Thomas Browne, Bristol

Circa 1650

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15 inches high

A very rare brass and copper striking lantern clock with alarm. The distinctive copper dial is beautifully engraved with flower heads and formalised foliage all enclosed by a narrow brass Roman chapter ring with an alarm-set disc in the centre. Above the dial the clock is signed Thomas Browne in Bristoll on the original foliate-pierced gallery fret. The two-train movement would originally have had verge and balance wheel escapement but was converted to the present anchor soon after its invention in the late 17th century. The hours are struck on the large bell via a countwheel at the rear of the movement, the disc in the centre of the dial is now the only surviving part of the alarm system. The brass side doors are rare original survivals however the top finial is a later replacement. Provenance Private collection, Scotland until circa 1950 The collection of the late Norman Langmaid, Washington D.C. Literature George White, English Lantern Clocks, Antique Collectors’ Club, 1989, fig. V/22 Thomas Browne of St. Ewen, Bristol, b. circa 1622 d. 1680 was freed through patrimony in 1642. "Thomas Browne, watch maker is admitted into the Libertys of this Citty for that he is the son of James Browne, a Blacksmith, a freeman of the same – extract taken from the City of Bristol Burgess Books records, November 1642" Browne was known to have had at least 4 apprentices and we know his wife was called Sarah and that they had 6 children. Only 5 clocks by Thomas Browne are known to have survived, the present clock is the only example that is actually signed by Browne. Three examples, including the present clock, are illustrated in English Lantern Clocks op. cit. Of particular interest is that all three are of exceptional quality and all three are instantly recognisable because their dials are made of copper, rather then brass. They are also the earliest known examples of an engraved pattern that was to remain popular in and around the city of Bristol or 50 years.