VULLIAMY, LONDON, EARLY 19TH CENTURY, NO. 695

Unusually among clockmakers the Vulliamys numbered most of the clocks they made, openly doing so from 1788 until 1854, when the firm closed (Roger Smith, 'Vulliamy Clock Numbering: A Dated Series', Antiquarian Horology, No. 6, Vol. 19, 1991, pp. 620-625). Their workbooks give invaluable information regarding the date of manufacture and ownership of many clocks made by the business. The serial numbers recorded in the two books are respectively 296-469 and 746-1067, so unfortunately the present lot, numbered 695 is not included. The first book covers the years 1797-1806, although the construction and delivery dates of some of the clocks continue to 1809, with some undelivered even then, the missing section of numbering would correspond to this clock's dating.