Humphry Mason, Gosport. Circa 1800. A very rare 'arch seconds' longcase clock.
A very rare ‘arch seconds’ antique longcase clock, Humphry Mason Gosport, Circa 1800. The silvered brass dial with date inset. 8-day movement with 6 pillars and contrate wheelwork. Elegant and fairly compact mahogany case, brass cased weights.
The clock is fully working, the movement has been properly cleaned and checked for correct operation.
Overall height is 83 inches.
Complete with brass-faced pendulum, brass-cased weights, winder and trunk door key (working lock).
This type of clock showing the subsidiary seconds in the dial arch is very rare. This is because the movement is significantly more complicated than a normal 8-day clock. The plates have to be extended much higher to allow the seconds arbour to extend into the arch, also contrate wheelwork is required to drive the long vertical arbour and then re-convert back to horizontal for the seconds hand. Also note that the winding barrels have to be narrower to allow extra room for the contrate drive, as a consequence the gearing is slightly different and the weight drop slightly less than a normal 8-day clock.
I don’t have any specific information on Humphry Mason, Gosport. He may have been the maker or possibly the original owner of the clock. The style suggests a date around 1800, possibly a few years earlier or later than this. One piece brass/ silvered dial were commonly used by London and Southern makers as an alternative to ‘white’ (painted) dials from around 1780 and into the 19th century.
The clock overall has a particularly elegant appearance. This is partly down to the uncluttered silvered dial, also the case has slim and attractive proportions. The styling is fairly typical ‘south of London’ for this period, nice features including reeded hood pillars with brass capitals, also raised border around the long trunk door.
Condition is very good. The dial is bright and clear, silvering and waxed numerals in good condition. The case has good colour and polish, some minor marks as you would expect on older cases but nothing of note.