells and arch at dial top depicts European bldgs. (a chapel?).
Walnut Chippendale case has unusual features. Scroll pediment has three urn and spire finials (spire sawed off center one), two on plinths at corners and one on a central raised keystone. Keystone and plinths have gouge-decoration in a vertical broken line pattern alternating with solid vertical lines. Four corner columns are scored to resemble flutingTympanum, pendulum door and raised panel on base each have figured grain. Unusual wing-shaped upper corners on pendulum door and base panel. Ogee bracket feet have spurs and sit on pads. Decorative center drop on skirt.
Provenance
Early 19th c. insect-eaten paper with former owner's name is affixed to back of trunk interior: "Octavian/Octavias Feinler Newprovidence(sic)." Additional lines of script damaged. Feinler was a tavern owner. Archives has applications for a tavern license 1835-1838, 1840-1841 and 1843. The 1840 census indicates he was then living in Lancaster City. Charged with assault & battery in 1842. Petitioned a writ of habeas corpus in 1856, claiming he was unjustly imprisoned.
Apparent later descent within the Brown family to donor.
Finish on clock is weathered and soiled, perhaps from storage in an outbuilding, Some areas of base have no finish remaining. Joint separation at left front corner of base. Checks / cracks in pendulum door.
Glass of bonnet door is broken at bottom left corner. Cracks on bonnet sides below windows. Interior bottom broken out / missing, with remaining bent rosehead nails at sides.
Object ID
2010.028
Notes
Clockmaker Benjamin Chandlee Jr. had 4 sons, all of whom would produce clocks. Isaac Chandlee, the youngest, was born in 1760 and began his career in a partnership with his brother Ellis. Ellis most likely made the clock works while Isaac did the finishing. Most of Isaac's clocks (including those made in partnership with Ellis) were probably made between 1792-1804. The Chandlee family also had a reputation for their scientific instruments and several surveying compasses with Isaac's signature are known.
Like his family, Isaac was a Quaker, and is described as "laboring quietly in the moral and religious duties assigned him." (Johnston's History of Cecil county, Maryland, pp.158-9) He never married, but kept house with his aunt, Susannah Folwell. Isaac remained in Nottingham his whole life and died in 1813.
Eight-day tall case clock w/ cherry case & walnut inlay. White-painted arched dial has Arabic numerals, sweep seconds and calendar hands, exceptionally well painted dial w/ fan-decorated spandrels & rare rope-like border on chapter ring. Signed "Martin Shreiner" over "No. 182". Clock expert Gary Sullivan says dial was made by Samuel Curtis & Knowles of Boston who later operated out of Philadelphia (see Notes).
Bonnet has four free-standing corner columns, broken arch pediment with inlaid fylfot rosettes at terminals and three urn finials (likely replacements) on tall plinths and a central keystone medallion at the tympanum.
Above rectangular thumbnail molded waist door with hollow top corners is an inlaid eagle within an inlaid walnut oval within multi-line inlay. Eagle has wax-infilled shield and banner in his beak that reads, "Bluribus Unum," (without the initial "E" and Pluribus misspelled). Large inlaid oval on door and brass steeple butt hinges on door. Quarter columns have reeded chamfers which extend only 3/4 of the way up, terminating in lambs tongues.
Facade of base is veneered with mitered corners surrounding a large inlaid square with fan corners. At bottom is horizontal double line of string inlay. There is a drop apron and four French feet. The weights, winding key and door lock & key are not original.
Notes: J.J. Snyder has studied eagle inlaid clock cases and notes in 12/5/96 letter to HC Director, "It is virtually certain that the workshop of Emanuel Deyer of Manheim was the source of many of these..." In 12/15/96 letter he notes that two eagle types were used - symmetrical & asymmetrical, as on this clock.
Stacy Wood's 1995 article on Martin Shreiner notes on p. 580 that a Shreiner clockworks numbered #180 is dated 1815. Thus, we can safely say that this clock - #182 - would be dated about the same year.
Lancaster Borough (clockworks) and probably Manheim (case)
Provenance
Donor is great, great, great-grandson of Shreiner. Clock descended through the Cochran family to him.
Case cracked in many places, e.g.across eagle & cove molding above base. Heavily refinished. Urn finials likely replaced. Infill at cracks and separated joints. Strip added to left side of door opening where door locks, and repair at upper left corner. Wood loss at left hollow corner of door; door lock replaced; one-inch-long gouge in veneer of base at left side of front. Chipped at corners and feet; dents on base front. Dial overpainted at many places.
Object ID
G.96.31.1
Notes
See commentary on clock by John J. Snyder, Jr. in his letter of 5 Dec 1996. He notes the clock has "mediocre surface and finish, many repairs and patches, and questionable urn finials."
