A history of timepieces made in Pennsylvania from William Penn's time to the present, this book is more than a compendium of clock and watchmakers and their work. With abundant illustrations and lore from historians in every part of the state, it recreates a time when clock and watchmaking was not a mere occupation: it was truly a craft. The author attributes this characteristic to the Keystone State's unusually varied population, and explores the various "old world" influences affecting the design and style of timepieces. The story of clock and watchmaking from colonial Philadelphia to Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle is a major chapter in the history of industry, trade, tastemaking, and craftsmanship. Clocks of finely carved wood decorated the homes of prosperous early settlers, and golden watchcases adorned their persons; meanwhile, clocks on Independence Hall and other public buildings measured the hours for the general citizenry. As time passed, more utilitarian clocks graced schools and factories, while Hamilton watches kept the trains running on time. Resisting the temptation to lower standards for the sake of mass production, Pennsylvania clock and watchmakers gained fame for their high-quality craftsmanship. The making of clocks and watches is detailed by Dr. Gibbs from its beginning in the southeastern counties of William Penn Country, through the Pennsylvania Dutch Country and the center of the Commonwealth, and on to the state's northern and western frontiers. The craftsmen are presented in historical context, with emphasis on their social and educational backgrounds and the effect of these on their timepieces. Separate sections focus on illustrious clockmakers such as the Ellicott and Solliday families, Jacob Detweiler Custer, and the master of horology and astronomy, Dr. David Rittenhouse. Pennsylvania Clocks and Watches is an indispensable handbook for the experienced collector and a stimulating guide for the beginner. It is also a valuable reference for students of industrial and social history, design, and folkways.

“Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World” is a comprehensive reference book of the most notable makers of clocks and watches in the world at the time when this book was first published. It is presented as a series of lists, each containing different information pertaining to the industry and the main companies involved in the manufacture of timepieces. Contents Include: “Conventions Abbreviations”, “List of Names with Alternative Spellings”, “List of Watch and Clockmakers”, “List of Initials and Monograms”, “List of Place Names”, “Maps”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on clockmaking.

Additional Author Is Courtenay A. Ilbert. Diagrams By F. Janca. A Historical And Descriptive Account Of The Different Styles Of Clocks And Watches Of The Past In England And Abroad Containing A List Of Nearly Fourteen Thousand Makers.

Contains 250 black and white photographs of clocks, followed by a List of American Clockmakers and a List of Foreign Clockmakers. Indexed. Note publication date of 1924.

Among the finest examples of European craftsmanship are the clocks produced for the luxury trade in the eighteenth century. The J. Paul Getty Museum is fortunate to have in its decorative arts collection twenty clocks dating from around 1680 to 1798: eighteen produced in France and two in Germany. They demonstrate the extraordinary workmanship that went into both the design and execution of the cases and the intricate movements by which the clocks operated. In this handsome volume, each clock is pictured and discussed in detail, and each movement diagrammed and described. In addition, biographies of the clockmakers and enamelers are included, as are indexes of the names of the makers, previous owners, and locations.

One of Smithsonian Magazine's Ten Best History Books of 2021 A captivating, surprising history of timekeeping and how it has shaped our world. For thousands of years, people of all cultures have made and used clocks, from the city sundials of ancient Rome to the medieval water clocks of imperial China, hourglasses fomenting revolution in the Middle Ages, the Stock Exchange clock of Amsterdam in 1611, Enlightenment observatories in India, and the high-precision clocks circling the Earth on a fleet of GPS satellites that have been launched since 1978. Clocks have helped us navigate the world and build empires, and have even taken us to the brink of destruction. Elites have used them to wield power, make money, govern citizens, and control lives—and sometimes the people have used them to fight back. Through the stories of twelve clocks, About Time brings pivotal moments from the past vividly to life. Historian and lifelong clock enthusiast David Rooney takes us from the unveiling of al-Jazari’s castle clock in 1206, in present-day Turkey; to the Cape of Good Hope observatory at the southern tip of Africa, where nineteenth-century British government astronomers moved the gears of empire with a time ball and a gun; to the burial of a plutonium clock now sealed beneath a public park in Osaka, where it will keep time for 5,000 years. Rooney shows, through these artifacts, how time has been imagined, politicized, and weaponized over the centuries—and how it might bring peace. Ultimately, he writes, the technical history of horology is only the start of the story. A history of clocks is a history of civilization.

This early collection on Chester County Clocks is thoroughly recommended for inclusion on the bookshelf of all horologists. Extensively illustrated with text and full page photographs. Contents Include: Foreword; Acknowledgments; Introduction; The Parts of a Grandfather Clock; Individual Clockmakers and Clocks - David M. Anderson, Emmor Baily, Joel Baily, George Baldwin, Harlan Baldwin, Thomas F. H. Baldwin, Eli Bentley, John Boyd, John Breckwell, Butler & Bartlett, Canby & Nielson, Joseph Cave, Benjamin Chandlee, Sr, Benjamin Chandler, Jr, George Cochran, Abraham Corl, Thomas Crow, Benedict Darlington, Thomas Dring, Jacobn Fertig, Benjamin Garrett, Goshenville's Big Ben, John Hall, Jonathan N. Hatch, Caleb Hibbard, Joseph M. Hollis, Honey Brook's Community Clock, Joshua Humphrey, George Jackson, Jr, John Jackson, Isaac Jackson, Curtis Ferreris, Elisha Kirk, James Kinkead, A. Sydney Logan, J. Clemens McConnell, John Murphy, Abraham Olwine, Henry Olwine, William H. Price, Moses A. Regensburg, Thomas Scott, Samuel Sligh, James Starrett, mordecai Thomas, Isaac Thomas, David Underwood, Russell Vibber, John Way, West Chester's Town Clock, David Williams, Thomas Wolf (deWolf) Allan Yarnall; and a Bibliography. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.