From plain Edwardian school clocks to cartel clocks mounted in elaborate ormolu, clocks to hang on the wall come in many shapes and sizes.

The ubiquitous wall dial of the Victorian and Edwardian periods is familiar from countless schools, kitchens and waiting rooms. In fact, wall clocks come in many forms, the fundamental distinction being between spring-driven clocks (which mostly run for eight days) and weight- driven clocks (mostly running for 3o hours).

Weight Drive Clocks

The earliest form of household, as distinct from public, wall clock was the Gothic chamber clock, made in Germany, Switzerland and in what is now Holland. Despite the name, these timepieces were made from around 1450 to 1650. They are very rare, but because of their bulk fetch only £5000 at auction.

A British development of the Gothic chamber clock was the lantern clock. A large bell on its top gives this timepiece its characteristic domed shape. Most London-made examples date from before 1720, although some were produced in the provinces as late as 1800. The majority run for 3o hours and have only a single, hour hand. Buying a lantern clock needs knowledge and experience, or expert advice, as many were converted to table or mantel clocks in the Victorian era; forged lantern clocks abound also. Prices range from £400 for an example in poor condition to more than £5000 for one in good condition by a reputable maker.

Antique Collector Magazine

Mid-European clocks from in the 18th and Kith centuries include Black Forest wall clocks, which generally have a 3o-hour movement framed in a wooden case. They are recognisable by an arched wooden dial, usually painted with bunches of flowers or country scenes, and some have a cuckoo mechanism. They were much copied around 1800 in the eastern United States, where they are known as ‘wag-on-thewall’ clocks because of their short pendulum which beats every half-second (and may hang in front of the dial).

Austrian clocks known as Vienna regulators were originally made to a very high standard during the Biedermeier period of the early loth century. They have a high-quality movement, with small driving weights and usually no strike. Most cases are made of boxwood, ebony or birch with glazed panels, and are severe and architectural in style. These clocks are generally expensive, fetching upwards of £ 10,000 at auction. A second type of Vienna regulator was mass-produced in Germany from about 1860 into the 20th century: striking and quarter-striking pieces in walnut cases abound. Many have ebonised mouldings and turned decoration, with some later examples in Art Nouveau style.

Postman alarm clocks were also made in the Black Forest in the mid to late 19th century. They have a white-painted 5 in (12.7 cm) round dial with a turned mahogany or birchwood bezel, or surround. The 3o-hour movement is powered by a cast-iron weight.

Dutch or Friesland stoel clocks date from the 18th century. They have a painted dial, and an arched canopy, decorated with elaborate cast-lead fretwork, protrudes over the clock. Access to the brass, 3o-hour verge movement with a bell at the top is through side doors. Staart clocks, which replaced the stoel type in the 20th century, have a 3o-hour anchor movement. The long pendulum is housed in a boxed ‘tail’ below the wall bracket. The painted tin-plate dial often has a charming country or town scene. Stoel clocks fetch £800-£1200, staart clocks £5oo-£800.

Spring-driven Clocks

The wall dial is the commonest type of British clock after the longcase, and originated in London in the 1760s. It is a spring-driven equivalent of the Act of Parliament clock and owes a debt to the French cartel clock. Early wall dials have an unglazed round painted wooden dial, about 15 in (38 cm) across, fixed to a movement that is housed in a wooden box. They always have a hole in the hack to fit on a wall hook.

Clocks made from the late 18th century onwards have a glazed dial, the face silvered from about 1770 to 182o and made of painted iron thereafter. Most examples dating from around 1775 have a mahogany box instead of the earlier painted pine. Georgian clocks have a wooden bezel, while Victorian and Edwardian wall dials have a turned brass one, and a half-second pendulum.

Victorian drop-dials are recognisable by their long movement box, which can extend some 12 in (3o cm) below the dial. The box has a window through which to view the pendulum. The case may be plain mahogany, or have mother-of-pearl, brass or boxwood inlay, and some are papier-mâché. -

Cartel clocks were a French innovation devised in the Régence period, about 172o. These forerunners of the British wall dial are highly ornamental, many designed by leading cabinet-makers and decorated with boullework, ormolu or painted tin-plate. Louis XVI and Empire examples are almost always Neoclassical in style and made of ormolu, although all styles were reproduced in the Kith century. British cartel clocks made between I76o and 1800 are carved giltwood in the Rococo style. Their silvered dials are 6 in (15.2 cm) across and have a mock pendulum and a prominent script signature.

Sedan clocks, which date from the Regency period, were often made using earlier watch movements and dials. These were rehoused in a 3 in (76 mm) circular or rectangular brass- rimmed mahogany case. The brass loop fitted at the top of the clock was for hanging the clock in a sedan chair.

American banjo clocks from the early 20th century have a glass-fronted banjo-shaped case; many are painted with patriotic subjects. Later copies sell for £3000-£4000.

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Victorian and Edwardian Wall Clocks