How old is it? Tips to help you determine the age of your antique clock.

Sources Used

This database of 10,175 clockmakers has been compiled from a number of sources. Used primarily were the lists from The Old Clock Book (1911 edition) by N. Hudson Moore, and Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers (Fifth Edition, 1922) by F. J. Britten. Those works, in turn, referenced earlier material.

Moore writes that his lists are derived “from the Books of Clockmakers’ Company in London, from the List arranged by Octavius Morgan, Esq., and published in the Archaeolgical Journal, from the Catalogues of Sales in London and the United States, from the Catalogues of Collections in many parts of the world, from existing collections private and public, and from the dials of clocks and watches personally examined, or sent by their owners.”

Moore further states that “the dates in many cases refer to the time when the member was admitted to the Clockmakers’ Company. In some cases it was possible to trace the name through directories, and through records of the Company, or by finding, in the case of watchmakers, the date letter on cases.”

Britten cites such sources as collections of tradesmen’s cards owned by the Hon. Gerald Ponsonby, as well as the collection at the British Museum. Clocks and watches in private collections also provided Britten with additional names and dates.