Gawen Brown, Boston, Massachusetts. An important stained maple case tall clock made circa 1755. FFF-2.
Gawen Brown was in business in Boston for over fifty years. The surviving clock examples signed by him demonstrate his willingness to change with the times. This rare example is one of several known that features a pagoda-style hood. A form that became popular in London in the 1770s. Because of the American Revolution, a small number of clocks were made in this style. The vast majority of the Brown examples we have seen feature cases that reflect a Queen Anne form,m having a bracket base, lacking quarter columns, and a caddy-topped hood. This case represents a transitional period by incorporating the latest London features: applied ogee bracket feet, quarter columns in the waist, and a pagoda top.
This case is made from maple and stained dark to resemble walnut. A modern finish enhances its color and provides a smooth surface. The case rests on applied ogee bracket feet. The waist section has a large tombstone-shaped door with a simple molded edge and door lock. The brass escutcheon framing the lock features a fancy design. This door provides access to the two drive weights and brass-faced pendulum bob. The front corners have fluted quarter columns ending in brass capitals and bases. The bonnet is supported by the upper waist molding. The hood has a pagoda-shaped top. Brass finials are mounted on capped plinths at the corners. The free-standing columns are smoothly turned and flank the hood door. They are mounted in brass capitals and bases and visually support the arch molding. Shaped quarter columns fit the back corners of the hood. The hood sides have large glazed rectangular windows through which the clockworks are visible. The bonnet door is arched and opens to a composite brass dial signed by the maker.
The brass dial generally predates the painted dial. It consists of a brass base sheet decorated with six applied cast brass rococo-style spandrels and chapter rings. In the lunette is a Silent/Strike option. By rotating the hand, the operator can choose to have the clock strike each hour or turn off the striking train altogether. This clock is signed in the center of the dial "Gawen / Brown/ BOSTON." The name is engraved on a nameplate applied to the dial. The large chapter ring is also applied. Arabic five-minute markers appear at each hour position. These are separated from the Roman-style hour numerals by a closed minute track. The center of this section is matted, likely to aid in locating the hands while reading the dial. A brass dial tarnishes over time, making it somewhat difficult to read in candlelight. This dial also features a subsidiary seconds dial and a calendar display. These are engraved and silvered. The steel hands are wonderfully made.
The two-train movement is brass, eight-day duration, and of good quality. Four turned brass pillars support the two large brass plates. Hardened steel shafts support the polished steel pinions and brass gearing. The winding drums are grooved. The escapement is a recoil design. The movement is weight-driven and runs for eight days on a full wind. It is a two-train, time-and-strike design with a rack-and-snail striking system. It strikes each hour on a cast iron bell mounted above the movement. The movement is secured to a wooden saddle board.
This case stands 91.5 inches tall overall. The upper hood molding is 21.5 inches wide and 10.25 inches deep.
Inventory number FFF-2.
This clock was featured in a January 1982 advertisement in Antiques Magazine placed by I. M. Wiese, Antiquarian of Roxbury, Connecticut.
Gawen Brown, a prominent figure in Boston’s colonial era, was born in England in 1719 and died in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1801 at the age of 82. He emigrated to the American colonies before 1749, during a period when Boston was a thriving center of commerce and craftsmanship. On February 6, 1749, Brown advertised in The Boston Evening Post as a "...Clock and Watchmaker lately from London," announcing his new shop at Mr. Johnson's Japanner in Brattle Street, Boston, near Mr. Cooper's Meeting House. This advertisement not only documents his arrival but also highlights the transatlantic connections that brought skilled artisans such as Brown to America.
Among Brown’s earliest public contributions was repairing the clock at the Old North Church, a historic landmark associated with the American Revolution. The church’s clock had remained silent for nearly thirty years until Brown was commissioned to convert its escapement from a balance to a long pendulum arrangement, which was considered an innovative improvement at the time. The restoration, completed before December 1749, demonstrated both Brown’s technical expertise and the increasing demand for precision timekeeping in colonial society.
Between 1752 and 1760, Brown’s shop and residence changed locations several times, a pattern typical for tradesmen adapting to the city’s dynamic growth. A clock engraved with “G. Brown 1755. / No. 77” on the front plate indicates that Brown had produced at least 77 clocks by that year. However, further details about his overall output remain unknown. Brown became particularly renowned for his work on the tower clock at Boston’s Old South Church, a significant civic project. The church, constructed in 1730, originally lacked a clock, and Brown’s installation between 1768 and 1770 provided Boston with an important public timepiece that symbolized both technical progress and community pride.
Brown’s business maintained strong connections to transatlantic trade, as he regularly imported English clocks and watches, according to period newspaper advertisements. From 1789 through 1796, he was consistently listed as a watchmaker in Boston business directories. Today, numerous tall clocks crafted by Brown remain, serving as enduring testaments to his craftsmanship and his significance in Boston’s historical narrative.
Gawen Brown married three times and had twelve children. On April 5, 1750, he married Mary Flagg, with whom he had six children before her death in 1760 at the age of 31. His second wife, Elizabeth Byles, was the daughter of Mather Byles, a prominent clergyman who presided over the Hollis Street Church. Elizabeth Byles died in 1763, three years after their marriage, and had no children. In 1764, Brown married Elizabeth Hill Adams, the widow of Dr. Joseph Adams, who was the brother of Samuel Adams. Elizabeth Hill Adams bore Brown six additional children.
