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Lot Essay
"This [clock] will always be recognized as one of the supreme clocks of this rare and desirable group." -Albert Sack, 1993
Proclaimed a "masterpiece" by Albert Sack (fig. 2), this dwarf clock is a triumph of American design and craftsmanship. The dwarf tall-case clock was popular in Southeastern Massachusetts during the early nineteenth century, but this is one of only twenty examples known by Hingham clockmaker Joshua Wilder (1786-1860) (fig. 1) exhibiting a fretwork-top and French feet. This model was the most sophisticated available and with its decorative details and removable hood, it "replicate[s] in miniature the classic Federal tall clock from the Boston area" (Gary R. Sullivan, catalogue entry, in Brock Jobe, Gary R. Sullivan and Jack O'Brien, Harbor & Home: Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710-1850 (Hanover, 2009), p. 325). Based on construction and decorative details, the case is attributed to Abiel White (1766-1844), a cabinetmaker in nearby Weymouth with whom Wilder had a long working relationship. The case also bears Wilder's watch paper and a period handwritten note documenting its production in 1821 for Martin Fearing (1785-1868), making it one of only five dated examples. Thus, not only masterful in design and condition, this clock survives with its clockmaker, cabinetmaker, first owner and year of manufacture identified and as such is one of the most important examples of the form.
As most recently studied by Gary R. Sullivan, the production of dwarf tall-case clocks flourished in the region from about 1815 to 1825 and the popularity of these forms was largely due to the talents of Joshua Wilder, Abiel White and Wilder's kinsman, neighbor and probable apprentice Reuben Tower (1795-1881). Wilder trained in Hanover with clockmaker John Bailey II (1751-1823), completed his apprenticeship in 1807 and by 1810, had moved a few miles north to Hingham where he embarked on a long and successful career in his shop on Main Street in the South Parish. During his training, he had met cabinetmaker Abiel White and as most of Wilder's dwarf tall-case clocks are housed in cases attributed to White, the two craftsmen enjoyed a fruitful partnership. The cases generally fall into two categories: Bell-top examples made of pine or mahogany and arched-top examples with fretwork and veneered with vibrantly grained mahogany. The arched-top forms featured either straight bracket feet or, as seen here, slightly flaring French feet, which represents the height of sophistication of the form. Of the twenty Wilder clocks of this model that survive, seventeen are attributed to White and as noted by Sullivan, "[t]he success of the dwarf clock form can be directly tied to White's ability to create an extremely attractive and stylish case." Hallmarks of White's craftsmanship seen on this clock include the design of the fretwork, orientation marks on the inner surfaces of the saddleboard supports, extensive use of glue blocks behind the feet and front skirt, the lack of glueblocks along the front corners of the hood, specially cut paper to seal the joints in the arched hood and hood rear stiles notched to accept the rails above and below and numbered accordingly. Complementing White's cabinetwork, Wilder's clock works show a similar level of elaboration and the majority of the French-foot cases house eight-day time-and-strike movements and bear paint-decorated dials purchased from Boston craftsmen. The dial of this clock features a basket of fruit painted primarily in red and green and similar dials probably painted by the same individual feature on a number of other dwarf clocks by both Wilder and Tower. Based on the documented examples, the French-foot case form was popular during the latter half of dwarf clock production, from 1821 to 1824. Dated 1821, this clock is the earliest documented example known of this case design (Gary R. Sullivan, Harbor & Home, pp. 268-269, 313, 318, 325-326; for dwarf clocks with closely related dials, see Harbor & Home, plates 103.6, 103.8, 103.10, 103.11; Gary R. Sullivan, "Southeastern Massachusetts Dwarf Clock," Antiques & Fine Art (Winter/Spring 2009), pp. 274-281). For a closely related example with similarly painted dial, see Skinner, 6 March 2011, lot 106.
