Peter Hill Tall Case Clock

Object Details

Hill, Peter

Description

Peter Hill (1767-1820) is one of the few African American professional clockmakers known to have worked in antebellum America. A freed slave, he had a shop first in Burlington Township and then in Mount Holly, New Jersey--two small, predominantly Quaker communities near Philadelphia.

Undoubtedly the Quaker commitment to educating and freeing slaves benefited Hill. While still a slave, he served a traditional apprenticeship with his master, Joseph Hollingshead, Jr., a clockmaker whose brother John and father Joseph, Sr., practiced the trade as well. Hill gained his freedom in 1795. He married, set up a workshop of his own, and purchased land in Burlington. He also may have continued to work for either or both of the Hollingshead brothers for a time. Hill never became rich, but his status as a skilled freedman in a Quaker community permitted him to live comfortably and work independently.

Only a few clocks by Hill are known to survive. The movement of the Smithsonian example, which dates from about 1800, closely resembles English clocks of the period. The painted dial, marked "No. 30/ Peter Hill/ Burlington," is an English import. The clock's walnut case is attributed to the cabinetmaker George Deacon, whose shop was only a few doors from Hill's own home and workshop in Burlington.

Location

Currently not on view

ca 1800

ID Number

ME.335538

catalog number

335538

accession number

323462

Object Name

clock

clock, tall case

Other Terms

clock; Mechanical, Weight-Driven; Tall Case Clock

Physical Description

"brass" (movement material)

wood (case material)

Measurements

overall: 91 in x 22 in x 11 in; 231.14 cm x 55.88 cm x 27.94 cm

hood: 30 1/4 in x 21 1/2 in x 10 3/4 in; 76.835 cm x 54.61 cm x 27.305 cm

case: 83 in x 19 1/2 in x 10 in; 210.82 cm x 49.53 cm x 25.4 cm

movement: 18 1/2 in x 14 3/4 in x 6 3/4 in; 46.99 cm x 37.465 cm x 17.145 cm

weight #1: 8 1/2 in x 3 in; 21.59 cm x 7.62 cm

weight #2: 8 in x 3 in; 20.32 cm x 7.62 cm

case key #1: 1 1/2 in x 3/4 in x 5/32 in; 3.81 cm x 1.905 cm x .381 cm

case key #2: 2 1/2 in x 13/16 in x 3/16 in; 6.35 cm x 2.032 cm x .508 cm

pendulum: 43 in x 4 1/2 in x 1/2 in; 109.22 cm x 11.43 cm x 1.27 cm

winding crank: 4 1/4 in x 4 in x 1 1/4 in; 10.795 cm x 10.16 cm x 3.175 cm

Place Made

United States: New Jersey, Burlington

See more items in

Work and Industry: Mechanisms

Domestic Furnishings

National Museum of American History

Record ID

nmah_856728

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-b41a-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa