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A selection of published articles


In addition to appearing as an expert on both popular BBC TV series "The Antiques Roadshow" and "Going for a Song", David has also authored a number of published articles - a selection of which you will find here:

It's Only An Old Grandfather Clock But...

"Oh, my Grandmother had one of those – chopped the case up for firewood!" Its amazing really that after more than a quarter of a century buying and selling antique longcase clocks or Grandfather clocks as people incorrectly but affectionately choose to call them, that I should still be taken aback when someone, on finding out what I do for a living, insists on regaling me with the sordid details of their forbears vandalism.
 
Not that my own family get off scot-free you understand; my own Grandmother consigned the family treasure to the bonfire one Guy Fawkes night, because the back had once played host to a family of woodworm. The appearance of their exit holes had filled the old dear with such horror that the first unsuspecting urchins to knock at our door that November asking for a "penny for the Guy", were presented with the case of our fine Liverpool longcase clock and requested to "put that on your bonfire for us love!" My Grandmother was fond of telling anyone who’d listen, how she had saved the family pile, a modest seaside semi-detached villa, from crumbling to a pile of dust around our very feet. I was not so sure, and was wracked with guilt that my feeble pleadings of a reprieve fell on deaf ears. A hard burden for a six year old to carry, and probably the reason why I now feel duty bound to save every fine Liverpool clock that I can, and re-home it with an appreciative family. Its probably also the reason why I’d never have made it as a barrister, the thought of seeing some poor innocent soul being sent down by the Judge, because of my incompetent submissions would make me feel six years old again and reduce me to tears.
 
It doesn’t really matter what you call them, grandfather clocks, longcase clocks, or if you’re one of our American cousins even tallcase clocks, but almost everyone has their own tale to tell. And it is for this reason that they hold a special place in our lives. As an insight into social history they are fascinating, and because makers were required to sign their work - although not all of them did, we can, through local and national record offices often trace the lives of the men and women who made them.
 
The years between 1700 and 1830, were the heyday of the longcase clock – I hope you don’t mind me now using the correct term! Throughout towns and villages provincial clockmakers were plying their trade. London had its own trade which developed independently following what was fashionable for the wealthier inhabitants. Provincial clockmakers however, followed their own instincts and regional styles developed in both case work and movements. Some were extremely inventive in their work and it is interesting to note that it was provincially trained makers who were responsible for some of the great inventions of the day although they did often have to go to London to find fame and fortune. Even possibly the most famous of all clockmakers – Thomas Tompion, regarded by many as the father of English clockmaking, was born at Northill in Bedfordshire in 1638. It was not until he was into his thirties that he first appeared in London.
 
Longcase clocks come in a variety of different styles. Throughout the earlier years of the period, the brass dial with silvered chapter ring and ornate spandrels (corner pieces) were standard practice on both London and provincial clocks. After around 1780 the painted dial became popular in the provinces whilst the London call for longcase clocks almost completely died out. Cases came in a variety of woods depending on the fashion of the time, fine walnut, marquetry, and lacquered chinoiserie in the early years in London. In the country, oak in the early years and oak or mahogany later on. The bulk of a provincial clockmakers work was the simple thirty-hour clock; so called because it was made to run for just over a day between windings. Housed in a locally made oak case these one-day or cottage clocks are often surprisingly sophisticated, remarkable when you think that they were engineered by people who often could not read or write yet had the mathematic knowledge to work out, often complicated wheelwork. Even more so when you consider that they only worked with natural light using mostly hand tools. The documented cost of one of these most simple of clocks in the late eighteenth century would equate to more than two years of a farm laborers wages. No wonder that only the very wealthiest people could afford an eight-day clock costing at least more than twice the price of the standard thirty-hour.
 
Longcase clocks are enjoying a period of great popularity these days. No longer are they the Cinderella of the antique dealer’s ball. They are revered for their place in our history and the tales that they can tell us. My own clock has witnessed the Stuart, Hanover and Windsor monarchies, survived Napoleonic, and two world wars, is still ticking long after the invention of the internal combustion engine and with it the motor car that now rules our lives, seen men take to the sky’s and land on the moon. The maker probably went no further than twenty or thirty miles from his home, and almost certainly never travelled to another county let alone another country. Yet his workmanship is of such quality that nearly three centuries later, the movement that he constructed all those years ago is still accurate to within thirty seconds a week!
 
Of course, popularity and scarcity of genuine examples has led to a re-appraisal of prices. When I started my business I still had a full head of jet-black hair, a thirty-hour clock could be bought for five pounds, and an eight-day clock for ten. Oh how times change! A good genuine thirty-hour in its original case will cost you upwards of three thousand pounds from a good dealer, maybe as much as seven thousand pounds for a very early and consequently very rare example. That Liverpool clock that my Grandmother consigned to the bonfire all those years ago, was eight-day duration and showed not only the time but also the moons age as well as the times of high tide; I found a new owner for a similar example recently and there was little more than the bus fare home from the price of sixteen thousand pounds. Still only a fraction of the original cost in real terms, but nevertheless a serious purchase. If you really wanted to push the boat out, a Thomas Tompion longcase clock found a new owner recently in London for close to half a million pounds!
 
So choose a clock carefully and it will provide good service and be a talking point at dinner parties. A good dealer will guide you through the buying process, point out restorations and guarantee the clock, almost certainly deliver and install it for you and train you gently in its operation. A totally painless process with the right dealer. And if you should happen across a short balding grey haired dealer, reduced to tears at the sight of a fine Liverpool longcase clock – spare a thought its really only a six year old boy remembering the family heirloom.
 
© David Gibson
 
First published July 2001

A Brief Encounter With An Old Clock

Call me an old romantic if you like, but when I see an English dial clock hanging on the wall, I can’t help but think of that iconic film Brief Encounter. The film charts the very British affair of a mother and a doctor who meet on the railway platform under the station clock. The clock plays as much of a starring role as the principal leads – Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. Clearly I am not the only person to have their romantic fancy tickled by the film which is placed a number two in the British Film Industry top 100 films. The clock is question is a pretty unremarkable thing; of a type found in railway stations everywhere during the last century. It hangs aside the platform of the railway station at Carnforth, itself a pretty unremarkable Lancashire town. Yet this one clock is probably responsible for generating more sale for English antique clock dealers than any other source known to me. Every year, around that time that TV companies show old films, clock dealers up and down the land get a steady stream of enquiries for a station clock – just like the one they’ve seen in Brief Encounter.
 
What they really want, of course, is an English dial clock, but we all know what they mean. More of this type of clock was produced than any other single type to date. It was the huge prosperity of Victorian England that drove the large demand for dial clocks, and English dial clocks graced the walls of most public buildings up until relatively recent times. Nowadays, recycled from a railway station waiting room, or a Dickensian office, or nineteenth century banking hall, these basic instruments of time are simple to restore, and when given a new lease of life, no "Country Living" kitchen is complete without one hanging on the wall, and they do, of course, sit well against the subtle hues of Farrow & Ball.
 
The question of what to look for if you also want to follow the trend is quite simple. Early examples, up to around 1850 tend to have mahogany boxes and convex painted dials with cast brass surrounds. Later versions have oak or simulated walnut boxes and flat dials with thin, spun brass bezels surrounding them. The very earliest examples have silvered brass dials and are now quite rare. Look out for and beware of completely repainted or even replaced dials. All should have what is often referred to as a "fusee movement". The fusee was a clever device designed to even out the power of the mainspring and lead to better timekeeping qualities. Its construction is beyond the scope of this article but if you want to check if a clock has one, then have a glance through the doors on the side of the box – with the vendor’s kind permission of course – if you see a chain running from the mainspring barrel to a tapered barrel then you are in luck! Like so many antiques that were once unloved and of little status, this type of clock can now easily cost well into four figures for the most basic example, and if you are lucky enough to find one, several thousand pounds for the best and earliest pieces. But hey, what price is romance?
 
The railway clocks in particular are also collected by steam buffs, so may cost a little more than one from a public building, however, if your initials happen to be GWR, LNER or even BR, you might be able to kid the neighbours that yours is a family heirloom!
 
English dial clocks are widely available fully restored and ready to go from specialist clock dealers who should offer a meaningful guarantee and help with setting up. Auction rooms are another source but not really recommended in this context as they offer no guarantees and the cost of restoration – if you can find someone to do it – can cost as much as the clock is probably worth.
 
So what of the Brief Encounter clock and how did such an iconic and influential British film come to be made in Carnforth anyway. Well, when filming took place in 1945, the threat of air raids still hung over London. As filming would be at night with a huge lighting rig, this would not be possible in London. The director, David Lean, chose to move the crew north to Carnforth on the Lancashire side of the Cumbrian border. Carnforth station was transformed into the "Milford Junction Station" of the film. The critics originally slated the film which was based on a half-hour stage play written by Noel Coward called "Still Life" and one preview audience convulsed with laughter at the love scenes. I wonder what they would make of the film’s classic status today! The clock faired a little better and by the late 1970s was removed and sold. Only years later was it tracked down, and proving that the age of romance is not yet dead in 2000 it was refurbished and now once again proudly tells the time as a centre piece of the recently refurbished station. Carnforth station remains a place of pilgrimage for fan of the film….. and old romantics too.
 
© David Gibson
 
First published September 2004

The Cottage Clock

The cottage longcase clock (or 30-hour longcase as it is mostly called because it is wound every day) offers extremely good value for money for the collector. Thirty-hour clocks were made throughout the 18th century, almost exclusively by provincial makers. Those made in London tend to pre-date 1700 and today are rarely encountered in museums.
 
The cottage longcase clock represented the major part of the average provincial clockmaker’s output. Of the very few records that survive, we know that for every eight-day clock he made, he probably produced thirty one-day clocks.
 
One reason for this was cost. Towards the third quarter of the century an eight-day clock would have cost between £5 to £10 whereas the same clock of one-day duration would have cost £3 to £4. This still represented between 6 to 12 months wages to all but the most skilled workers in an age when farm workers were expected to work 12 to 14 hours a day in summer and throughout the hours of daylight during winter for the equivalent of 10p per day!
 
The middle classes as we know them today were still at least 100 years from appearing. These clocks were not made for the 18th century yuppies, with one eye on the time and the other on the filofax. They were made quite simply for the peasants (a word often misused in this day and age). For the vast majority of people with time itself not at a premium a clock of any sort was a luxury or a kind of status symbol and was probably the most expensive of all possessions costing perhaps twice as much as the dresser.
 
Compared with a ‘standard’ eight-day longcase movement, cottage clocks displays a number of differences. Often they have only one hand. For someone brought up in the age of the sundial a minute hand would only confuse and was often considered unnecessary. The pendulum, nominally one second, is often a little longer or shorter, thereby simplifying the clockmaker’s wheel cutting process. An endless chain or rope driving both the going and striking trains is almost universal. Ropes were generally used earlier in the century but many rope drives have now been converted to chain to overcome the problem of fluff blocking the movement as the rope wears, and the difficulty some clock repairers have in effecting a satisfactory splice.
 
There are two distinct styles of movement. Firstly, the most common, where the wheels are contained within two vertical brass plates as used in the eight-day clock. Secondly, the posted or “Birdcage” movement, a direct descendant of the Lantern clock. The plate frame clocks were made throughout the country from the very beginning but the “Birdcage” construction is almost always limited to clocks of southern manufacture. Some West Country examples have particularly well made movements with finely turned corner posts. Their simple primitive form leads some to believe that their manufacture is earlier than it perhaps is, but the style persisted throughout the century and in some remote parts, notably Cornwall, it continued through to the middle of the nineteenth century with painted dial examples being produced.
 
Most dials are made of brass with separate chapter ring and corner spandrels, painted dials only becoming popular towards the very end of the century. A style appeared briefly in the last quarter of the century, notably in the South East of England, for silvered dials with engraved decoration, these can be very pleasing but for some reason are not popular with the antique clock trade, making them quite difficult to find, but usually attractively priced.
 
Some clocks have attractive or unusual features and better quality examples may boast a subsidiary seconds dial. The clockmaker needed to be more exact in his calculations for pendular length and incorporated an extra wheel to enable the seconds hand to rotate in the correct direction. You might be very lucky and discover one with a musical movement – very rare but examples are known, indeed I sold one some 15 years ago, made by Quarman of Temple Cloud with posted frame, a brass dial showing seconds, date, the age of the moon and playing a tune every four hours. These are surely rarer and more desirable than almost any eight-day clock.
 
Cases were generally made of oak by the local joiner or cabinet maker. With poor communication between the remoter parts of the country in the 18th century, style and fashion took on a new meaning, interpretation being left to the individual craftsmen, a proposition which didn’t always lead to perfect proportions. Regional styles developed very strongly and these can make a fascinating study in their own right. Much research has been done into this aspect in recent years by the author Brian Loomes. His book "Grandfather Clocks and their Cases" is required reading.
 
With such a large number of cottage clocks being made it would be easy to assume that a large choice is available. Unfortunately many thousands were broken up for scrap in the early part of the last century, in the main because people were unwilling to wind them every day. The better quality cases were often given eight-day movements and dials from perfectly genuine clocks with inferior cases; the more outrageous have eight-day movements married to the original dial with extra holes drilled to accommodate the winding arbours, probably by some well intentioned Victorian “improver” (some would say butcher). Many “Birdcage” movements now masquerade as quite genuine Lantern clocks, but that’s another story. It should be apparent that great care must be exercised when buying.
 
So what should the buyer be looking for? Assuming that you have found a clock with an overall look that appeals and of a height that will be comfortable in your home, there are three things to consider; quality, condition and authenticity. Quality should be self evident, as indeed should condition. Don’t be misled though, look for a clock with as few restorations as possible and a case of good colour. Colour and patination are words used by antique dealers to describe layers of dirt and polish that have built up over the years to create a warm glow that highlights well-grained timber. A case of good colour is a joy to behold, and when your eye becomes accustomed to it, you will never accept anything less. Some dealers prefer to strip these cases and French polish or varnish them so that they look new. This can disguise wholesale restoration, but may look attractive to the untrained eye. Finally, the biggest problem is establishing whether a clock is a marriage of dial movement and case, or whether they started life together. This is far easier said than done. There are so many people who after many years around longcase clocks find it difficult or choose not to recognise when a clock is a marriage. Even if a clock is not a marriage there is a fine line between restoration and faking. If a clock has been around for two hundred years it is sensible to retain a sense of reality as it has most likely seen some hard times. If this is a first purchase consult reputable specialist dealers. It is unlikely that you will find then object of your desires in the auction rooms, if only because you are in a vulnerable position as a consumer. It is a curious aspect of English Law that allows members of the public bidding at auction to lose their status of “consumer” and with it much of the protection otherwise offered by the law. When you do make your choice, it may be well to remember the advice offered to me many years ago – buy the best that you can afford, it will pay off in the long term. Obtain a receipt detailing the clock, with restorations listed, ask for a guarantee of authenticity. A good dealer will deliver the clock, set it up and offer some sort of mechanical guarantee. On face value you may appear to pay more initially, but remember the dealer is trying to make a living. His profit probably represents a clock’s increase in value for, perhaps the first year. You’ll have piece of mind that what you have bought is genuine. Enjoy the search for your first longcase clock, and when you find it cherish it – you are its custodian for future generations.
 
