Frederick Wingate of Augusta, Maine. No. 119. A tall case clock. UU-56.
This well-proportioned mixed woods case tall clock was made by Frederick Wingate of Augusta, Maine, circa 1813.
This is a very good example of his work. This case is constructed in several indigenous kinds of wood. The vast majority of which is birch and retains its original red wash. This is a process that was common to clocks of this region. Many speculate that it helped disguise the wood to look more like mahogany. The secondary wood is New England white pine.
The case stands on cutout bracket feet that retain excellent height. They are visually separated from the base section with a simple applied molding. The waist door is rectangular and is trimmed with a molded edge. The sides of the waist section are fitted with turned quarter columns. These are nicely formed, having some shaping and additional ring-turned designs. They terminate in brass quarter capitals. The bonnet features a New England-style pierced and open fretwork pattern. This is a pleasing design. Three period brass finials are mounted on finial plinths. The bonnet columns are smoothly turned and nicely shaped. They are free-standing. They are mounted in brass capitals. The dial is colorfully painted. This dial was most likely painted in Boston. It exhibits many details found in dials painted by Spencer Nolen, who rented shop space from his father-in-law Aaron Willard. This dial is also signed by the clockmaker in script lettering, “Frederic Wingate.” This signature area also includes his working location, “Augusta,” and is numbered “No. 119” on the dial.
The movement is brass, eight-day duration, and is of good quality.
This clock was made circa 1813.
Inventory number UU-56.
Frederick Wingate was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on January 11, 1782, and died in Augusta, Maine, on November 16, 1864. His parents were William Wingate (1745-1821) and Mehitable (Bradley) Wingate (1747-1796). His older brother, Paine Wingate (1767-1833), worked as a clockmaker in Boston as early as 1789 and returned to Haverhill before 1795, possibly giving him the chance to train Frederick. On January 17, 1806, Frederick married Hannah Page of Haverhill, and that same year, they moved to Augusta, Maine. A label inside one of his tall clocks from 1806 says he had for sale "good warranted Brass Eight Day Clocks, well finished and as handsome as can be purchased in the metrolopus. Also – Warranted WATCHES... / CHAINS, SEALS, KEYS & etc."
In 1814, Frederick served as a soldier in the War of 1812. Soon after, he began advertising different military goods for sale.
Frederick worked as a silversmith, watchmaker, and clockmaker, and became one of Maine's most prolific clockmakers. He may have learned his trade in Massachusetts before moving to Augusta. As a clockmaker, he made many tall clocks, as well as some banjo and mirror clocks. Many of his tall clock dials are numbered, with the lowest recorded by our family being 15 and the highest 302. In 1808, Frederick taught Benjamin Swan, who was from Augusta, to make clocks. Swan's clocks are often very similar to Frederick's, sharing features like case design, contrasting woods, and Nolen & Curtis dials. Many Augusta clocks also use figured maple in the waist door and base panel, have distinctively shaped waist and hood columns, and Boston-painted dials by Spencer Nolen. Quite a few Wingate clocks still have their original setup labels, which are usually pasted inside the waist door and help date the clocks.
