A FINE GEORGE III MAHOGANY EIGHT-DAY LONGCASE CLOCK John Ellicott, London, circa 1760 The five pillar rack and bell striking movement with anchor escapement regulated by seconds pendulum, the 12 inch brass break-arch dial with subsidiary seconds dial and calendar aperture to the matted centre within applied silvered Roman numeral chapter ring with Arabic five minutes to outer track and signed John, Ellicott, Lon,don to lower margin, with scroll-pierced steel hands and fine crisply cast rococo scroll cast spandrels to angles beneath arch with silvered Strike/Silent selection dial flanked by dolphin cast mounts, the case with concave sided 'pagoda' upstand adorned with brass flambeau urn finials and with shaped fretwork panel to fascia over cavetto moulded break-arch cornice and hinged glazed dial aperture flanked by brass stop-fluted columns, the sides with rectangular windows and conforming quarter columns set against bargeboards at the rear, the trunk with concave throat moulding over solid mahogany break-arch door applied with complex mouldings to edges, the base with concave top mouldings over rectangular raised panel and moulded double skirt. 240cm (94.5ins) high excluding finials, 53.5ins (21ins) wide, 27cm (10.5ins) deep. John Ellicott F.R.S. is recorded in Baillie, G.H. Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World as born 1706 to John Ellicott senior, a Cornish clockmaker who had gained his Freedom of the Clockmakers' Company in 1696 and died 1733. John junior worked from Swithin's Alley, Royal Exchange, London and was elected member of the Royal Society in 1738. He published works on horology in 1739 and 1753 and is particularly noted for the development of the cylinder escapement and a form of compensated pendulum; he also maintained a private observatory at his home in Hackney. John Ellicott was later appointed as Clockmaker to George III, and took his son, Edward into partnership in 1760 which lasted until his death in 1772. The present clock is notable in that it has survived in fine original condition and is very much a textbook example of its type made by one of the leading English horologists of the 18th century. Condition Report: Movement is complete and in clean working condition having been recently serviced and there is no evidence of alteration or significant replacements. The dial is in good clean condition with only minor discolouration/spotting to the silvered finishes in places; the hands appear original and undamaged. The movement retains what appears to be the original seatboard which rests on the directly onto the case uprights (cheeks) which have historic nail holes corresponding to those in the seatboard which serve to confirm that the movement and dial are most likely original to the case. The case is in fine original condition. The shaped fretwork panel to the hood is a replacement and two of the small pads that support the finials are a loose (simply require re-gluing) otherwise faults are very much limited to very minor historic bumps, scuffs and other age related blemishes. The patination/colour is notable in its originality. Clock is complete with pendulum, pair of brass-cased weights, case key and winder. Condition Report Disclaimer