© David Gibson
 
First published Autumn 1990

Antiques Are Officially Green

An independent report has confirmed that antiques are officially environmentally friendly with a piece of antique furniture likely to have a carbon footprint 16 times lower than that of a newly manufactured item.
 
This is the finding of a study that compared the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture and use of an antique chest of drawers with its modern equivalent.
 
The exhaustive analysis was carried out by Carbon Clear, an independent consultancy specialising in carbon management and carbon accounting, who investigated every aspect of the manufacture and life of two specific pieces - a mahogany veneered chest of c.1830 and a modern piece of roughly equivalent value available from a reputable high street retailer.
 
It had been assumed that it was more environmentally friendly to buy furniture that was already in circulation, but the independent study now confirms this.
 
The findings will give huge encouragement to the hundreds of antique dealers who are now backing the Antiques are Green campaign, led by Nigel Worboys of Beaconsfield. "The research demonstrates the importance of buying antiques over modern furniture for economic and environmental reasons," he commented.
 
"Buying antiques reduces landfill, reduces carbon emissions and reduces consumption of new goods from abroad. The antiques trade is the oldest recycling business in the world and the ultimate in terms of preserving our heritage for future generations. The report provides further proof that antiques should be recognised for their genuine green hallmark - sustainable, re-usable and re-saleable."
 
While details of the cutting and processing involved in the manufacture of the modern chest of drawers in China were readily available, certain assumptions had to be made about the origins of the antique piece based on expert opinion.
 
The carbon emissions associated with the actual manufacture of the antique piece were very low. Cabinetmakers' workshops in the 1830s were not generally powered and all work was done by hand and in daylight. Timber cutting was also done by hand but the report factored in 70 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions coefficient, already calculated by Bath University for current wood cutting and processing.
 
A similarly conservation approach was taken to the life of the antique chest, where it was assumed to have been sold and restored twice, even though many pieces would have required little or no restoration. Even with this conservative approach, it was found that the absolute emissions associated with the old chest, including restoration, storage and transport, were significantly.
 
The lifespan of the antique piece was assumed to be 195 years, though it could be much longer. Once this was taken into account, its average emissions per year were shown to be 16 times less than those for the modern chest. The lifespan of the new chest was estimated 15 years based on expert opinion.
 
The Carbon Clear report was commissioned by the antiques trade as represented by Antiques Trade Gazette, Antiques are Green, International Antiques & Collectors Fairs, The British Antique Dealers' Association, LAPADA - The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers, The Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers and Online Galleries.
 
Source:
 
Antiques Trade Gazette 13 September 2010
 

Setting Up Your Longcase Clock

Stand the case in the position you wish your clock to occupy. If there is a skirting board at floor level, it may be necessary to fix to the back of the case a similar thickness piece of wood to that the case will stand up straight and not lean backwards. If the clock is to stand on a carpet, sometimes the carpet thickness against the wall is greater due to a hem or grip rods. It may be necessary to compensate for this by using a piece of matching carpet or wood and placing it under the front feet so that the case stands flat and solid against the wall. If you wish to screw the case to the wall this can be done as long as it is standing straight up and not leaning backwards. If it is leaning a little to the left or right, this can be compensated for later on, but only a small amount.
 
If you do plan to screw the case to the wall, the best thing is to let the clock run for three or four weeks first, so that you know it is levelled correctly. Then drive your screw home (through existing holes if possible) to hold it firm and safe from dashing children and the roving vacuum.  

The movement is attached to the seatboard so unravel the lines and place the movement seatboard on top of the trunk side uprights. It is better to be assisted at this point as the movement is very vulnerable and liable to fall forwards. Ask your assistant to hold the movement firmly (by the seaboard).
 
With the movement still being supported, hang the pendulum. Pass the pendulum into the clock via the trunk door and lift up behind the movement. The suspension spring (flexible piece of metal*see caution below) needs to pass up though the crutch (L-shaped with forks) and slide into the slot on the back of the movement and locate the brass block into the notch. When the pendulum is located the movement is less likely to fall forward however careful attention should still be given.
 
