A Fine Strut Clock By Thomas Cole

Object Description

The gilt brass case design corresponding to the middle period of the famous clockmaker, of rectangular shape and with a swivelling strut for support, with a suspension hook to the top; the case and its silvered dial with arabesque line engraving, the hours delineated by roman numerals and blued steel fleur de lys hands. The movement of eight-day duration consisting of a vertical lever escapement with uncompensated balance. The dial left blank for monogramming; with the back signed by the retailer and the maker “Thos Cole / for / Barry / London,” numbered to the underside.
Circa 1855

Object Literature

Comparative Literature:

Hawkins, J. B. Thomas Cole & Victorian Clockmaking. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1975; p. 79-80 (Item 19), illustrating a related strut clock bearing a later number.

Thomas Cole (1800-1864)

Son of Thomas Cole Snr, a Somerset clockmaker, Cole is known as a specialist in making decorative timepieces of the highest quality. He exhibited at the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1851; he warranted an ‘honourable mention’ in the Paris Exposition universelle of 1855 and the London 1862 International Exhibition, where he was awarded a medal for ‘excellence of taste and design’.

Object Details