A most beautiful tall case clock made by Benjamin Swan of Augusta, Maine.

Benjamin Swan, the son of Francis and Abigail (Eliot) Swan was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on January 15, 1792. Sometime in 1808 the Swan family moved from Haverhill to Augusta, Maine. Previously, a number of Haverhill residents had made this same move. One of which was Frederic Wingate who had establish a clock business in that town as early as 1803. It is Wingate who is thought to have trained Benjamin Swan in the art of clockmaking. Benjamin worked both in Augusta and the town of Hallowell as a clockmaker and as a silversmith from 1814 through 1867. During the War of 1812, he served as a Sergeant stationed in Wiscasset. In this year he also married Hannah Smith of Hallowell. Benjamin Swan died in Augusta on November 27, 1867.

We have owned a fair number of clocks made by this maker. This is one of the more formal examples we have seen. In addition, it has excellent proportions.

This fine mahogany case exhibits the traditional Augusta form and proportions. It is somewhat unusual in that this example is constructed in mahogany. This case form is traditionally found in indigenous woods such as birch, maple and cherry wood. Often mahogany is used as an accent wood. As a result, the mahogany used in this example must have been requested as a special order. This example retains an older finish that has mellowed and is pleasing to the eye. This compliments the long gentle grain pattern found throughout the case construction. This example stands tall on a cutout bracket base. The feet have very good height and flow into a nicely developed apron which is applied to the base section. The base is fitted with an inset panel which adds a depth to this section. The waist is long and narrow and features a rectangular waist door. This waist door features a broad mahogany cross banded border. Smoothly turned quarter columns are set into the front corners of the waist. These terminate in brass quarter capitals. The bonnet features a pierced an open fretwork pattern that is original to this case. Three brass ball and spike finials are mounted on finial plinths or chimneys. The bonnet columns are also smoothly turned and a subtle shaping has been incorporated into their design. These are mounted in brass capitals and they flank the arched bonnet door. This door is fitted with glass and opens to a colorfully painted dial of Boston origin. This dial features a moon phase or lunar calendar in the arch. The four spandrel areas are decorated with seashells. A gilt circle frames the time ring. Roman numerals mark the hours. Arabic numerals are use to indicated the quarter hours only. The interior of the dial features a subsidiary seconds dial and a calendar dial. This clock is also signed by the Maker in this general location. The signature is written in a lovely script format. After viewing this, one could easily argue that Benjamin Swan was very proud of his this clock. The working location of “Augusta” is printed in smaller block lettering. The weight driven time and strike movement is of good quality and is designed to run for eight-days on a full wind. This clock was made circa 1810. It stands 7 feet 9 inches tall.