The Olivewood Tompion This clock is the earliest known surviving clock made by Thomas Tompion, who is widely regarded as the ‘Father of English clockmaking’ and known for his sound design and use of high-quality materials. It is called the Olivewood Tompion because of its exotic olivewood case. It is also one of the earliest examples of the incorporation of exotic woods into the cases of luxury clocks.[1] This clock may very well have been Tompion’s first spring table clock, and its new, clean design suggests that the ambitious young clockmaker wanted his clock to stand out. Pragmatic salvaging When Tompion first appears in the historical record, London was still reeling from the effects of the Great Fire in 1666 and waves of plague occurring between 1665 and 1670. These events had disrupted the London clockmaking market, severely limiting the availability of clockmakers and making scarce the materials they needed, particularly brass. At the time, it was cheaper and more feasible to use and adapt existing parts than it was to make new ones. We know nothing about Tompion’s training as a clockmaker, but it is likely that he came to London to ply his trade as a blacksmith, making nails, brackets, hinges and other items for the rebuilding of London following the Great Fire. When the Olivewood Tompion was made, Tompion was at the start of his career and not yet an established London clockmaker. It is doubtful that he would have had access to the kind of financial credit available to him later in his career. To make a name for himself, he had to be pragmatic as well as ambitious. During this time, Tompion appears to have been a friend and possible colleague of the clockmaker Joseph Knibb. Knibb arrived in London around the same time as Tompion. Joseph was the cousin of Samuel Knibb, a talented London clockmaker who tragically died of plague around 1670. Joseph took over Samuel’s London workshop immediately after his cousin’s untimely death. Horologist Dr John C Taylor suspects that Joseph made clock parts from Samuel’s workshop available to Tompion, based on similarities between the castings and parts for two clocks from the Knibb workshop to those of the Olivewood Tompion. For example, the Olivewood Tompion’s movement may consist of a collection of partly finished wheels from Samuel Knibb’s London workshop, as this clock bears a striking resemblance to the Silver-mounted Ebony Case Clock on a turntable base made by Joseph Knibb around 1673 (coming soon to Clocktime). Tompion also appears to have used and adapted case parts as well as a chapter ring from Samuel’s workshop. Tompion’s use of parts made by another (in this case deceased) clockmaker was probably a pragmatic response to the scarcity of materials, particularly brass, at the time. However, pragmatism alone did not drive the clean and new design of the Olivewood Tompion. Standing out from the crowd The Olivewood Tompion may very well have been Tompion’s first spring table clock, and the up-and-coming clockmaker appears to have gone to great lengths to differentiate his design from those of other workshops. This is best exemplified by the fact that there are no half-hour markers on the Olivewood Tompion’s silvered chapter ring; they have been removed, as indicated by the twelve sets of punch marks on the back of the rectangle. Removing the half-hour markers was a lengthy process. Punching from the back raised up the front face of the chapter ring. Then, the rectangular areas between the engraved hour markers and the outer ring of minute divisions were all ground flat again. Finally, the ring was silvered. As a result, there is no trace of the original half-hour marking engravings on the front of the chapter ring. Such an alteration would have taken immense skill to achieve without damaging the rest of the engraving on the chapter ring. The punching could easily have caused the whole chapter ring to become distorted. This suggests that Tompion himself made these amendments, probably with the aim of creating a new style and making the collection of imported parts look less like the product of a competing workshop. If so, he was ahead of his time, as the exclusion of half-hour markers on clocks would not be in fashion for about 100 years. There is also evidence of another element’s removal from the Olivewood Tompion’s original design. Intriguingly, hidden beneath the top of the case is a ring of holes with three-quarter–inch centres. It is possible that these could be the vestigial remains of a baluster gallery that has been removed. Perhaps the balusters were sacrificed to achieve the clean visual elegance of the case as it stands? Why did Tompion go to all this trouble? Dr Taylor succinctly explains: It is likely that Tompion altered the appearance of the case and undertook the difficult removal of the (half hour) markers to differentiate his style from earlier clockmakers...[2] Thus, it was absolutely clear that the clean, new design of the Olivewood Tompion came from Tompion’s workshop and no other. This new clockmaker had arrived. Rescued by chance It is quite by chance that we have Tompion’s earliest known clock in the historical record. The Olivewood Tompion was found in a junk shop on Gloucester Road in London, not long after the Second World War, by a Mr. H. Gadsby, who alerted horologist Percy Dawson to his discovery. Dawson immediately recognised the clock’s importance and bought it for a few pounds, thereby preserving it and securing its rightful place in horological history.[3] End Notes [1] Dawson 1948; Dawson et al. 2003, 177 and 180; Garnier and Hollis 2018, Catalogue No. 69; Taylor et al. 2020, 27, Exhibition No. 3:10. [2] Taylor et al. 2020, 27. [3] Dawson 1948; Taylor 2018, 24. References Dawson, P. 1948. ‘An early clock by Tompion’ in Antique Collector. Dawson, P., C. B. Drover and D. W. Parkes. 2003. Early English Clocks. Suffolk: Antique Collectors Club. 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., K. Leith and T Phillipson. 2020. The Luxury of Time: Clocks from 1550-1750. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd.
