Ephraim Willard of Boston, Massachusetts. An inlaid mahogany cased tall clock. UU-26.
Ephraim Willard of Boston, Massachusetts, made this inlaid mahogany case tall clock.
This fine inlaid mahogany case features good mahogany wood and mahogany veneers. The case is elevated on four ogee bracket feet applied to the bottom of the double-step molding. The base panel is constructed with a selection of mahogany that features a long vertical grain pattern. This panel is also line inlaid. Quarter fans are positioned in each of the four corners. The fans consist of seven petals of alternating light and dark wood. The waist section is long and relatively narrow. This accentuates the pleasing form of the case. The tombstone-shaped waist door features an excellent grain pattern. It is fitted with applied molding along its perimeter. This door is also lined inlaid in a pattern that conforms to the door shape. The sides of this case are fitted with fluted quarter columns that are stopped with brass and terminated in brass quarter capitals. The bonnet features a traditional pierced and open fretwork design and is surmounted with three brass finials. Each of the finials is mounted on fluted plinths. The bonnet door is also decorated with a line inlaid. It is an arched form and is fitted with glass. The two smoothly turned and brass stop-fluted bonnet columns are positioned on either side of the bonnet door. They are free-standing and mounted into brass capitals. They provide the illusion of supporting the upper bonnet molding. Tombstone-shaped sidelights are fitted into the sides of the bonnet. Each of these is fitted with glass and provides a view of the mechanism.
The eight-day time and strike movement is brass and of fine quality. It is designed to strike each hour on the hour. It strikes the hour a cast iron bell that is mounted above the movement. This clock is weight powered and retains its original tin can weights.
The iron dial is colorfully painted. Floral patterns decorate each of the four spandrel areas and the arch of this dial. The arch is also decorated with a colorful bird. This dial is signed by the maker just below the calendar aperture. It reads “E. Willard.” This dial displays the time in a traditional format having large Roman numerals that mark the hours, and Arabic numerals are positioned at the five-minute marker locations. A subsidiary seconds dial is below the Roman hour numeral XII, and the calendar date is indicated on a separate dial below the center arbor.
This clock was made circa 1795 and stands approximately 96 inches tall, 20.25 inches, and 10 inches deep.
It is inventory number UU-26.
Ephraim Willard was born in Grafton, Massachusetts, on March 18, 1755, during a period of significant change in colonial America. His parents, Benjamin Willard and Sarah (Brooks) Willard, had 12 children; four of them became clockmakers, reflecting the era’s growing demand for skilled artisans in the colonies. Little is known about Ephraim’s early life in Grafton, but he likely learned clockmaking from his older brothers, Benjamin (1743–1803) and Simon (1753–1848), at a time when the craft was central to local economies and technological advancement. Simon Willard would become America’s most prominent clockmaker, shaping the emerging identity of American craftsmanship. Ephraim also practiced clockmaking, probably working closely with Simon and their younger brother, Aaron (1757–1844), as the family contributed to New England’s reputation for fine timepieces.
Ephraim’s life intersected with major events in early American history. According to the History of the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1704 to 1876, including Grafton until 1735; Millbury until 1813; and parts of Northbridge, Upton, and Auburn, Simon was hired by Joseph Rockwell to build a machine for cutting and shaping the teeth of a carding machine, an example of how New England artisans adapted to the early stirrings of the Industrial Revolution. Records also show that Ephraim marched with his brothers in response to the Lexington Alarm on April 19, 1775, serving during the opening days of the American Revolution. This direct involvement in the war highlights the Willard family’s commitment to the colonial cause.
In 1777, Ephraim moved to Medford, Massachusetts, where he was listed as a clock and watchmaker. By 1784, a lawsuit identified him as a trader living in Boston, reflecting the mobility and economic challenges many artisans faced following the Revolution. From 1795 to 1801, Roxbury tax records list him as a resident of Roxbury. In 1801, he bought land and a house on Sheaf’s Lane in Boston; the deed described him as a "Merchant." Over the next two years, he faced financial difficulties and was described as a clockmaker. In 1804, Boston tax records list him as a clockmaker on Elliot Street. In 1805, Ephraim moved to New York City, where he was occasionally recorded as a watchmaker until 1832. Like his brother Benjamin, Ephraim moved frequently, a testament to the shifting landscape of post-Revolutionary America and the challenges of maintaining a trade. He produced far fewer clocks than his three brothers, and only a small number of tall clocks bearing his signature are known to exist. Notably, the cases for his clocks range from simple and understated to examples considered among the finest made by Boston-area cabinetmakers, reflecting both the evolving tastes of the period and the influence of a changing nation.
