THE DIAL SIGNED BY ISAAC BROKAW (1746-1826), ELIZABETH TOWN; THE CASE LABELED BY MATTHEW EGERTON, JR. (CIRCA 1769-1836), NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, CIRCA 1792

Documenting the talents of clockmaker Isaac Brokaw and cabinetmaker Matthew Egerton, Jr., this tall-case clock is an important survival of eighteenth-century New Jersey craftsmanship. With close familial and professional ties to the Miller family, Brokaw was a member of the most significant dynasty of clockmakers in the state during this time. Brokaw is recorded as working in Elizabeth Town (now Elizabeth) from 1779 to 1789 before moving to Bridgetown (now Rahway) while the clock’s paper label is hand-dated 1792; it is possible that Brokaw continued to work in Elizabeth Town after 1789 or that he made the movement before his move and sold it to the cabinetmaker a few years later. For more on Brokaw, see Martha H. Willoughby, biographies, Timeless: American Masterpiece Brass Dial Clocks, Frank Hohmann III, ed. (New York, 2009), p. 322. Like Brokaw, Egerton was a member of a familial dynasty and a leading practitioner of his craft. For a virtually identical tall-case clock with the same hood carving also bearing Egerton’s label, see Sotheby’s, New York, 22-23 January 2010, lot 526.