GRANDFATHER’S DIAL

Evening Star, Issue 19021, 17 August 1925, Page 10

GRANDFATHER’S DIAL

HOW CLOCKS BETRAY THEIR AGE Of all the household gods which are handed down from generation none is more greatly prized than a genuine grandfather, or grandmother, clock. Apart from (heir sentimental associations, old English case docks, with their engraved or enamelled dials of brass or wood, possess a simple yet impressive beauty that makes them much sought after by the collector or connoisseur to-day. The oldest cases aro most frequently made of mahogany or oak, often beautifully inlaid and carved. Modern makers favor oak, which looks well with a dull polish, and is preferred by many people to tho shiny mahogany. Sometimes Urn ago of a “ grandfather ” may be found by examining the corner ornaments, or spandrels, as they are called. Of these tho earliest kind was a .single cherub’s head with outstretched wings, and dates back to 1670. Later models, about 1705, have two angels supporting a crown. The face of a grandfather clock very often betrays its ago. The earliest clocks of this kind, those of 1665, had brass dials, with the hours engraved on a separate silvered ring.

The first “ grandfathers ” had an hour hand only, and the silvered hour ring was divided into quarters. At the half-hour the dividing line was carried up between the numerals, and ended in some form of floral decoration, generally a fleur-de-lis. Any clock without these divisions may be identified ns being after the year 1760, for they were continued long after the advent of the minute hand.

This came in 1670, and with it the second circle on the outer edge of the hour ring, and on which the minute spaces wore marked. However, onehand clocks continued to ho' made throughout the eighteenth century, and therefore are not always older than those with two hands. Clocks with enamelled dials belong to the period about the end of tho eighteenth century, and those with iron or painted wooden “ faces ” a little later. But the connoisseur looks for more minute details before deciding on the age of a clock. Various decorations on the dial aro helpful. The seconds dial placed above the hour circle at the figure XII. and the day of the month aperture show a clock to have been made about ICSU.

Clocks of tho Queen Anno period have a herringbone, a leaf or a ribbon border along the edges of the dial. They also have rings round the winding holes, and the day of the month has some engraving around it. Clock-making was at its best in England between the years IGBU and 1765, and the most sought after to-day by collectors are those made in London. Grandmother clocks are smaller, but none the less beautiful than “grandfathers.” They aro generally shorter and narrower in the waist. Genuine examples are very difficult to obtain.— 4 T.P.’s and Cassell ’s AVeekly.’