John Gilbertson, Rippon, a quarter-striking bell-top mahogan...

Hammer

£1,900

John Gilbertson, Rippon, a quarter-striking bell-top mahogany bracket clock the six-pillar, triple-fusee movement with verge escapement and striking the hours on a bell and the quarters on three further bells, with a fully engraved backplate of floriate and rococo decoration, the eight-inch arched dial having a solid silvered centre engraved with the name John Gilbertson, Rippon and having a sweep centre date indicated by a brass hand, the raised chapter ring engraved with black Roman hour numerals and Arabic five-minute markings, with decorative blued steel hands, with floral and rococo cast brass spandrels to the four corners with further spandrels to the arch either side of the silvered strike/silent dial, the mahogany bell-top case with cast brass finials, cast brass feet, cast 'cherub-head' fretwork to the sides and with brass carrying handles above each, all surmounted by a fluted block to the top surmounted by a further brass finial with gilded wood scroll work to either side, height 63.5cm. The quality and style of this clock would indicate that Gilbertson 'bought-in' the clock from the celebrated maker John Taylor of London being near-identical in many aspects to those from his workshops. Of note is the engraved decoration to the backplate, the distinctive double line to the backplate edge, the shape of the verge apron, the shape of the hammer heads. The case has identical mounts to those seen by Taylor, including the feet, side frets and finials. The dial and engraving is fairly distinctive and near-identical used by Taylor as are the hands and spandrels. The 'John' part of the signature engraved to the dial centre is identical to the 'John' engraved on clocks by John Taylor. This clock is illustrated and described by Leigh Extence in Ripon's Clockmakers by David F. Severs, pages 54-57, published by the author 2013. John Gilbertson is recorded as working in Rippon (Ripon), Yorkshire from circa 1750 until his death in 1793. A longcase clock by him is illustrated in Clockmakers of Northern England by Brian Loomes. C.L. Reid, in North Country Clockmakers, notes that some clocks by him have the name Ripon spelt Rippon, as seen with this clock. Gilbertson was recorded as a clockmaker in the Universal British Directory of 1790-95, a list of which was published in The Yorkshire Evening Post, July 25th, 1908.