The well figured mahogany case with cast-brass circular glazed bezel, above a drop with small inspection door below, the 12in silvered brass dial engraved with VR and a crown below the XII and dated 1852, signed DUTTON / FLEET STEET above the six, the four-pillar chain fusée movement with anchor escapement
46cm high overall
Another identical clock, dated 1854, was sold Bonhams, London, 3 July 2024, lot 76.
The firm of Dutton supplied various government departments with clocks from around 1847, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Royal Courts of Justice and the Natural History Museum.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
Tobias Birch, Thomas Mudge and William Dutton, A Perfect Partnership, Exhibition Catalogue, 2019.
CONDITION REPORT
With rectangular steel rod and brass bob pendulum. No key or lower door key. The movement is dirty and requires a service. One of the dial plate pillars is loose. The silvering is worn around the centre of the hands.
The left edge of the surround is split. Small veneer loss to the lower right of drop and front left of centre of underside by door. The righthand side door is loose from its hinges. The left side door is lost. There are three case pegs which are not tight to the fit.
