William Crawford of Oakham, Mass. This is a diminutive sized tall case clock. RR-59.
This very good example stands a mere 7 feet 4 inches tall to the top of the center finial and exhibits good, narrow proportions. The case is cherry, and New England white pine is the secondary wood. The cherry wood currently retains an older and possibly original finish. The case stands on a simple cut-out bracket base. This large molding, incorporating the feet, is applied to the three sides of the compressed base. This stylistic feature follows the early form. The waist section is long and narrow and features a large tombstone-shaped waist door trimmed with a molded edge. In the arch of this door is a carved fan or ray that includes six petals. These are three-dimensional in form. The hood or bonnet features a swan's neck pediment design. The arches exhibit good height and are unusually narrow. Three large brass ball-and-spike finials are mounted on the top of the hood. The bonnet door is in an arched form and is glazed. Four smoothly turned columns support the arch molding. These are secured in brass capitals and bases. Tombstone-shaped side lights are positioned on the sides of the hood. They are fitted with glass and provide visual access to the case's interior.
This style of dial predates the painted dial. It is composed of a brass base sheet decorated with applied spandrels and a chapter ring. In the arch of the dial is the Maker's name-boss signed in script engraving, "William Crawford / Oakham." The chapter or time ring is also applied to the dial. This ring displays the hours in Roman-style numerals, and the five-minute markers in an Arabic style. The center of this section is nicely matted. This was likely done to aid in locating the hands while reading the dial. A brass dial will tarnish, making it difficult to read in a room lit by candles. The steel hour and minute hands are skillfully made. This dial also features the subsidiary seconds dial, which is engraved and countersunk into the surface of the dial. This area is decorated with a compass star, and the edges of the opening are scalloped. The calendar date is displayed in the traditional location and can be viewed through the access square.
Behind the dial is a brass weight-driven movement designed to run for eight days on a full wind. It will also strike each hour on a cast iron bell. The plates are supported with five turned posts. All of which are mounted to a seat or a saddle board. The winding drums are grooved to accept the weight cord. The pendulum features a wooden rod and a brass-faced lead bob.
This fine Central Massachusetts tall clock was made circa 1785.
Inventory number RR-59.
William Crawford was born in Rutland, Massachusetts, on October 23, 1745, as the fifth son of Alexander and Elizabeth Crawford. The family relocated to Oakham in 1750, where Alexander became one of the town's founders. The identity of Crawford's clockmaking mentor remains unknown. A tall clock with a 1764 dial indicates that Crawford was 21 years old when he produced it. Records also confirm that he manufactured firearms. Both William and his brother John served as soldiers during the American Revolution, with William ultimately attaining the rank of Captain. According to a 1934 letter from the Oakham Town Clerk, the clockmaker "marched as Sergeant of the Oakham Company, when it responded to the alarm of July 23, 1773, from Rhode Island, and also Sergeant on the Alarm of August 20, 1777, from Bennington. He also has credit for a campaign to Boston, beginning April 1, 1778." In 1773, William married Mary Henderson, daughter of Lieutenant James Henderson of Rutland. The couple had eleven children. Crawford resided in Oakham for the remainder of his life and died there on June 30, 1833, at the age of 87. His house remains standing, and the "Clock room" is reportedly still intact.
Oakham, incorporated in 1762, remains a small town in central Massachusetts. It is located north of Spencer and west of Rutland. The town was originally known as "Rutland West Wing." Some of the earliest settlers reportedly came from Oakham, England, which influenced the town's name.
Limited information is available regarding Crawford's personal life. A total of nine tall clocks made by him have been documented. Of these, five have passed through our business. Two Crawford-signed tall clocks are held in museum collections: one is part of the Daughters of the American Revolution collection and is displayed at Memorial Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, while the other is in the Old Sturbridge Village Collection in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The remaining examples have been sold at public auction over the past three decades.
Several of Crawford's surviving clocks are constructed on a relatively small scale. At least two examples feature movements wound by pulling a cord, resulting in a running time of less than eight days.