As recorded in a handwritten label affixed to the backboard behind the pendulum, this clock was made for Major Martin Fearing, a prominent merchant in Hingham. Like Joshua Wilder, he descended from the town's earliest settlers and also lived on Main Street, albeit slightly further north in Hingham Center. He was the son of Thomas Fearing (1749-1820) and Lydia Ripley (1753-1815) and in 1812, married his second cousin, Aurelia Fearing (1788-1838). His father's death in 1820 may have provided Martin with the funds to purchase this clock the following year and in 1823, Aurelia's brother, Hawkes Fearing (1781-1863) married Joshua Wilder's sister, Matilda (1799-1886), raising the possibility that familial ties played a role in the commission. Martin Fearing was a Representative to the General Court from 1833 to 1837 and again in 1852, served as Town Treasurer and was a Major in the Second Regiment of Infantry. As suggested by the inscription on the back of the watch paper, the clock was cleaned in Hingham in 1855 by James Stephenson. This individual was most likely James Stephenson (1772-1857), a blacksmith who lived near Fearing on Middle Street and like Fearing was a member of the Old Colony masonic lodge, though it is possible that it refers to his son or grandson of the same name and profession. Another of Wilder's watch papers survives with seemingly the same name inscribed on the reverse and it is interesting to speculate whether Stephenson had a working relationship with Wilder, who was still alive in 1855, and used the latter's watch papers to record his repair work (George Lincoln et al., History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, vol. II (Hingham, 1893), online edition available at https://plymouthcolony.net/hingham/history/book3/2225.html, accessed 18 June 2014; Massachusetts, Mason Membership Cards, 1733-1990, online database available at ancestry.com; for the Wilder watch paper inscribed "Mr James Stevensons", see Willis Henry Auctions, Inc., Rockland, Massachusetts, 19 November 2011, lot 230). After Martin Fearing's death in 1868 from "paralysis & old age," the clock may have passed to one of his two daughters who were both living with him at the time: Elizabeth Fearing (b. 1814) and Meriel (Fearing) French (b. 1836). The inscription on the underside of the baseboard, appearing to read George Lew/ Feb [illeg.]/ 1888, may refer to George Lewis (b. 1824) of Hingham, who was listed variously as a carpenter, house carpenter and shoe shop worker in the US Census records from 1850 to 1880, and he may have repaired the case at this early date. Prior to 1935, the clock was sold by Israel Sack to noted collector, Mitchell M. Taradash (1889-1973) and along with the Simon Willard shelf clock in this sale (lot 38), it furnished his home in Ardsley-on-Hudson, New York.
Christie's would like to thank Gary R. Sullivan for his assistance with this essay.
Proclaimed a "masterpiece" by Albert Sack (fig. 2), this dwarf clock is a triumph of American design and craftsmanship. The dwarf tall-case clock was popular in Southeastern Massachusetts during the early nineteenth century, but this is one of only twenty examples known by Hingham clockmaker Joshua Wilder (1786-1860) (fig. 1) exhibiting a fretwork-top and French feet. This model was the most sophisticated available and with its decorative details and removable hood, it "replicate[s] in miniature the classic Federal tall clock from the Boston area" (Gary R. Sullivan, catalogue entry, in Brock Jobe, Gary R. Sullivan and Jack O'Brien, Harbor & Home: Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710-1850 (Hanover, 2009), p. 325). Based on construction and decorative details, the case is attributed to Abiel White (1766-1844), a cabinetmaker in nearby Weymouth with whom Wilder had a long working relationship. The case also bears Wilder's watch paper and a period handwritten note documenting its production in 1821 for Martin Fearing (1785-1868), making it one of only five dated examples. Thus, not only masterful in design and condition, this clock survives with its clockmaker, cabinetmaker, first owner and year of manufacture identified and as such is one of the most important examples of the form.
