Peter Gift Jr. Clockmaker working in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. An inlaid mahogany case tall clock of superb design most likely made by the Reading cabinetmakers Daniel Rhein and or his apprentice or journeyman Henry Quast. 219111.

This handsome 19th-century Federal mahogany tall case clock is nicely proportioned. Regarding their distinctive case presentation and form, similar clocks have been found with their dials signed by other Kutztown and Reading, Pennsylvania, Clockmakers. A signed Daniel Rose example is currently displayed in the Berks County Center. A Benjamin Whitman example exists that was sold by Philip Bradley. A Daniel Oyster example was recently offered for sale by Adams Brown in Cranbury, NJ, in 2020. And lastly, a fantastic example signed by the Reading clockmaker Jacob Diehl is displayed in the Americana Wing, Gallery 723, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. These cases are now thought to have been constructed by the Reading cabinetmakers Daniel Rhein and his apprentice or journeyman Henry Quast.

The extensive use of carefully chosen figured mahogany throughout the case design suggests that it was most likely made for a townhouse or a metropolitan customer. The surface is clean, and the finish appears to be 50 or more years older. This case stands on four flared French feet. They exhibit excellent height and transition through a delicate scroll pattern from one to the next. The feet are separated from the base section by a tiger maple veneer. The base panel formatting is complex. Numerous decorative veneer patterns attract one's attention. The center section features a crotch-veneered oval panel framed with a three-line banding. The mahogany selected for the next section is book-matched. The grain pattern features contrasting radiants that shoot out and away from the center section. The outer edges of the base are veneered with strips of tiger maple that run the length of the base panel. The waist section is long and narrow. It features many very similar design elements that are also exhibited in the base. The wood selected is first-rate. The waist door is rectangular in shape. The front corners of the waist are canted and feature tiger maple rectangular panels. Above the door is a decorative dark line intersecting pattern set into a tiger maple panel.

The bonnet features a stylized pediment top. The rayed pediment is wonderfully formatted. Three maple panels are the dominant theme. A turned wooden urn finial is fitted above each panel. Additional light line inlays divide the mahogany panels into triangular sections. Below the pediment are a cove molding, an ebony band, a broader tiger maple band, and the additional ebony banding. The frieze is line inlaid . The arched hood door is fitted with glass. Two turned wooden columns flank this door and are nicely shaped.

The 14-inch iron dial is brilliantly colored. It is currently thought that the Reading Artist Benjamin Whitman painted dials like this. This is a good example. The four spandrel areas are decorated with geometric patterns or fans. In the lunette is a lunar calendar or a phase of the moon display. Between the moons are two scenes. The first is a nautical scene. A fully rigged ship is depicted sailing across the dial. Opposing this is a woman in a full-length gold dress and a matching headband. She is sitting on a grassy noel with her left hand out, coaxing a bird to land in her hand. Along the perimeter of the lunette is the additional decoration of a painted vine that includes several bunches of grapes and multiple florals. Centered here is a gentleman's chubby face. The time ring features Arabic quarter-hour markers. The minute ring is dotted. Large Arabic numerals are used to indicate the hours. From the center arbor, one will notice the wonderfully formed steel hour and minute hands. These are a matching set. The sweep second hand is delicately formed and counterbalanced. The month calendar is located in the traditional location. In place of the traditional subsidiary seconds, the dial is an automated rocking eagle that is depicted with its wings outstretched. This eagle will move gently in a side-to-side motion with the pendulum's movement. This dial is directly mounted to the movement with four dial feet. It does not require the use of a false plate.

This fine movement is constructed in brass and is of good quality. Four-turned brass pillars shouldered at the ends and feature ring turnings support the two brass plates. The brass plates feature round cutouts at the bottom. Hardened steel shafts support the polished steel pinions and brass gearing. The winding drums are smoothly turned. Each holds approximately eight days of winding cord. The escapement is a recoil format and features a sweep-second-hand display. The weight-driven movement is designed to run for eight days on a full wind. It is two trains or a time-and-strike design having a rack and snail striking system. As a result, it will strike each hour on the hour on a cast iron bell mounted above the movement on a bell stand.

This clock was made circa 1805. It stands an impressive 9 feet tall.

Inventory number 219111.