Barrauds, Cornhill, London. No. 1260

Small Regency mahogany and ebony inlaid longcase clock. Circa 1810

Case

The pretty flame figured mahogany case with chamfer top, ripple cornice mouldings, pierced wood side frets and canted angles flanking fielded brass bound panels to the hood door with finely turned brass bezel. The highly figured arched trunk door with ebony banding, flanked by canted sides, elegant stepped mouldings to the base which has an ebony moulding and a double plinth.

Dial

The round painted dial signed Barrauds Cornhill London 1260 with Roman hour numerals and seconds dial. Mercury gilt brass spade hands, blued steel seconds hand.

Movement

Superb quality eight day movement, 5 pillars to the substantial shouldered plates, the backplate signed Barrauds Cornhill London. Graham type dead beat escapement, Harrison's maintaining power, striking the hours on a bell. The original wood rod pendulum has a heavy brass lenticular bob and silvered calibrated rating nut, original brass cased weights with a lighter weight for the going side.

Date circa 1810

Height. 6ft. 4 in. (193 cm)

For a similar longcase clock see Derek Roberts boo, English Precision pendulum Clocks, page 221. Derek Roberts wrote, Unfortunately only a small number of these delightful little regulators were made. the cases must all have been produced by the same cabinet maker, but do differ slightly. The attention to detail is impressive with, for instance, the plinth being just slightly flared out at the base. The front corners of the hood and trunk are canted and an unusual and attractive feature is the square stepped mould below the trunk. The veneers used are always of the finest quality.

Paul Philip Barraud was a fine clock and chronometer maker, he worked from Cornhill, London. Master of the Clockmakers' Company in 1810 and a partner with W. Howells and George Jamison in 1797 - 1799 for making Thomas Mudge's Timekeepers. He died in 1820.