The next stage is to slide on the hood. If necessary, manoeuvre the seatboard backwards or forwards, and/or from side to side until the dial lines up perfectly in the hood aperture. Remove the hood again. At this point the seatboard can be screwed to the uprights if required. However, try and use existing holes and do not damage the uprights by using oversize screws or large nails.

Next, ensure the lines are untangled and deal with one side at a time. The lines should be fully unwound and not tangled around the barrels. Hold the line about one foot down from the seatboard and gently pull taut. Place the winding key on the square in the dial and wind very slowly, about 6 turns, whilst keeping the line taut and watching it feed onto the barrel grooves. Without releasing the tension on the line follow it down to the bottom to ensure there are no loops or kinks, turn over the pulley and place the line in the groove of the pulley. Hang on the weight making sure the tension on the line is not released at any point then slowly release the weight inside the clock. Repeat with the other weight.
 
Once the pendulum and weights are in place, give it a gentle push side to side and see what happens.
 
When level the clock will tick evenly from left to right, the time lapse between ticks being about equal and regular – just like somebody walking. A clock ‘out of beat’ will tick unevenly, like somebody limping, with each tick alternately long and short. If you watch the pendulum bob you will probably see it swinging further over to one side than the other. Bend the crutch slightly in the middle of its length, not at the top, or you may break the joint. If the clock ticks heaviest to the right, then bend the crutch to the right and vice versa. You will hear the difference when you next push the pendulum to start the clock.
 
When you are happy that your clock is ticking correctly, replace the hood and your clock is ready for winding properly.

Winding Thirty hour clocks are wound once a day, usually by pulling either a rope or chain to lift the single weight. Eight day clocks are wound once a week, usually with a cranked handle in a clockwise direction. It is advisable to open the trunk door and watch the weights going up so that you can see how far you have wound.
 
Hand Setting Move the minute hand ONLY in a forwards direction pausing at each hour to allow the clock to complete its strike. Do not move the hands in a backwards direction as this may damage the movement.
 
Date Setting The date is shown through a square aperture in the dial. To adjust the date, please remove the hood and revolve the date ring until the correct date is reached. This wheel can be turned either forwards or backwards but please note the date wheel usually turns through half a division every 12 hours and so at certain times may not be moveable. 
 
Regulation The only way of regulation for your clock is by the pendulum. The nut at the bottom of the pendulum is screwed up to the right (clockwise) to make it go fast and left (anti clockwise) to go slow. It is advisable to hold the bob whilst doing this to prevent the rod being twisted and damaging the suspension spring. Only very minor adjustments are usually required e.g. quarter or half a turn.
 
Caution: Take care with the pendulum suspension. It is the least expensive part of the clock but it is the most vulnerable – the thin spring between the brass sections is very brittle and can break if knocked.

Buying Advice

BUYING GUIDE
 
Some years ago whilst working on the popular BBC TV show "Antiques Roadshow", I was asked if I'd mind writing an article on buying an antique grandfather clock from a specialist dealer. My thoughts follow here and are as relevant today (perhaps more so) as they were 25 years ago.
 
Longcase clock, grandfather clock, tallcase clock... it doesn't matter what you call them - they have a special place in our lives. Perhaps its the reassuring relaxed tick (one beat per second) that becomes the heartbeat of the home, or maybe your six times great grandfather was the maker and you marvel at his great skill and ingenuity in producing this clock with only basic handtools and natural light in his workshop.
 
Maybe you've just reached the point in life where you have the home and funds to finally acquire a longcase (grandfather) clock and are confused by the apparent wide choice and huge variance in prices. I hope what follows will help you make an informed purchase and avoid an expensive mistake.
 
