Name/Title
Case ClockEntry/Object ID
2016.2.2Description
Wooden mantel case clock. Along the top, the clock features a hand-carved eagle motif and, the sides include split spindle decorations. The white clock face is painted on wood with flat black Roman numerals, gold leaf rondels, and stylized spiral designs in the four corners. The cast brass escutcheons around two keyholes feature a flower, leaf and bead motif.
Below the clock face, the original églomisé—or reverse-painted—scene has been replaced by a colored lithograph depicting George Washington. Inside, the clock features wooden works, the original metal weights, and a iron pendulum covered in brass. The interior also retains its original label, reading "Patent / EIGHT [illegible, likely DAY] / CLOCKS, / MADE BY / HUSON & Co., / HAMBUR[G], S. C.," along with directions for regulating the clock. The panel on the interior door is braced by a deconstructed Columbia hardware ruler.Context
The paper label adhered to the interior of this clock credits the object's production to Huson & Co. of Hamburg (present-day North Augusta), South Carolina. However, to avoid tariffs in the early nineteenth-century, many companies in South Carolina imported clock parts from northern states, assembled the pieces, and subsequently claimed the items were locally manufactured. These clocks commonly include ornate carvings on the top and églomisé—or reverse-painted—scenes of recognizable landmarks on the bottom.
Likely assembled between 1830 and 1850, while the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company ran through Hamburg, this mantel clock no longer contains an églomisé. Instead the painting has been replaced by a lithograph of George Washington, produced either by or after New Jersey engraver Frederick Halpin (1805–1880). Even before Washington's death in 1799, the Founding Father, president, and enslaver was seen as a symbol of nationalism and Republican virtue.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Frederick HalpinAttribution
AfterManufacturer
Huson & Co.Date made
circa 1840Dimensions
Height
35-3/4 inWidth
17-1/2 inDepth
5 inMaterial
Wood, Metal, Glass