In 2015, clock expert Gary Sullivan stated that Shreiner used dials made by Samuel Curtis of Boston (commonly have a paper label on reverse, reading "Curtis Manufactory for Patton & Jones, Phila.) Popularity of tall case clocks lasted longer in PA, so Curtis moved to Phila. Abraham Patton & Samuel C. Jones formed a partnership in 1797 called "Patton, Jones & Co." Changed to "Patton & Jones" in 1798. Parnership failed in 1814 when they could no longer get materials from England due to the War of 1812. Tell tale sign is the banner sign spanning the globes under the moon wheel.
Works made by Martin Shreiner, Sr. (1769-1829). Case attributed to Emanuel Deyer.
Credit
Gift of Paul A. Mueller, Jr., Heritage Center Collection
Walnut tall case 8-day clock has molded bonnet w/ arched top & a step-down molded frieze. All four corners have turned sausage & ring columns w/ fluted & tapered terminals (tapered only at clock sides). Tombstone door and side windows. White iron dial has Roman numeral chapter ring; other numerals Arabic. Three iron hands. Small seconds wheel below XII and working moon phase wheel at top. Raised gilt floral & foliate spandrels. Signed in cursive at dial bottom: "Frederick Maus". Below is "PHILADELPHIA" over "No. 1".
Philadelphia (clockworks) and likely Lancaster Co. (case)
Waist has fluted quarter columns and tombstone arched door of figured wood w/ conforming opening, a top rail also of figured wood, and mitered joints at top. Door hinges replaced; lock repositioned upward. Base has fluted quarter columns; front has an applied turtle-form panel of unusually elongated "legs". Ogee bracket feet replaced. Case is not Phila.; most likely Lancaster Co.
Frederick Maus made clocks in Philadelphia circa 1780s. Son of Jacob Maus (?-1785), also a clockmaker. He is known to have traveled to Lancaster at least once, Aug or Sept 1861. One of his clocks is owned by Independence Hall.
Provenance
Owned and passed down through the Bausman family
First owner was reportedly Andreas Bausman (1734-1814) who settled near Lancaster c. 1755 and bought 317 acres along what is now Millersville Pike, Bausman, PA. When he died in 1814 he was one of the wealthiest farmers in the county. (See "clock and case" on his 1814 inventory). Having no heirs, his nephew, John Bausman (1780-1861), immigrated to Lancaster from Germany in 1802 to take over Andreas' estate. He lived there and was a successful farmer until his death in 1861.
Descent in Bausman family, finally to donor's gr. grandfather Bausman, to his daughter (donor's grandmother) Lula Bausman (married Walt Dunlap)who willed clock to donor.
Tall Case Clock, signed "John Hoff / LANCASTER" below center Eight-day musical clock has quarter chime on 4 bells. White dial has Arabic numerals; moon wheel at top; seconds hand and calendar hand, 3 winding arbor holes. Inner plate of clockworks is marked "OSBORNE." Purchased from Hoff in 1810 by John Kendig (1774-1822) of Willow Street.
Restrained scroll pediment and inverted stylized "shell" under center urn finial. Two side urn finials. Two-color roundels in place of rosettes. Veneer on bonnet door and figured veneer on face of pendulum door and base. Chamfered quarter columns. Flared feet and scrolled skirt.
Case attributed to Josiah Shufflebottom.
Provenance
Descent from John Kendig, original owner in Willow Street to son John Herr Kendig, Jr. of Willow Street to daughter Addah/Ada Louisa Kendig (married Franklin Harnish Bare, a watchmaker at Bowman's) of Lancaster City to son Kendig H. Bare of Lancaster to son Howard C. Bare of Lancaster (donor). Similar musical clock at Winterthur (#57.1026) made by George Hoff.
George Hoff, Sr., settled with his wife in Lancaster in 1765, shortly after immingrating to America from Germany. Already trained as a clockmaker, he taught his craft to his three sons who carried on the family business until the mid-1800s. The Hoffs' workshop and home were located at 37-39 West King Street, the site of the Hager parking lot.
Walnut flat-top tall case clock made by John George Hoff, Sr. Arched iron dial (circa 1770), has pewter attachments, a chapter ring, spandrels and lunette. Attachments probably made by Hoff himself. Roman numerals used with stylized fleur-de-lis half-hour markers.The two hands are wide and stubby, cut from iron sheeting. Asymmetrical winding arbor holes.
Bonnet has tall arched side windows. Plain columns on hood; plain quarter columns on waist and base. Thin molding at bottom of base.
Note: John J. Snyder, Jr. states "This is one of the finest flat-top clock cases from Lancaster County; it is distinguished by its molded platform on the hood, crisp cove molding of the cornice, and narrow waist section." (Clockmakers of Lancaster County, p. 36 and p.113).
Tall case clock with inlaid borders and mitered, figured veneers and string inlays on front surfaces. White dial has paint-decorated spandrels with raised lines of paint. Signed "SOLOMON PARKE / Philadelphia" below center dial and calendar wheel. Roman numerals on painted chapter ring; moon wheel at top.
Bonnet has scroll pediment with "reeded" face on scrolls with small, round rosettes. Three ball and spire finials, center on on keystone outlined with lightwood string inlay. String inlay outlines tympanum. Bonnet door has veneer with lightwood escutcheon inlay. Four free-standing columns.
