Peter Garon, Londini Fecit. This is a floral marquetry decorated longcase clock. This clock dates to the late 17th century. DDD-12.
Peter Garon is listed in Brian Loomes Clockmakers of Britain 1286-1700. He was born about 1772 and apprenticed through the Clockmaker Company in 1687 to Richard Baker till 1694, when he was made a Freeman in August. Lommes records he was a bit of a character. In 1696, Peter got in trouble for forging the name of Mr Legend on a watch he made. In 1697, he was warned for taking unofficial apprentices. His business went bankrupt a couple of times. He married in 1696 and had several children. One son followed him into clockmaker. Peter’s death date is not known. Several watches and clocks have been recorded.
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the English clockmakers were recognized universally as producing the best clock movements and watches. As a result, countries that included Turkey, Spain, Portugal, France, and Russia all imported English clocks.
This case has typical proportions for a clock made during this early period. Clocks of this period tend to be narrow in proportions and are typically constructed on a smaller scale than examples made just 20 years later. This example stands approximately 6 feet 10 inches or 82 inches tall and is 19.25 inches wide at the broadest molding. It represents one of the first forms designed with a 10.5-inches square dial and was made circa 1690.
The case is constructed in oak and is decoratively veneered in richly figured walnut. Many of the moldings are treated with an ebonized finish and provide excellent contrast. The elaborate floral inlaid decoration is a style of work referred to as marquetry. This is a highly skilled process of inlaying decorative patterns into the forward-facing surfaces. Separate pieces of veneer, often colored, are laid out in decorative patterns. Marquetry-decorated tall case clocks were all the rage in London until about 1715. This example features numerous floral designs that are presented in panels. The floral themes include roses, carnations, and tulips. The sides of the case are veneered in figured walnut panels. The walnut veneers were selected for their excellent grain structure. Please note the uneven surface of this design caused by the shifting of the oak substructure due to shrinkage. This is a telltale sign that this case has age and is not a reproduction.
The fine example stands flat on the floor on an applied ebonized molding attached to the base. The base panel is formatted with a cross-banded border that frames a complex floral pattern. An ogee-shaped molding transitions the base to the waist section, which is long and narrow. The rectangular-shaped waist door fills the waist section. It is trimmed with an applied half-round molding treated with an ebonized finish. This door is formatted with three individual inlaid floral-themed panels. It also has an oval cut-out called a lenticle. It is trimmed in wood and fitted with glass. Its purpose is to allow one to view the motion of the brass pendulum bob without opening the clock’s door. It also informs the admirer of this clock that this example is fitted with a long pendulum. At the time this clock was made, the long pendulum was a new technology that significantly improved the accuracy of clocks made 15 years earlier. Open the waist door, and one can easily access the two brass-covered drive weights and the rating nut at the bottom of the brass pendulum bob. The sides of this case are decoratively finished. They are formatted with panels, as was the tradition of many London cabinetmakers. The bonnet is an early style supported by a convex waist molding decorated with floral inlays. The hood is designed with a flat cornice top. A section below this molding is fitted with a pierced brass fret. Below this is a hinged hood door. It has glass fitted into a frame that protects the dial. The front corners of the hood are fitted with barely twisted columns. These are treated with an ebonized finish. Glass rectangular side lights are positioned on each side of the hood.
The 10.5-inch square dial is brass and features applied decorations in the form of spandrels, a time ring, and a seconds ring. The engraved chapter ring frames the matted center on the dial. This center section is textured in an attempt to make the finely formed steel hands more visible when viewing the dial. It is also decorated with several engravings, including a wheat-ear ring and a floral theme around the center arbor. The month calendar, winding squares, and seconds bit hole are all ring-turned. The subsidiary seconds dial is located above the center arbor. The applied time ring is engraved with an interior minute ring, meeting-arrowhead half-hour markers separate Roman-style hour numerals, and a second-minute ring separates the hours from the Arabic five-minute markers. This clock is signed on the lower section of this time ring by the Maker, along with his working location. It reads, ‘Peter Garon – London.” Four heavily cast London cherub-head brass spandrels are applied to the corners of the dial. The hands are beautiful and intricately pierced.
The weight-driven movement is constructed in brass and designed to run for eight days fully wound and strike each hour on a bell mounted above the movement. The strike train features a count-wheel mounted inside the plates attached to the back of the winding barrel. Both winding barrels are grooved. Five knobbed and finned-turned pillars support the large brass plates. The escapement is a recoil design and features a seconds-length pendulum. Overall, this movement is of excellent quality. The fact that it survives today in excellent working order is proof of this.
This clock was made circa 1690.
Inventory number DDD-12.
