Ted E. Burleigh Jr., of Winchester, Massachusetts. A reproduction wall timepiece featuring a gilded rope case. 219081.
This is an outstanding reproduction of a wall timepiece made by Ted Burleigh of Winchester, MA. This wall clock form was made famous by the Roxbury, Massachusetts, clockmaker, Simon Willard.
This timepiece case measures 42 inches long. The case is constructed in mahogany, and the frames and presentation bracket are finished in gold leaf. The condition of the gilding is excellent. You will also find that the case is die-stamped, “T. E. D. 117” on numerous case construction elements. The bezel, eagle finial, and side arms are brass. The bezel is fitted with a convex piece of glass. The finial, pictured here is a replacement. The original finial remains with the clock. It is an acorn form and is also gilded. (The last owners of the clock preferred eagles over acorns.) The frames are fitted with reverse-painted tablets that were painted by Fran Burleigh, Ted's wife. The lower glass is signed and dated on the back. Both glasses exhibit a very high degree of skill. The detailing is excellent, and the colors are vibrant. The lower tablet depicts the naval battle between the Hornet and the Penguin. The tablet is titled at the bottom, “1815 The Hornet & Penguin.” On March 23rd, 1815, the USS Hornet captured the HMS Penguin after a short battle off the coast of Tristan da Cunha. Many timepieces of the early period featured War of 1812 battles. Just after the War, Americans celebrated their victories by including them in locations like this. These examples are prized by collectors today. The throat glass features a traditional theme with an intricate design. The coloring and detailing are first-rate. The dial is painted on metal and features the “T. E. Burleigh, JR" signature. It also lists “WINCHESTER, MASS” as the working location below it in block letters. The hands are a traditional form having arrow pointers. The movement is brass and die-stamped on the front plate by the manufacturing firm of “Kilbourn & Proctor Inc.” It is also numbered “50320.” This weight-driven movement is designed to run for eight days on a full wind. The weight descends down the center of the case.
This is truly a wonderful example of a beautiful clock.
Inventory number 219081.
Gilders Workshop. Ted and Fran Burleigh, Winchester, Massachusetts.
The Gilders Workshop was located in Winchester, Massachusetts, and opened in 1972. The husband and wife team of Ted and Fran Burleigh were the principals. That year they produced 12 banjo clocks. Before 1975 they were primarily doing restoration and gilding work. Clock production didn't take off until Elmer Stennes died in 1975. The Burleighs did gilding work for Stennes in the end. Their work was excellent.
Ted was the frontman. He was also involved with the carving of various decorative elements and the preparation of the cases for gold leaf where expected. He did the finishing the mahogany cases. He was also responsible for the assembly of the clocks. Components came in from various sources and he assembled and completed the clocks.
Ted's wife, Fran, did the gilding of the decorative wooden components. She trained under Boston's master gilder, Nils Johnson. She learned both water and oil gilding, traditional techniques that made the Burleigh clocks so beautiful. Fran may have been best known for her skill in reverse glass painting and restoration. She was an exceptional artist and a very talented instructor. Fran trained at least three other artists to do reverse painting on glass. All three became very proficient in this skill. Their daughter Cindy worked with them until she married. Ann Banister was working there almost the entire time. Linda Abrams started in 1975 and worked there for approximately four years. After that time, she struck out on her own and continues to do very high-quality work. She is sought out by the most discerning of clientele.
The Burleigh clock dials were painted by Martha Smallwood. This is often helpful in dating an example because she had a habit of pasting a sticker on the back of her dials that dated when they were completed.
The cases were made by Chuck England. He started making cases for them in 1973 and continued to do so until the last run of banjo clocks was made in 1989.
The movements were supplied by Kilbourne & Proctor.
The first clocks were timepieces or banjo clocks. There were four versions. The gilded versions were closely patterned after those made by Lemuel Curtis in Concord, MA before 1820. It is not currently known to me how many banjo clocks they made. In 1981, they were priced at $1,100.
The opportunity to copy a Lemuel Curtis Girandole presented itself in 1973. Ted copied the example now on loan at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. That clock is very well known and is often pictured. It features a wedding scene in the lower glass. It appears that they made 50 of these. In 1981, they were selling for $3,000. This was their most expensive model. You could also order this clock with a thermometer in the waist glass as a special order.
In 1980, the Burleighs copied the Aaron Willard Grafton Wall Clock that is in the collection of Sturbridge Village. They modified the movement of their clock to run for 8 days instead of the original format of 30 hours. The case design is faithful to the original. They made 50 of these clocks which they priced at $2,700.
