Customs and Fashions in Old New EnglandEarle, Alice Morse
History
Customs and Fashions in Old New England
Earle, Alice Morse
New England -- Social life and customs -- To 1775
"To all gentlemen and others: There is lately arrived in Boston by
way of Pennsylvania a Clock maker. If any person or persons hath
any occasions for new Clocks or to have Old Ones turn'd into
Pendulums, or any other thing either in making or mending, they can
go to the Sign of the Clock and Dial on the South Side of the Town
House."
In 1712, in November, appeared in the _News Letter_ the advertisement of
a man who "performed all sorts of New Clocks and Watch works, viz: 30
hour Clocks, Week Clocks, Month Clocks, Spring Table Clocks, Chime
Clocks, quarter Clocks, quarter Chime Clocks, Church Clocks, Terret
Clocks;" and on April 16, 1716, this notice appeared: "Lately come from
London. A Parcel of very Fine Clocks. They go a week and repeat the hour
when Pull'd. In Japan Cases or Wall Nutt."
By this time, in the inventory or "enroulment" of the estate of any
person of note, we always find a clock mentioned. Increase Mather left
to his son Cotton "one Pendilum Clock." Soon appear Japann'd clocks and
Pullup Clocks. In the _New England Weekly Journal_ of October, 1732, the
fourth prize in the Newport lottery was announced to be a clock worth
L65. "A Handsome new Eight day Clock which shows the Moons Age, Strikes
the Quarters on Six very Tunable Bells & is in a Good Japann'd Case in
Imitation of Tortoise Shell & Gold."
This advertisement of Edmund Entwisle, in the _Boston News Letter_ of
November 18, 1742, proves, I think, that they had some very handsome
clocks in those days:
"A Fine Clock. It goes 8 or 9 days with once winding up. And
repeats the Hour it struck last when you pull it. The Dial is 13
inches on the Square & Arched with a SemiCircle on the Top round
which is a strong Plate with this Motto (Time shews the Way of
Lifes Decay) well engraved & silver'd, within the Motto Ring it
shews from behind two Semispheres the Moons Increase & Decrease by
two curious Painted Faces ornamented with Golden Stars between on a
Blue Ground, and a white Circle on the Outside divided into Days
figured at every Third, in which Divisions is shewn the Age by a
fix't Index from the Top, as they pass by the great Circle is
divided into three Concentrick Collums on the outmost of which it
shews the Minute of each Hour and the Middlemost the Hours &c. the
innermost is divided into 31 equal parts figur'd at every other on
which is shewn the Day of the Month by a Hand from the Dial Plate
as the Hour & Minute is, it also shews the Seconds as common & is
ornamented with curious Engravings in a Most Fashionable Manner.
The case is made of very Good Mohogony with Quarter Collums in the
Body, broke in the Surface with Raised Pannels with Quarter Rounds
burs Bands & Strings. The head is ornamented with Gilded Capitalls
Bases & Frise with New fashion'd Balls compos'd of Mohogony with
Gilt Leaves & Flowers."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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