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Like fire and moving water, clockwork holds a mesmeric fascination based not just on the fact that time is being marked out but because of the precisely moving metalwork, which to the uninitiated appears to operate of its own volition. It was natural therefore, that in an era of ostentation clockmakers should devise ways of making their art more visible, particularly as the technology of the glass-making industry made it possible to manufacture transparent domes which kept out dust and dirt - the eternal enemies of good timekeeping.
The first British skeleton clocks were made c.1820, but mainly as curiosities and to special order. Demand increased as a new generation sought novelty. The heyday of skeleton clock production was in the thirty to forty years following the Great Exhibition of 1851 in which some highly ornamental examples were featured. Gradually manufacturing became concentrated in the Midlands, London and Liverpool in the hands of such firms as Smith's of Clerkenwell and Evans of Handsworth in Birmingham, who sold to retailers throughout the world. Standardisation of parts and large volume manufacturing thus enabled the price to be dropped; moreover with increased competition from abroad, the result was that apart from the luxury end of the trade, small makers ceased to compete.
This superbly researched book examines the evolution of design, while 45 colour and 358 black and white plates illustrate in fascinating detail the ingenious mechanisms that were designed both to achieve improved timekeeping and delight the eye. Styles range from the simplest of timepieces to the magnificent musical clocks and the complex clocks frequently made for presentation purposes. Written by a clockmaker, restorer and dealer, this book is a welcome addition to the Antique Collectors' Club series of books on individual types of clocks and is destined to become the standard work.