ORIGINALITY OF COMPONENTS
 
This is the single most important reason for buying or not buying, as the case may be. Most genuine longcase (grandfather) clocks are now between 200 and 300 years old. During their extensive lifetime it is reasonable to assume some of the clock's original components may have been replaced with components from other clocks often a simple expedient of the past and not done to deceive. It was quite common practice in the past not to bother repairing a broken clock movement but instead to remove the faulty mechanism and replace it with one in better condition. It was often thought beneficial to replace a faulty 30-hour movement with an 8-day one and gain the advantage of weekly windings. However, all these clocks, whether done to deceive or not, are known as marriages because they are a marrying of components from different clocks. It is worth noting a marriage is worth significantly less than a clock that has retained its original major components (dial, movement and case).
 
Being able to spot a marriage is a skill that takes considerable knowledge and experience.
 
CONDITION
 
As a specialist antique clock dealer, I have never been afraid of paying, what may seem to some, a premium price for a clock in excellent original condition. In my experience, such clocks have generally been well-maintained and will need a minimum of conservation. The costs of restoring a clock in poor condition can quickly escalate even if you can find someone with the required skills to do the work to an acceptable standard. In short, if you are comparing clocks in a very different condition, don't underestimate the cost of restoration. A clock in poor condition is worth significantly less than one in good working order.
 
QUALITY
 
It is perhaps no coincidence that clocks that fulfil our criteria with regard to originality and condition will also be of good quality. These are the survivors - well made to begin with and well maintained.
 
MAKERS
 
It is a fact that clocks by certain clockmakers will fetch a premium over ones by lesser known makers. London clockmakers such as Thomas Tompion, Joseph Windmills, Daniel Quare, Edward East, etc have always fetched premium prices and will continue to do so. In the provinces, names to watch out for include Henry Hindley of York, the Bilbie family of clockmakers in the Chew Valley, Samuel Deacon of Barton in the Beans and John Whitehurst of Derby.
 
DURATION
 
As a rough rule of thumb, most of the longcase (grandfather) clocks encountered today will be designed to be wound daily (30 hour duration) or weekly (8 day duration). It is reasonable to assume that an 8-day clock will fetch a premium over a similar 30-hour clock. The critical word here is 'similar' - a small 30-hour cottage clock that has originality, condition, quality and a good maker is worth substantially more than a mundane 8-day clock.
 
The vast majority of provincial longcase (grandfather) clocks of the 18th and 19th centuries were 30-hour duration. The vast majority of London longcase (grandfather) clocks were 8-day duration.
 
My experience tells me if you are looking for that special piece, the daily 10 second 'chore' to wind your 30-hour cottage clock will not be an inconvenience.
 
BUYING FROM A SPECIALIST
 
I trust this article answers some of the many questions asked. When buying an antique longcase (grandfather) clock, not only the reasons for apparent vast differences in price of seemingly similar things but also many of the pitfalls that can be overcome by choosing a specialist antique clock dealer. Spotting a marriage requires special knowledge and skill. Knowing what is appropriate restoration and conservation - the best is expensive £500 - £5,000 for restoring a movement correctly.
 
Most experienced dealers have the required knowledge only because they have made the very same mistakes you are trying to avoid. The good dealers pay the best prices to acquire the best clocks and do the expensive restoration work correctly, deliver your clock to your door, install it correctly and offer a meaningful guarantee.
 
"It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the things it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot...it cannot be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder it is well to add something for the risk you run; and if you do that you will have enough to pay for the something better. There is hardly anything in the world that some men cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only, are this man's lawful prey."
John Ruskin
1819-1900
 
Note: Since writing the above there has been an unprecedented rise in the internet. I had considered rewriting this article to reflect today's conditions but it occurred to me John Ruskin's words are as relevant today, perhaps more so! If anything prices have polarised. A quick search of a well-known internet auction site will reveal dozens of poor quality, poor condition grandfather clocks, parts from two - sometimes three clocks married together in a mish-mash of styles - for a few hundred pounds just waiting to tempt the unwary. Clocks with 'issues' are virtually un-saleable whilst authentic clocks, retaining their original case and fulfilling our criteria are more sought after...and more difficult to find.
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