Figure 857 shows a splendid example of this type of clock, the property of Mr. Dwight M. Prouty, of Boston. It is a marriage dock, so-called, is decorated in pink and blue, and is much more elaborate than the usual Willard clocks. On the rectangular base are the words "S. Willard patent." All of the Willard clocks had a rectangular base with straight or curved sides and usually without any ornament below. The painted designs were simple, and there was but little gilding except upon special pieces. The idea was to build an eight-day clock at a reasonable price, and all the maker's energies were directed toward that end.

Figure 857. Willard or Banjo Clock, about 1800.

Figure 858. Willard Clock, about 1800.

Figure 858 shows a clock by Willard, Jr., who was Simon, the son of the famous Simon. It differs from most of these clocks in that it has a strike, the bell appearing above the top. The painting on the lower door is Phaeton driving the chariot of the sun.

Of all the clockmakers who adopted Willard's model, probably none made such beautiful clocks as did Lemuel Curtis. Curtis was born in Boston in 1790, moved to Concord, Massachusetts, in 1814, and on January 12, 1816, took out a patent as an improvement on the Willard patent. He lived in Concord until about 1820, when he moved to Burlington, Vermont, where he died in 1857. The form of his clock is much finer than that of the Willards, and they are all quite similar, differing only in minor details.

Figure 859 shows a Curtis clock, the property of Mr. George M. Curtis of Meriden, Connecticut. Instead of the rectangular base is substituted a circular frame, quite a little larger than the dial, on which is painted on a convex glass Phaeton driving the chariot of the sun. About the dial and base are applied gilded halls. A feature of the Curtis clocks is the hands made of a series of loops. On the dial is printed, "Warranted by L. Curtis." At the foot of the coat of arms "L. Curtis" appears in print, and "Patent" and "L. Curtis" are in script.

Another Curtis clock is shown in Figure 860 and is the property of Mrs. Benjamin Peckham, of Providence. In general form the case is identical with that shown in the preceding figure. In the central section, however, is a thermometer below which is the word "patented." The picture in the lower dial is supposed to represent Paul Revere and Old North Church, Boston. In the background on the dial are the words "Warranted by Curtis & Dunning." An unusual feature is the sweep second-hand. Curtis clocks are also occasionally found with an eagle with closed instead of spread wings.

Figure 859. Curtis Clock, 1800-20.

Figure 860. Curtis Clock, 1800-20.

Figure 861. Lyre-Shaped Clock, 1815-25.

Figure 862. Lyre-Shaped Clock, 1815-25.

Still another form of mural clock is what is known as the lyre clock, a good example of which, the property of Mr. G. Winthrop Brown, of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, is shown in Figure 861. The case section is composed of two acanthus-leaf scrolls, and between is painted on glass a female figure with a large lyre. The hands are in the form used by Curtis, and it is possible that he made this clock. An unusual feature of the clock is that it strikes on two wires extending diagonally across the clock from the point on the case at the figure IX to the lower right-hand side of the case on two piano stubs over a sounding-board These wires can be pitched to different tunes. The striking is done with one wheel which lifts a counter-balance to which is attached the hammer which strikes the hour.

Figure 862 shows another lyre clock. The case is composed of two acanthus-leaf scrolls, and on the glass between are painted parallel lines to represent strings.

Figure 864. Mantel Clock, 1800-20.

Figure 863. Willard Bracket Clock. 1800-20.

Figure 865. French Clock. 1800-20.

Figure 863 shows a bracket clock which bears the inscription, "A. Willard, Boston." It is owned by the Misses Brown, of Salem, whose grandfather bought it from Willard. On the lower case is painted a pastoral scene with a floral border. The A. Willard clocks are especially noted for their good painting.

Figure 864 shows another form of mantel clock. The case is mahogany, nicely inlaid, and the dial is painted with a scene and a female figure at the top and fan ornaments in the spandrels. This clock was made by David Wood, of Newburyport, and is in the Bolles Collection, owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Figure 865 shows a mantel clock such as was popular during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The frame is composed of alabaster columns and pediment within which are set a dial and a pendulum beautifully embossed. Such clocks as this were intended to be kept under glass.

The earliest mantel clocks without base made in this country were those made by Eli Terry, of Plymouth Hollow, now Thomaston, Connecticut. He was a clockmaker of considerable reputation, and so great was the demand for clocks at the beginning of the nineteenth century that in 1803 he made three thousand clock movements. He then sold out to Calvin Hoadley and Seth Thomas, a well-known American maker, and retired from business. The demand for cheaper clocks than could be made with the tall cases led him to experiment in making small clocks, and about the year 1812 he made six mantel clocks.

Figure 866. Mantel Clock, 1812.

Figure 867. Mantel Clock, 1820-30.

Figure 866 shows the first of these clocks. It was a very crude affair and Terry never used it as a model, one of the other five subsequently being adopted for the working model of the later mantel clock, and therefore it has the honour of being the first made and the only one built from this design. It will be seen that it is nothing more nor less than a tall case clock cut down. The works are made of wood and a weight is used for the running power in the same way as in the tall clocks. This clock was bought from Eli Terry by Ozias Goodwin, and is now in the possession of his great-grandson, J. C. Spencer, of Thomaston, Connecticut.

The model which was adopted for the later mantel clocks was arranged with the pendulum and verge in front of the works behind the face, and was run with a spiral spring.

Figure 867 shows a shelf clock, belonging to the Honourable John R. Buck, which dates between 1820 and 1830 and is a good example of the style. It was quite often the custom to paste in the backs of these clocks a copy of the last census of the principal cities of the United States, and it is thus possible to approximate the year in which they were made.