As most recently studied by Gary R. Sullivan, the production of dwarf tall-case clocks flourished in the region from about 1815 to 1825 and the popularity of these forms was largely due to the talents of Joshua Wilder, Abiel White and Wilder's kinsman, neighbor and probable apprentice Reuben Tower (1795-1881). Wilder trained in Hanover with clockmaker John Bailey II (1751-1823), completed his apprenticeship in 1807 and by 1810, had moved a few miles north to Hingham where he embarked on a long and successful career in his shop on Main Street in the South Parish. During his training, he had met cabinetmaker Abiel White and as most of Wilder's dwarf tall-case clocks are housed in cases attributed to White, the two craftsmen enjoyed a fruitful partnership. The cases generally fall into two categories: Bell-top examples made of pine or mahogany and arched-top examples with fretwork and veneered with vibrantly grained mahogany. The arched-top forms featured either straight bracket feet or, as seen here, slightly flaring French feet, which represents the height of sophistication of the form. Of the twenty Wilder clocks of this model that survive, seventeen are attributed to White and as noted by Sullivan, "[t]he success of the dwarf clock form can be directly tied to White's ability to create an extremely attractive and stylish case." Hallmarks of White's craftsmanship seen on this clock include the design of the fretwork, orientation marks on the inner surfaces of the saddleboard supports, extensive use of glue blocks behind the feet and front skirt, the lack of glueblocks along the front corners of the hood, specially cut paper to seal the joints in the arched hood and hood rear stiles notched to accept the rails above and below and numbered accordingly. Complementing White's cabinetwork, Wilder's clock works show a similar level of elaboration and the majority of the French-foot cases house eight-day time-and-strike movements and bear paint-decorated dials purchased from Boston craftsmen. The dial of this clock features a basket of fruit painted primarily in red and green and similar dials probably painted by the same individual feature on a number of other dwarf clocks by both Wilder and Tower. Based on the documented examples, the French-foot case form was popular during the latter half of dwarf clock production, from 1821 to 1824. Dated 1821, this clock is the earliest documented example known of this case design (Gary R. Sullivan, Harbor & Home, pp. 268-269, 313, 318, 325-326; for dwarf clocks with closely related dials, see Harbor & Home, plates 103.6, 103.8, 103.10, 103.11; Gary R. Sullivan, "Southeastern Massachusetts Dwarf Clock," Antiques & Fine Art (Winter/Spring 2009), pp. 274-281). For a closely related example with similarly painted dial, see Skinner, 6 March 2011, lot 106.
As recorded in a handwritten label affixed to the backboard behind the pendulum, this clock was made for Major Martin Fearing, a prominent merchant in Hingham. Like Joshua Wilder, he descended from the town's earliest settlers and also lived on Main Street, albeit slightly further north in Hingham Center. He was the son of Thomas Fearing (1749-1820) and Lydia Ripley (1753-1815) and in 1812, married his second cousin, Aurelia Fearing (1788-1838). His father's death in 1820 may have provided Martin with the funds to purchase this clock the following year and in 1823, Aurelia's brother, Hawkes Fearing (1781-1863) married Joshua Wilder's sister, Matilda (1799-1886), raising the possibility that familial ties played a role in the commission. Martin Fearing was a Representative to the General Court from 1833 to 1837 and again in 1852, served as Town Treasurer and was a Major in the Second Regiment of Infantry. As suggested by the inscription on the back of the watch paper, the clock was cleaned in Hingham in 1855 by James Stephenson. This individual was most likely James Stephenson (1772-1857), a blacksmith who lived near Fearing on Middle Street and like Fearing was a member of the Old Colony masonic lodge, though it is possible that it refers to his son or grandson of the same name and profession. Another of Wilder's watch papers survives with seemingly the same name inscribed on the reverse and it is interesting to speculate whether Stephenson had a working relationship with Wilder, who was still alive in 1855, and used the latter's watch papers to record his repair work (George Lincoln et al., History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, vol. II (Hingham, 1893), online edition available at https://plymouthcolony.net/hingham/history/book3/2225.html, accessed 18 June 2014; Massachusetts, Mason Membership Cards, 1733-1990, online database available at ancestry.com; for the Wilder watch paper inscribed "Mr James Stevensons", see Willis Henry Auctions, Inc., Rockland, Massachusetts, 19 November 2011, lot 230). After Martin Fearing's death in 1868 from "paralysis & old age," the clock may have passed to one of his two daughters who were both living with him at the time: Elizabeth Fearing (b. 1814) and Meriel (Fearing) French (b. 1836). The inscription on the underside of the baseboard, appearing to read George Lew/ Feb [illeg.]/ 1888, may refer to George Lewis (b. 1824) of Hingham, who was listed variously as a carpenter, house carpenter and shoe shop worker in the US Census records from 1850 to 1880, and he may have repaired the case at this early date. Prior to 1935, the clock was sold by Israel Sack to noted collector, Mitchell M. Taradash (1889-1973) and along with the Simon Willard shelf clock in this sale (lot 38), it furnished his home in Ardsley-on-Hudson, New York.
Christie's would like to thank Gary R. Sullivan for his assistance with this essay.