Monday, August 15, 2011

Antique Clock Face

I mentioned that yesterday was an adventure attending a small antique show.  One item that I couldn't leave there was an old clock face.


The name on the front of the clock is Wright, Birmingham.  There were companies in England that just made clock faces.  Thanks to the internet, I found out within seconds that there were two companies that made clock faces in Birmingham:

Wright, B&Co.           From  1805 - 1820
Wright, Christopher    From  1835 - 1845

Clock faces can be dated based on what is in the corners of the clock.  The link below talks about how to date a clock face.  If there are flowers in the corner, the clock is earlier, 1770 to about 1800.

For more information about clock faces:  http://www.dialrestorer.co.uk/date-painted-dials.html

I wondered what kind of clock case it must have lived in originally.  I hunted on the internet for a clock case that had a similar looking dial with "Wright-Birmingham" and found the following photo:

From Liveauctioneers.com
It looks very similar to my clock face, wish they'd had a closeup.  It appears there is a girl and a fence in it like mine. .

This little 200 year old gardener brightens up my day when I look at her.  Notice the sheep dotting the hillside.   Is this a scene out of the Cotswolds?  Maybe I'll put a battery operated clock and hands on this, and tuck it in a bookshelf near the TV.  Or maybe I'll just talk about how I'm going to do that someday.


6 comments:

  1. Your clockface is beautiful and I can well understand why you couldn't leave it behind.

    - The Tablescaper

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  2. I'm so glad The Tablescaper and dr vacuum like my find! Thanks for visiting.

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  3. got one similar slave washing a race horse its still in its clock old english dating around latter part 18 century

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  4. Love your blog! The images are fantastic, antique clocks really are beautiful!

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  5. There are cases around that will accommodate that dial face and movements around from that time period.
    You should return it to it's original grander.
    I'm doing one as was speak. And I only know of one other gentleman other then me that is doing that.

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