Clock, Tall Case
- Title:
- Nathaniel Edwards Tall Case Clock
- Object Name:
- Clock, Tall Case
- Creator:
- Edwards, Nathaniel b.1770
- Date:
- 1790-1800
- Description:
- Mahogany tall case clock. The hood is arched with a broken scroll pediment and two cast brass finials. Two columns with brass bases and capitols flank the dial. The clock face is white enameled iron with polychrome fruits painted in the four corners. There are both roman and arabic numerals. There are a seconds and a date mechanism, two filigree hands and a moon attachment with a polycrome moon, stars, and sun. "Nathan'l Edwards" is inscribed on the face. There is a brass and wood winding key. The arch from the hood is repeated on the pendulum door. Brass escutcheons and a key mechanism are in brass upper and lower case. The base has ogee bracket feet.
The clock was owned by Elizabeth Morison Smith who bought the clock with money made from linen she made on her farm, Elm Hill in Peterborough. Family lore says the clock was purchased in 1760 but it is more likely it was purchased about 1795 when Nathaniel Edwards, Jr. of Acton, MA, the maker, was actively making clocks like this one. - Provenance:
- Smith Family Clock purchased by Elizabeth Morison Smith about 1760. (See description about date of clock). It was in the family for five generations. Elizabeth spun linen from flax grown on Elm Hill Farm and used the proceeds of her labor to purchase the clock. It is said that she carried the clockworks on horseback from New Ipswich to Peterborough when the way was only a line of marked trees.
- Collection Name:
- Monadnock Center Clock Collection
- Item Number:
- 1965.30.1
- Accession Number:
- 1965.30
- Type of Material:
- Objects
- Copyright Statement:
- For information regarding copyright, permissions, and reproductions contact the Monadnock Center for History and Culture at Peterborough Historical Society.
- Credit Line:
- Estate of Miss Susan D. Smith
- Participating Organization:
- Monadnock Center for History and Culture at Peterborough Historical Society
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