Harvey introduces the lantern clock It is probable that London clockmaker Robert Harvey was the first to design and manufacture this style of brass lantern clock and introduce it to Britain. His brass lantern clock, made around 1610, is the earliest known surviving English brass lantern clock. Before Harvey introduced his lantern clock design to the domestic clock market during the early 1600s, very little attention had been paid to creating clocks for the average household. Up until then, it was only royalty and aristocrats who could afford these extravagant and expensive marvels. By using brass castings instead of iron ones, Harvey’s lantern clock design simplified construction, delivered a more durable mechanism, and reduced the cost of the production.[1] His were certainly the first domestic clocks to be made in considerable numbers, and horologist Brian Loomes calculates that Harvey’s manufacturing process enabled the production of hundreds of lantern clocks during his working years.[2] End Notes [1] Jaggar 1983, 291; Loomes 2014, 248. [2] Loomes 2013. References Jaggar, C. 1983. Royal Clocks: The British monarchy and its timekeepers 1300–1900. London: Robert Hale. Loomes, B. 2013. ‘Collecting Antique Clocks: Robert Harvey, maker of the first lantern clocks in Britain.’ https://www.brianloomes.com/collecting/harvey/ Loomes, B. 2014. Clockmakers of Britain: 1286–1700. Mayfield, Ashbourne: Mayfield Books.
