A fine mahogany case tall clock with break arch bonnet and a genuine vitreous enamel dial signed "Frans, Dela Balle / London." YY-34.

In Brian Loomes's "Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World," Francis de LA Balle is listed as working in London in 1743 and 1755. Damon Di Mauro, a researcher and contributor to the NAWCC's Bulletin, suggests that he may have been of Huguenot extraction, coming from a Wallonie (now Belgium) clockmaking family. The dating clues provided by this case form and the use of this very unusual choice dial form suggest that de LA Balle was at work from the 1760s through the 1780s. By the time he had set up shop, London had been the leading center of clockmaking for more than 75 years. As a result, clocks made there were of the latest style or fashion and often of the best quality.

Tall case clocks that feature vitreous enamel dials are very difficult to find. For Dela Balle and the marketplace, this would have been a new dial form. Vitreous dials were experimented with as early as the mid-1750s. The development of painted iron dials began in about 1770. These new dial forms were developed as a substitute or replacement for the expensive composite brass dial form. These new dial formats offered several advantages. The painted dials were less costly to produce. Both the vitreous and painted dials were easier to read and allowed the introduction of colors. We suspect very few of these vitreous enamel dials were made, and even fewer have survived due to their fragile nature. 

Manufacturing vitreous dial is a complex and time-consuming process. The process requires glass powder fused onto a copper base at high temperatures. At least two separate firings are needed before the painted decoration can be applied. Once the dial surface was decorated, it would need to be re-fired once more at a low temperature. The finished enamel is then pinned or mounted to a brass frame or substructure. The very nature of these tall clock dials being enamel would put them at significant risk due to their large size. As a result, a tall clock dial is made up of multiple pieces. Due to their smaller size requirements, a more widespread application for this dial format was in watch production. We also see it used occasionally in the design of bracket clocks of the period. A small number of tall clocks that feature this dial form are known to us. Four of these are signed by the London Clockmakers Samuel Toulmin and James Upjohn. Another example is known as signed by a Sheffield clockmaker, Thomas Andrews.

This is an attractive long-case clock. This cabinet exhibits terrific figured mahogany wood selections throughout its construction. The mahogany color is rich and warm and is pleasing to look over. The base is supported on four slightly compressed ogee bracket feet designed with a gentle flare. The lower base moldings are stepped and transition the line in an orderly fashion up to the base section. Here, a figured panel is centered and framed with applied molding. The framing features an interesting shape that incorporates double round corners. This base panel's structure is constructed with vertically grained strips of wood joined together with a miter. The base section transitions up into the waist with molding. The waist is long and is fitted with a large, full-size, rectangularly shaped waist door. This door is trimmed with an applied molding. One can access the drive weights and brass-covered pendulum bob through this door. The front corners of the waist are inset with fluted quarter columns that terminate in brass quarter capitals and bases. The waist section transitions to the hood with a second flared molding. The bonnet or hood is a break arch form. A blind or solid wood frieze separates this double molding design. The large upper cove molding is deeply carved. The break in the center provides space for the finial plinth. Two additional brass ball-and-spiked finials are mounted on the outside corners of the hood. Wooden stopped, and fluted bonnet columns mounted in brass capitals visually support the arched molding. The top capitals are in Corinthian form. The lower capitals are a Doric shape. The bonnet door is arched and fitted with glass. It opens to access the dial.

As is the London tradition, five turned pillars or posts support the two large cast brass plates. Hardened steel shafts support the polished steel pinions and the brass gearing. The works incorporate a recoil escapement and a rack and snail striking arrangement. This clock strikes each hour on a bell mounted above the works. The winding drums are grooved to accept the weight cords in an orderly fashion. Two brass-sleeved weights power the works. The movement is secured to a wooden seatboard that sits on the rails of the case. The pendulum hangs behind the mechanism from a bridge. A brass-faced lead bob is at the bottom of a metal rod. 

This clock was made circa 1775 and stands approximately 7 feet 8 inches tall (92). This clock is 19 inches wide and 10.5 inches deep at the feet.

This clock is inventory number YY-34.