Eardley Norton of London England. A musical tall clock. OO-27.
This impressive tall case clock measures approximately 8 feet 10 inches or 106 inches tall. At its base, this case has a 29 inches wide and 23 inches deep footprint.
This oversized dimension is because this case houses a musical movement. The front portion is a fairly typical eight-day, weight-powered time and strike format. This brass movement is designed to strike on a cast iron bell each hour, actuated on a rack and snail setup. Behind this movement is a wind organ with 54 windpipes and two bellows. Three tunes are pinned into a large wooden barrel. A musical song plays once each hour. A large brass-covered lead weight drives this portion of the mechanism. The power from this weight drives and fills two large air bellows. The air is then driven through the musical pipes as valves are selected by the drum. Eardley Norton's niece, Sarah Norton, married Samuel Green, an established organ builder, on January 1st, 1772. This may have been the source of this mechanism.
The case is veneered in burl walnut veneers that are applied over an oak substructure. The veneers feature excellent figures highlighted by an older finish. The bombe' shaped base is raised off the floor by an applied molding that rests flat on the floor. The base features a broad crossbanded framing, and the front corners are canted—the waist section steps in. The corners are canted, and this beveled edge terminates in a simple lamb tongue molding. This center section is fitted with a large waist door that is fancifully shaped at the top. This door is also decorated with crossbanding. Through this door, one can access the interior of the case. Wooden grills backed in cloth are mounted on the sides of the hood. This is designed to allow the sound of the mechanism to escape the case more easily yet provide adequate dust protection. The hood features a nicely shaped caddy top. A carving is applied to the center. Turned wooden columns are applied to the sides of the bonnet. These flank the arched bonnet door, which opens to a composite brass dial.
This style of dial predates the painted dial. It is composed of a brass base sheet that is decorated with applied brass spandrels and chapter rings. In the arch of the dial is a silent / strike indicator. This allows one to turn on and off the striking portion of the clock by moving the indicating hand manually. The large chapter ring is also applied to the dial. This ring displays the hours in a Roman numeral format. The five-minute markers are indicated in each of the hour positions. The center of this section is nicely matted and engraved. Matted the dial center aids one's ability to locate the hands while reading the dial. A brass dial will tarnish, making it difficult to read in a room lit by candles. This dial also features the subsidiary seconds dial, which is engraved and silvered. This dial is signed in this location with the Maker's name, "Eardley Norton / St. John's Street / London." The steel hands are wonderfully made.
This very unusual clock was made circa 1775.
Inventory number OO-27.
Eardley Norton is listed as working at 49 St. John's Street, Clerkenwell, between 1762 and 1794. He was a member of the Clockmakers' Company, freed in 1762, and enjoyed a reputation as a highly talented mechanic. He is best known for making complex timepieces, sometimes with musical and astronomical movements for the export markets. This included Turkey and the Far East. The most notable may be his four-dial astronomical clock, which he made to stand in the library of Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace, London). In addition, there are clocks made by him in the Royal Collection, numerous museums worldwide, and some of the world's finest collections, including a bracket clock in the Virginia Museum, a very small cartel clock in the National Museum of Stockholm, a marine chronometer in the Ilbert Collection and an elaborate automaton clock with organ in the Palace Museum located in Peking. Norton made an astronomical clock for George III, which still stands in Buckingham Palace. On his death, his business was taken over by the partnership of Gravell and Tolkien.