Chamfered corners on trunk and base with triple lines of vertical lightwood stringing. Figured wood on pendulum door and base panel surrounded by wide string inlay of tiger maple? edged with lighter wood. Straight bracket feet.
Parke worked as a clockmaker in Newtown, Bucks Co. for nearly 10 years before moving to a larger facility in Philadelphia in 1790. He produced clocks under his own name until about 1805 when he changed the signature on his clocks to "Solomon Parke & Son."
Provenance
Typescript page in file states clock was owned by Elmer Ellsworth Hansell (1863-1940) and Amanda Matilda Storch (1874-1966) of Philadelphia, married 1895.
Clock then passed to son Elmer Ellsworth Hansell, Jr. (1903-1974) and wife Virginia Palmer (1907- ? ), married 1935. Elmer Jr. was a civil engineer in Lancaster, working with John H. Wickersham Eng. & Construction Co.
Bottom of interior has broken out board. Some veneer damage with small repairs. Along top of base front are three plugged screw holes.
Object ID
2003.023
Notes
Notes in file state the Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia own a Solomon Parke clock as does Mrs. Chris. Martin (Mary), of Lancaster.
Research by volunteer : Solomon Parke worked in Newtown and Southampton, Bucks County as a clockmaker. He then moved to Philadelphia where he was listed in directories from 1791-1822. At different times he signed his clocks, "Solomon Parke, Philad," "Solomon Parke and Company," and "Solomon Parke and Son." Solomon is believed to be the father of watchmaker Charles B. Solomon. He had a large clock manufactory and employed French, German, and Swiss workers in the assembly of eight day movements.
Eight-day tall case clock of walnut, engraved "Jacob Gorgas / at Ephrata / 1771" on a silvered round cartouche within dial arch. Engraved silvered dial has chapter ring with Roman numerals, interspersed with fleurs-de-lis marking the half hours. Recessed center dial has foliate and floral engraving. Small seconds dial at top has engraved 4-petal flower within raised circular frame. Calendar wheel in aperture at bottom. Six white metal spandrel pieces restored with gold leaf in 1990.
Scroll-pediment case has molded rectangular base panel and molded frames on the side windows of the hood. The thin molding of the scroll pediment and plain roundels which form the rosettes are probably an updating of the case done in the Federal period, about 1790-1810 (per John J. Snyder, Jr., p. 47 of Lancaster Clockmakers book). Central urn finial has double ringed spire. Arched pendulum door has butt hinges and lock escutcheon. Waist section and base both have chamfered corners with lamb's tongues. Ogee bracket feet.
NOTE: Upper section of bonnet was indeed reworked. Cover board is removable, revealing a compartment containing a floor-mounted bell with strike hammer activated by a "pull chain" passing through floor board to clockworks beneath. Leaf spring attached under "floor board" activates strike hammer. Signed underneath lid board is "Repaired by God (?) Zahm / Lancaster May 1887." This is apparently Godfried M. Zahm (1817-1895), a clock and watch maker in Lancaster.
Jacob Gorgas, Sr. (1728-1798)
Provenance
Clock purchased by Irvin Hoffman Nolt, Sr. of Willow Street. He purchased 3 clocks for each of his 3 children. Gorgas clock given to son Irvin H. Nolt, Jr. (b. 1920 m. 1950) circa 1935 (while teenager). When Irvin Jr. moved to Florida in late 1940s, he entrusted the clock to his aunt Mabel H. Nolt (1886-1971) for storage. Mabel forgot Irvin was owner, so willed the clock to LCHS. (Informant: daughter of Irvin Jr., Nancy Nolt of Lancaster).
Case finish restored Nov. 1989 by Clifford Clayton. Restoration of dial parts in March 1990 by (1) chemical removal of the earlier improper silver plate surface by Theo. R. Schwalm and (2) resilvering of dial parts by John D. Metcalfe. Simultaneous restoration of white metal spandrel pieces (6) by gold leaf application by Jean Ankrum of York.
1887 repair of upper bonnet chamber by G. Zahm, involving remounting of the single bell above the movement. Very visible nail has been toe-nailed into top of left side window from the molding above.
Object ID
1971.031
Credit
Bequest of Mabel H. Nolt estate in memory of LeRoy H. Nolt
Tall Case clock with 8-day works made by Jacob Gorgas. Black repainted dial has Arabic numerals, a sweep seconds hand and a moon wheel.
Cherry wood case has scrolled pediment with roundels. Three spherical brass finials; eagle on center one. Keystone motif under center finial. Four plain round columns with swells below center. Shield-shape side windows. Hollow cornered waist door. Rectangle of applied molding on base front. French feet and scalloped skirt.
Provenance
Donor, Mrs. John H. Widmyer, states clock came through her husband's family.
Pronounced wide cracks in base section; one at upper right of front panel has been filled with wood. Upper pediment has two cracks across front (repairs).
