Robert Pope Boston, Massachusetts.

Robert Pope. Boston, Massachusetts, clockmaker, barrel organ maker, and maker of fish hooks.

Robert Pope was born September 3, 1754, in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were Robert Pope (1717-1776), a blacksmith and scythe maker, and Phoebe (Brown) Pope (1716- ). It is logical to assume that he apprenticed under his older brother, Joseph Pope (1748-1826). Joseph was six years older than Robert and was a very talented craftsman. In 1775, Robert married Susannah Holland. This union lasted only a short time since, in 1778, Robert married for a second time to Mary Polly Stoneman. During the American Revolution, Robert served as a fencing master. Robert was at work in Boston as a clockmaker in 1780. In 1785, he was employed to care for Boston's five town clocks, including the clock in the old south church. He advertised in Massachusetts Centinel that his shop was located on Orange Street in Boston's South End. A second advertisement on Saturday, April 29, 1786, said that he "makes Chime and plain clocks, Timepieces, etc. of various constructions, warranted to be equal to any and far superior to many imported from Europe. Table clocks either chime or plain. Clock and Watch springs warranted as above..." In the same year, he offered to make "barrel organs, containing any (moderate) number of keys and stops, and new barrels made to second hand organs, on which he will put any number and kind of tunes, that best suit his employers." It is interesting to note that this is currently the earliest mention of domestic barrel organ manufacture known. A barrel organ is a small organ typically having five or six ranks of pipes. Each barrel is set with projecting pins or staples. The barrel is rotated, and the pins raise the levers that open the air passageways into the pipes. This creates the notes. In 1786, a large fire raged through Boston's South End. More than 60 houses were lost, including his brother Joesph's. Soon after, the two brothers advertised a partnership that was now located on Newbury Street. In 1788, Joseph traveled to Europe, and Robert formed a brief partnership with the clockmaker Stephen Cleverly. In 1787, Robert was the commissary for the government troops at Springfield during Shay's Rebellion. In 1789, Robert was listed as the sole proprietor of a watchmaking shop at 34 Newbury Street. Two years later, he advertised that he made fish hooks. Robert Died in 1793.

Very few clocks are known. One outstanding tall clock example that features an inlaid case made by Dorchester Cabinetmaker Stephen Badlam was sold in New York in 1982. A second example featuring a dial with automation is in a private collection.