A Massachusetts Shelf Clock, Aaron Willard, about 1820

Object Details

Willard, Aaron

Description

Certain factors peculiar to the American colonies guided the inventive activities of colonial clockmakers. Brass, the customary material for clock movements, was expensive. The market for large, complex, and costly clocks was small; people wanted inexpensive, reliable timekeepers. American clockmakers responded by substituting wood for brass, designing radically new case styles, and introducing mass production.

The shelf clock, a distinctly American design, fitted conditions in the colonies perfectly. The Massachusetts shelf clock, or half clock, was developed in the 1770s, with the Boston area's Willard brothers playing leading roles. Massachusetts clockmakers continued to produce it for about half a century thereafter. It was in essence a tall case clock with the trunk left out, consisting only of a hood and base about three feet tall. Its brass movement resembled the traditional tall case movement, only simplified and much reduced in size.

The specimen shown is marked "Aaron Willard/Boston." Like his older brothers Benjamin and Simon, Aaron Willard (1757-1844) moved from the family homestead in Grafton, Massachusetts, to Boston around 1780, where he became a prolific and prosperous clockmaker. He retired in 1823 and turned his business over to his son Aaron, Jr. The clock is of a design that Aaron produced late in his career and apparently in considerable numbers. The clock is an eight-day "timepiece," that is, a timekeeper without the means to strike the hours. Instead it has an alarm mechanism that creates a rousing noise by rapping the inside of the wooden case.

Location

Currently not on view

ca 1820

ID Number

ME.318993

catalog number

318993

accession number

236079

Object Name

clock

Other Terms

clock; Mechanical, Weight-Driven; Shelf Clock

Physical Description

"brass" (movement material)

wood (case material)

Measurements

overall: 35 1/2 in x 12 3/4 in x 6 1/4 in; 90.17 cm x 32.385 cm x 15.875 cm

base: 15 in; 38.1 cm

face: 5 in; 12.7 cm

place made

United States: Massachusetts, Boston

See more items in

Work and Industry: Mechanisms

Domestic Furnishings

National Museum of American History

Record ID

nmah_852087

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-9fbb-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa