£600 - £800
A George III silver pair cased club-foot verge or 'Ormskirk' escapement pocket watch, by James Ryland, Ormskirk, both cases by John Ellison, Chester 1804 number 811, white enamelled dial with Roman numerals, blue steel hands, gilt full plate movement, signed, cylindrical pillars, 47mm outer case.
In working order, the dial has a hair crack, hands appear original, both cases original and in good condition, glass is the correct type with central flat section.
James Ryland is noted by Brian Loomes in Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World as active between 1786 and his death in 1803.
The Debaufre escapement is a dead-beat frictional rest escapement invented by the London maker Peter Debaufre in about 1704. Makers in and around Ormskirk, Lancashire, revived its use in the latter part of the 18th century, also using a variation of the escapement tried by Henry Sully in about 1721-1722. Examples of these watches are often referred to as 'Ormskirk verges'.
Ellison was a watchcase maker, gold & silversmith, Crosshall Street, Liverpool, 1801-1806 becoming John Ellison & Co..
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