John Avery Preston, Connecticut. A fine Chippendale cherry-cased tall clock. 226087.
Among the seven John Avery tall clock examples I have identified, this example is closely related to the clock in the Capt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House Museum, which overlooks the upper end of Stonington Harbor. Both cases share many similar design elements. Our clock exhibits narrower proportions.
This cherry case retains an older historic finish. The cabinet is presented in a variety of soft brown tones and lacks the flash of a modern finish. The warm brown coloring has hints of a reddish tint. Against a white wall, this historic clock will warm up the room.
This clock stands on four ogee bracket feet. Their design is somewhat compressed yet still includes a unique spur return. The feet are applied to the stepped base molding. The base features an unusual construction detail. The side panels frame the front panel. As a result, the pinned joinery is visible from the front. A drop or scalloped apron is tucked under the lower waist molding. This detail is present on all three visible sides of the broadly formed base. The waist section is long and narrow, centering a tombstone-shaped waist door. This door is hinged on the right and secured with a lock on the left. The keyhole for the lock is framed with a decorative brass escutcheon. The door has a molded edge and provides access to the interior of the case. The brass-faced pendulum and two lead drive weights are accessible through this door. The front corners of the waist are decorated with canted corners, terminating in a lamb's tongue molding. The canted facings feature three vertical flutes. The hood rests on the upper cove molding. Fully turned and fluted hood columns terminate at both ends in brass capitals and bases. These columns flank the arched hood door and visually support the molded arched molding. This molding is a distinctive form and is surmounted with a whale’s-tail fret and three fluted chimneys, each supporting a wonderfully carved flame finial. The hood's sides are fitted with rectangular glass panels. Through these, one can glimpse the interior of the case, including the clock mechanism. The arched bonnet door opens to access the clock's dial.
This dial style predates the painted dial. It comprises a brass base sheet decorated with six applied cast brass spandrels and engraved information rings. The Maker's name boss is centered in the lunette. The slightly convex surface is signed “John Avery / PRESTON.” The cast spandrels that frame this boss are a “Dolphin” form. The four additional spandrels that are located in the corners of the dial are called “Cockleshell.” These are nicely detailed and a pleasant alternative to the common Rococo forms. The large chapter ring is also applied to the dial. Arabic five-minute markers are indicated on the outside of each hour position. A closed minute track separates these from the Roman-style hour numerals. The center section of this dial is technically matted. It is not as finely executed as London dials of the period. Matting a dial is a process of texturing the brass to aid in one's ability to locate the hands while reading the dial. A brass dial will tarnish over time, making it somewhat difficult to read in candlelit rooms. This dial also features the subsidiary seconds dial and a small window that displays the calendar day. These are engraved and silvered. The steel hands are wonderfully made.
This fine movement is constructed in brass and is of good quality. Four shaped brass pillars support the two large brass plates. Hardened steel shafts support the polished steel pinions, brass gearing, and recoil escapement. The winding drums are smooth. The weight-driven movement is designed to run for eight days on a full wind. It is a two-train, time-and-strike design with a rack-and-snail striking system. As a result, it strikes on the hour. This is done on a cast-iron bell mounted above the movement. It is of excellent quality.
This clock was made circa 1780.
The case stands 7 feet 8.5 inches (92.5 inches) tall to the top of the center finial. It is 20.5 inches wide and 10 inches deep.
Inventory number 226087.
John Avery was born in Preston, Connecticut, on December 6, 1732, the son of Deacon John (1702-1789) and Ann Stanton (1708-1750) Avery. He married twice. His first wife, Mary Parke, married him on January 22, 1752, in Preston. They had at least eight children, four boys and four girls. Three of the boys pursued clockmaking and silversmithing trades. They included John (1776-1815), Samuel ( 1760-1836), and William (1765-1798). Mary died in 1769. His second wife was Experience Stanton. They married on April 14, 1770, in Preston. John had six more children.
John worked as a farmer, goldsmith, engraver, and clockmaker. After the revolution, Preston became an agricultural hub, supplying goods to the port city of Norwich, south on the River Thames. It was well suited to grazing livestock and growing grains because of its rich soil. Its forests supplied lumber. John's poor health forced him out of farming and into his later trades. He is described as a mechanical genius. His teacher is unknown. Current scholarship suggests he may have been self-taught and trained his sons, John Jr. and William. John’s surviving account book covers 1762 to his death in 1794. The variety of entries suggests he was a “jack of all trades.” Besides clocks, he made silver spoons, buckles, rings, buttons, hair combs, silver and gold necklaces, engraved a seal for the Town, hinges, saddles, gun trimmings, and many other small items. He also ran a fine business repairing watches, guns, scales, swords, spectacles, warming pans, brass kettles, tea pots and the like. John was also a tailor and shoemaker, as charges for making shirts, trousers, suits, coats, stockings, shoes and boots frequently appear. He had business dealings with fellow clockmaker Reuben Ingraham. Avery provided Ingraham with a spectacular dial which he engraved. This dial shows the finest workmanship of the day. He became an expert engraver. A couple of known dials illustrate his high skill. His home was on the east side of Avery Pond. His homestead still stands today. He became involved in civic affairs, serving as a justice of the peace and as a selectman of Preston in 1774 and 1775. He served as an ensign and then a lieutenant of the train band of Preston in 1774. During the Revolution, he procured a paid substitute to serve in his place.
John died on July 23, 1794, in Preston. He is buried in the Avery Cemetery in Preston. A small number of clocks are known to us.
