Musical Moonphase Longcase London-based watch- and clockmaker Christopher Gould was famed for producing complex, high-quality clocks in superb cases. This towering, magnificent musical clock is no exception. Extremely rare, it is a high-specification showpiece and a stunning example of Gould’s prodigious talent and skill. With 14 striking bells and 28 hammers, it plays a choice of tunes every hour, on the hour. It was made around 1701.[1] Fourteen bells and twenty-eight hammers This full grande sonnerie longcase has a three-train, hour-striking, musical movement. To sound out the hour, it plays a single tune with 14 nested bells and 28 hammers. There is even a choice of two tunes: either Lily Bolero or Cold and Raw. The musical notes of each piece are produced via the spinning of a pin barrel, a revolving brass cylinder with pins set in a pattern on its surface. Each pin corresponds to a musical note. The fact that this clock’s pin barrel is removeable indicates that there were originally additional pin barrels for the playing of other tunes. A break-arch dial with moonphase subsidiary The design of this clock surpasses Gould’s previous creations in terms of its unusually shaped break-arch gilt brass dial. This features a moonphase subsidiary dial nestled in the break-arch at the top of the dial face, just above the XII. The moonphase dial shows the moon’s phases via a penny moon, together with a lunar calendar for 1 to 29½ days, and a tidal ring. The double twelve-hour, rotating universal tidal ring can be adjusted to calculate high tide at any coastal location. Additional features include a seconds subsidiary dial just below the XII, a wheat-ear engraved calendar aperture just above the VI, and a strike/silent lever subtly placed just on the edge of the dial, alongside the IX. The strike/silent lever allowed the proud owner to turn the musical striking on or off at will, perhaps to allow an uninterrupted night’s sleep. The luxurious decoration that covers the break-arch dial face is attributed to Tompion’s engraver, identified as G.195. It includes the ornately executed fleur-de-lis half-hour markers engraved on the large silvered chapter ring, finely pierced and sculpted blued-steel hands, and elaborate winged cherub and foliate spandrels, as well as engraved foliate decoration between the strike/silent lever and around the moonphase subsidiary dial. The design of the multi-functional dial was certainly an added extra for this high-specification commission. A towering Tompion-type ‘special’ case As mentioned above, Gould was known for producing clocks housed in superb cases. This clock’s case was no exception. It certainly cut a towering figure with its height (to the top of its central ball finial) of eight feet and ten and one-quarter inches (2697 mm). For this clock, Gould ordered a Tompion-type ‘special’ case to house his movement. He also probably hired Tompion’s case-maker to design the clock's lavish burr walnut veneer with its inset crossbanding in princes wood (also known as kingwood) and tulipwood, as well as its break-arch dial shape.[2] The crossbanding surrounds fine double boxwood, and the inner ebony stringing is of exceptional quality. Antiquarian Jonathan Carter argues that Gould’s case format is based directly on Tompion’s Type 3 case, one of Tompion’s standard formats, and is attributed to Tompion’s case maker because of: (i) the construction of its hood, (ii) the case finish, (iii) identical scratch-mould tooling marks on the hood and case, and (iv) the use of the same castings that were produced for Tompion’s longcases.[3] Also, the mouldings of Gould's case are directly comparable to Tompion’s longcase format. Further, Carter argues that the use of a ‘regal’ flat front-and-back bell upstand on Gould’s case is an almost ubiquitous feature of Tompion’s special cases of this period. What is more, the pine carcass of Gould's longcase was also probably sourced from Tompion’s workshop: most clock-case carcasses were made from oak during this time, but Tompion, unusually, used pine for his carcasses. Although the break-arch dial shape format seen on Gould's case became commonplace around 1710, it was highly unusual when his Musical Moonphase Longcase was made roughly ten years earlier. Still, it too can be linked to Tompion’s workshop. Carter goes on to explain that Tompion had already used a break-arch dial shape for one of his earlier clocks, made around 1695. This is the year-going longcase that Tompion made for King William III around 1695 (now housed in Buckingham Palace as part of the Royal Collection Trust, RCIN 57800). This Tompion clock also has other features that may have influenced the design of Gould’s longcase, such as burr walnut veneers, similar engravings on the dial face, and a bold, ball-shaped central finial. Antiquarian Anthony Woodburn was the first to recognise similarities between the construction, moulding shapes, and brass castings of Gould’s and Tompion’s clock cases. Thanks to Tompion’s number series (his method of serialising his production), we can see that he ordered his cases in advance, stocking every case component from caddy shapes to a range of veneers.[4] Tompion’s cases were based on the same carcass construction of a ‘type’ that correlated to their date of manufacture. This saved time and money, not only for Tompion but also for the makers who sourced components from him.