Jacobs & Lucas, Hull – 1840
£7,850.00
A refined mid-19th century English four-glass mantel clock in a brass line inlaid and ebonised case . Inset with bevelled glass panels to the top and sides through which the platform escapement can be viewed.. The case stands upon four turned brass feet and is surmounted by a substantial brass carrying handle . 28cm in height.
The silvered and finely engraved dial is signed Jacobs & Lucas, 7 Whitefriargate, Hull, retailers of note in this important Yorkshire port. Whitefriargate was the principal commercial thoroughfare of Hull, and firms established there frequently supplied high-quality London or provincial movements under their own signature, reflecting both mercantile prosperity and discerning clientele.
The double fusee movement striking the hours on a coiled gong can be viewed through the inset bevelled glasses on the sides as can the large lever platform escapement mounted above the backplate — a robust and precise system more commonly associated with high-grade carriage clocks The backplate is signed, confirming the retailer’s attribution. The use of a substantial balance with jewelled lever escapement affords reliable and stable timekeeping, while the fusee maintaining power ensures even transmission of force during winding.
Altogether, this is a handsome and technically superior example of the Victorian four-glass type: practical in its portability, refined in its execution, and demonstrative of the quality retailed through Hull’s leading 19th-century establishments.
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