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In the closing years of the 18th century, when the young American republic was still defining its cultural and economic identity, a tall clock like this one represented far more than a practical timekeeper. Crafted around 1795 in Roxbury, Massachusetts, by the celebrated clockmaker Simon Willard, it was a statement of refinement, ambition, and trust in skilled workmanship. Commissioned for a client named David Wood, whose name appears on the painted dial alongside Willard’s own, the clock embodies a moment when prosperous New Englanders sought objects that combined scientific precision with the elegance of fine furniture. Rising in richly figured mahogany and automated by a carefully engineered brass movement, the clock reflects the quiet confidence of Federal-era Boston, where artisans, merchants, and patrons together shaped a distinctly American tradition of craftsmanship.
The elegant mahogany case exemplifies the so-called Roxbury style, a form distinguished by balanced proportions, finely figured wood, and restrained but skillful ornament. Standing on ogee bracket feet beneath a stepped base, the case is enriched with delicate line inlays and pictorial motifs, including a conch shell on the base and a floral urn on the tombstone-shaped waist door. Brass stop-fluted quarter columns and an open fretwork bonnet crowned with three brass finials further enhance the architectural dignity of the design.
Inside the case is an English-made painted iron dial produced by the Osbourne Dial Manufactory, identified by its cast false plate. Measuring twelve inches across, the dial features Roman hour numerals, subsidiary seconds, and calendar dials. Its arched bonnet houses a lunar calendar, an appealing complication in the late eighteenth century, when farmers, mariners, and merchants followed the moon’s phases for practical guidance. The dial bears the inscription “Simon Willard” along with the assurance “Warranted for Mr. David Wood.”
The clock retains a particularly desirable printed setup label from the Boston firm of J. & Jos. N. Russell, whose shop operated near the Old State House on Quaker Lane in the 1790s. Such labels are rare survivals and provide valuable insight into the marketing and distribution of clocks in early Boston.
The weight-driven brass movement, designed to run eight days when fully wound, strikes the hour on a bell.
This clock has a storied history of ownership, including Israel Sack's provenance. The clock is recognized and illustrated in authoritative reference works such as American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, Vol. 3 (Washington, DC: Highland House Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 814, no. P3439, and Horology Americana by Lester Dworesty and Robert Dickstein, p. 16. This clock not only embodies the artistry and innovation of its maker but also serves as a tangible link to the social, economic, and technological landscape of Federal-era Boston.
Dimensions: Height 8', Width 20.5", Depth 10"
Inventory 226019
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