[5] This was probably the case for Gould. His clocks were costly commissions, and it would have been more cost-effective for him to order the casing from Tompion’s workshop. This was also not the first time that Gould made use of this Tompion casemaker. We can see this maker's work on Gould's full grande sonnerie ‘Mulberry’-Veneered Longcase, made around 1695.[6] Sadly, the colours on the case of the Musical Moonphase Longcase have become muted over the centuries due to oxidisation and mellowing. When the clock was new, the princes wood and tulipwood would have been brighter, and the light-and-dark effect of the burr walnut veneers would have been more highly contrasted than they are now. Dating the Musical Moonphase Longcase There are two features that can help us reliably date Gould’s longcase: (i) the main moulding application, and (ii) the Equation of Time table pasted on the inside of the case door. First, we can compare the main moulding application on Gould’s longcase to the same feature on Tompion’s numbered series of clocks. Around 1699, Tompion introduced veneered concave mouldings to the throat and base plinths of his cases. This type of moulding was used for production until his death in 1713. Because it is unlikely that a clockmaker or case maker would change his methodology for a single case order, it is probable that Gould’s case was manufactured by Tompion’s casemaker between 1700 and 1713. The fact that Gould pasted an Equation of Time table, dated to 1701, on the inside of the case door of his clock supports this scenario. The 1701 gives the date of the batch production for the print run of this particular Equation of Time table. It is part of a batch (a stockpile) of paper sheets printed from a single engraved copper plate. These sheets could be used over many years; hence, the identification of 1701 as a start date rather than an absolute date. All this information indicates a date at the very beginning of the 1700s for Gould’s clock, around 1701. A specially ordered commission Financially, all clockmakers were obliged to perform a delicate dance, using their profit from their latest commissions to pay for materials and labour for their new ones. Thus, there was a very fine line between profit and loss. This was especially the case for a perfectionist, boundary-breaking maker such as Gould. The manufacturing of his magnificent musical clock would have cost him a small fortune upfront. Thus, the inherent risk that Gould took on for the making of such a clock as this indicates that it was a specially ordered commission for a wealthy patron. Carter speculates that Gould must have shown his client a similar clock in his showroom or that this patron was already well aware of Gould’s production capabilities. Perhaps, the patron was the same one who had ordered, or at least seen, Gould’s ‘Mulberry’-Veneered Longcase, made just a few years previously, around 1695.[7] Whatever the scenario, Gould’s use of the princes wood crossbanding, ebony stringing and boxwood, sets this clock apart. We know that these features are of Gould’s design and specific to this patron because they were not part of Tompion’s oeuvre. Nor are they used on Gould’s aforementioned ‘Mulberry’-Veneered Longcase. Gould would then have had to hire an experienced case maker, who could offer his client a stunning array of choices between different exotic inlays, at different price points – enter, Tompion's case maker. Although Gould was a prodigiously talented and competent clockmaker with a wealthy clientele, he was not a capable businessman. In 1706, he was declared bankrupt.[8] Apparently, he was unable to recoup the upfront costs of his expensively produced, high-specification commissions. Still, as the 1700s began, Gould’s towering, magnificent Musical Moonphase Longcase was without equal. Dr Kristin Leith, Senior Curator of Clocktime June 2024 End Notes [1] Carter 2022, 198–206, Catalogue No. 29; Ende et al. 2004, 250–251; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 372–373, Catalogue No. 115. [2] Carter 2022, 202. [3] Carter 2022, 202 and 203. [4] Carter 2021, 162 and 166; Evans et al. 2013, chapter 2. [5] Tompion was the first maker to apply mass-production methods to high-quality clocks and watches. From the early 1680s, he used serial numbers to keep track of his output. (Taylor et al. 2019, 5). [6] Coming soon to Clocktime; Carter 2021, 160–169, Catalogue No. 34. [7] Carter 2022, 202. [8] Carter 2022, 201. References Carter, J. 2021. The John C Taylor Collection: Part II (Selling Exhibition Catalogue, Carter Marsh & Co). Winchester: Carter Marsh & Co. Carter, J. 2022. The John C Taylor Collection: Part III (Selling Exhibition Catalogue, Carter Marsh & Co). Winchester: Carter Marsh & Co. Ende, H van der et al. 2004. Huygens’ legacy: The golden age of the pendulum clock (Exhibition Catalogue). Isle of Man: Peleis Het Loo, Fromanteel Limited. Evans, J., J. Carter, and B. Wright. 2013. Thomas Tompion – 300 Years: A celebration of the life and work of Thomas Tompion. London: Walter Lane Publishing. Garnier, R. and L. Hollis. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Taylor, J. C. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: Exhibition guide. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Taylor, J. C. and K. Leith (with contributions by T. Phillipson). 2019. The Luxury of Time: Clocks from 1550–1750. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd.