Thomas Claggett Newport, Rhode Island. Clockmaker, Silversmith, and Swordsman. EEE-46.
A Rare ChippendaleTall Case Clock, constructed in Cuban purple mahogany by Thomas Claggett of Newport, Rhode Island, made circa 1760.
This rare mahogany tall clock is a good example of Newport, Rhode Island's high-style clocks produced during the middle of the eighteenth century. The choice of wood, stately proportions, and subtle details are indicative of the fine clocks made there. The colonial Clockmaker Thomas Claggett, a contemporary of James Wady's, produced this attractive clock. Both of which are considered prominent Newport clockmakers. Collectors prize these rare early clocks as some of the finest examples of early American clockmaking. This example survives in good condition and retains an older surface on both the dial and the case.
This composite brass dial is wonderfully detailed and retains a mellow old patina. The dial measures 12 inches across and is composed of a brass sheet decorated with applied brass decorations and skillfully executed engravings. The most exciting feature is the name-boss engraved in the lunette with the Clockmaker's signature and working location. It reads, "Thomas Claggett / Newport." The four urn-themed corner spandrels are mounted to the dial sheet with a screw from the back and frame the applied time ring. The engraved time or chapter ring was originally finished in a silver wash. This treatment has not been restored and is currently in as-found condition, which should appeal to the purest of collectors. The time ring is formatted with Arabic-style five-minute markers. A closed minute ring separates the five-minute markers from the large Roman-style hour numerals. Inside the chapter ring is a four-sided display window for the calendar day, an inset, and an engraved, decorated subsidiary seconds dial. Additional Arabic-style numerals mark the ten-second positions on the seconds display. The hour and minute hands are original and in a traditional form.
The two-train movement is brass, eight-day duration, and is of good quality. Four-turned pillars or posts support the two large brass plates. Hardened steel shafts support the polished steel pinions, brass gearing, grooved winding drums, and recoil escapement. The weight-driven movement is designed to run for eight days on a full wind. It is a two-train or a time-and-strike design with a rack and snail striking system. As a result, it will strike each hour on the hour on a cast iron bell mounted above the movement.
This case is constructed in high-quality Cuban purple mahogany and was likely produced in Providence. Cuban mahogany is a prized wood known for its color, grain, durability, and workability. As a result, it was favored by early furniture makers. The wood selected for this clock casts a purple hue, which signifies its density. Its weight reinforces this. Lifting this case, one quickly realizes the quality of the wood. It is comparatively heavy. The case is elevated on four applied feet. The front two are in Providence ogee bracket form. They have a distinctive form, are slender at the bottom, and are applied to the base molding. The rear feet are turned. The base section is somewhat compressed. An ogee-shaped molding transitions the base to the waist section. A tombstone-shaped waist door is centered here. This door opens to access the two drive weights and the brass-faced pendulum bob. The hood or bonnet slides onto the cove-shaped waist molding. It is designed with four columns that visually support the upper pediment. The front two are free-standing. They are slightly tapered and terminate at both ends in shaped wooden capitals. The hood sides have large rectangular inspection windows. Mounted directly to the top of the arch are three capped plinths. Each supports a turned wooden finial with a carved flame top.
This case measures approximately 101.5 inches tall. At the upper hood molding, it is 21.25 inches wide and 11.25 inches deep.
This clock was made circa 1745.
Inventory number EEE-46.
Past research suggests that Thomas Claggett was born in about 1730 and died in 1797. His parents were William Claggett and Mary Armstrong, married on October 21, 1714. His father, William Claggett, is considered to be one of America's earliest clockmakers who immigrated to Boston sometime around 1714 and settled in Newport in 1716. Thomas's sister Mary married James Wady of Newport. James Wady was also a clockmaker. Two other sisters, Hannah Threadkill and Elizabeth Claggett, and a brother, Caleb, are also mentioned in William's will.
Current research presented by Donald L. Fennimore and Frank L. Holman III in their book CLAGGETT Newport's Illustrious Clockmakers suggests that Thomas Claggett was not William's son but may have been a relation, perhaps a cousin.
Thomas first appears in the documentary record in December of 1752, suggesting that he was born in about 1730. Surviving clocks with works signed by Thomas Claggett are comparatively rare. Only twelve clock examples are listed in the Rhode Island Furniture Archive, and a total of fifteen were identified in research performed for the book mentioned above. In 1755, Thomas formed a partnership with John Bannister (1707-1767) that lasted until Bannister's death. Of the Claggett clocks known, one example has a backplate engraved "Marmaduke Storr, London." Storr was a successful clockmaker who worked in London. His shop was at the entrance of London Bridge. The presence of this engraving suggests that clock components could be sourced from London.
Thomas Claggett's signed movements and dials are found in cases made by the Goddard-Townsend cabinet shops. In 1767, Thomas advertised he had hired a repairman from London to mend clocks and watches. He also begins to pivot his business and offers goldsmith and silversmith work. In December of 1776, the British occupied Newport, and Thomas moved to Providence, where he carried on his business on the corner of Parade opposite the Brick Market. Here he offers lessons in wordsmanship. When the British evacuated Newport in October of 1779, Thomas returned to the decimated port city and his Queen Street location. The British had destroyed approximately 300 dwelling houses in the city during their occupation. The years to follow were hard for Thomas. He moved for a time to Taunton and then Dighton before he died in Newport in 1797. The town's poor fund paid for his coffin.
For more information about Thomas Claggett and his contemporaries, see Donald L. Fennimore and Frank L. Holman III's book, CLAGGETT: Newport's Illustrious Clockmakers, and Martha H. Willoughby's biography, Timeless: American Masterpiece Brass Dial Clocks, by Frank Hohmann III.
