Century Regulator by John Roger Arnold Expert Adviser's Statement
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Case 5 2010-11 : An early 19 th -century regulator by John Roger Arnold Expert Adviser’s Statement EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Brief Description of item • What is it ? Longcase regulator • What is it made of ? Mahogany, brass and steel. • What are its measurements ? Height 193 cms. • Who is the artist/maker and what are his/her dates? John Roger Arnold (1769 – 1843) • What date is the item? 1795 – 1800 • What condition is it in? Good and original. 2. Context • Provenance From the time of manufacture to the recent sale at Bonham’s London Auction House (15th December 2009), making an assumption of inheritance, the regulator has a traceable provenance – see appendix 3 below. • Key literary and exhibition references The regulator has not been exhibited and has not featured in any published work. 3. Waverley criteria • Which of the Waverley criteria does the item meet? (If it is of ‘outstanding significance for the study of some particular branch of art learning or history’ which area of art learning or history). Waverley Criteria1 and 3. • Very briefly why? Waverley Criterion 1– It is so connected with our history (including local history) and national life that its departure would be a misfortune. This regulator is important because it is intimately connected with the life and business of one of Britain’s internationally recognised and celebrated chronometer making businesses and with the history of precision timekeeping in this country - an area in which London clock, watch and chronometer makers lead the world for over a century. The Arnold business had a history of providing regulators of the highest quality to observatories, perhaps the most celebrated examples being two regulators commissioned from John Arnold senior in April 1772 for the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The first of these, subsequently known as No.1 continued in service, with modifications until it was sold into public ownership in 1932. The second, No.2, was used there until it was sold in 1938. The provenance suggests that this regulator was retained and used by its maker. Such examples in the field of horology are very survivors indeed and for this example to leave the country would indeed be a great misfortune. Waverley Criterion 3 – Is it of outstanding significance for the study of some particular branch of art, learning or history? The study of horology in Great Britain is being carried out in a more extensive way than ever before. For centuries, from as early as the 1660s to the introduction of quartz technology in the post World War II era, Britain led the world in the field of precision horology. In this context, the work of John Arnold and his son John Roger Arnold is particularly significant and surviving examples of regulators made by them are relatively rare, especially those which remain in this country. Made in about 1796 – 1800, this regulator was owned and even perhaps used by John Arnold at the end of his life, and was subsequently used by his son John Roger Arnold (1769-1843). It would have been an important example of Arnold’s productions and may have been employed as the workshop time-standard for testing the rates of marine timekeepers and other precision pieces before they were sold to the public or issued to navigators or the British Government. It might otherwise have been a timekeeper which stood in the Arnold shop as a demonstration of the level to which high precision could rise. It is therefore of outstanding importance in the study of the history and development of precision timekeeping and workshop practice of the time. The timekeeper also incorporates an example of a zinc/iron compensated pendulum, a piece of horological technology which is also relatively rare and worthy of study. DETAILED CASE 1. Detailed description of item(s) if more than in Executive summary, and any comments. What does it depict? The work is a very fine example of precision horology from the end of the 18 th century. Case: Solid mahogany case with panelled plinth and double skirted bottom. A hinged, locked door in the trunk. Flat-top hood with hinged glazed door and solid mahogany panels at the sides. At the back, at the height of the door an iron strap enables accurate levelling when the clock is fixed to the wall. Inside the case a substantial cast bracket provided suspension for the pendulum. Dial: The one-piece silvered brass dial is engraved with an outer minute circle numbered 0-60 at five-minute intervals. Below the 60 minute a subsidiary dial has an outer circle divided to seconds and numbered every 10 seconds. An aperture below the centre reveals a disc numbered I-XII for the hours. Movement Weight-driven month-going movement with substantial brass plates and six tapered pillars retained by screws at the front. Four wheel going train with Harrison’s maintaining power on the great wheel. The great wheel, intermediate and centre wheel pivots all have adjustable endplates. The third wheel and escape wheel run in jewelled bearings. Graham dead-beat escapement, with steel escape wheel carrying the seconds hand. Polished steel pallets with jewelled pallet stones. Seconds-beating pendulum, with steel and zinc gridiron compensation, suspended from a large cast block inset and screwed to the case back-board. The steel crutch fork is lined with gold on the faces which interact with the pendulum rod. Two micrometer screws provide beat adjustment. Dial signed: Arnold London No.33 . What does it tell us about that period? It is a typical high-precision machine, made to be used as a time standard. The most common use for such regulators was in astronomical observatories. However, such machines were also made for individuals who had an interest in science, astronomy and navigation and were commonly used by clock, watch and chronometer makers as time standards in their workshops for adjusting and setting their products. This regulator is a very fine example of the genre. Features, such as the jewelled bearings for the gear train, the jewelled pallets in the escapement and the zinc/iron gridiron temperature compensated pendulum mark it out as being of the finest quality available at the time. As such it reflects the pre- eminence of London makers in the field of precision regulators at the time. There is no doubt that in this period 1750 – 1850 the London makers led the world and had reputations second to none and John Arnold and his son John Roger Arnold rank amongst the most celebrated in the field. Who made it/painted it/wrote it? It was made in the workshops of John Roger Arnold towards the very end of John Arnold’s life when he was retired and his son was running the business No. of comparable items by the same artist already in the UK, in both public and private collections? There are only three identifiable regulators by John Arnold and his son John Roger Arnold known to remain in this country, although it is difficult to be precise as the whereabouts of those now in private ownership are not known. (See appendix 2 below) 2. Detailed explanation of the outstanding significance of the item(s). Significance of figures associated with the item(s): maker/client/owners? In the story of the development of precision timekeeping in the 18 th and 19 th century, precision regulators have played a central role as instruments providing accurate time-keeping in relation to astronomy, navigation and surveying. From the regulators made for the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1675 by Thomas Tompion to the highly sophisticated instruments made by William H. Shortt for observatories around the world, the progress of astronomy was made possible by the production of increasingly accurate timekeepers. In that story in 18 th and 19 th century, London makers were at the forefront, pioneering new inventions and achieving ever more precise measurements of time. John Arnold and his son John Roger Arnold, were in the vanguard of those providing the finest and most precise machines. These took the form of static regulators and portable marine timekeepers. John Roger Arnold was without question one of the leading makers of precision regulators at the turn of the 19 th century, maintaining the standards established by his father in the preceding period. Significance of subject-matter? Horology is a widely studied subject around the world and more specifically in Great Britain which has a rich history. The London makers played a central role in the development of precision horology from John Harrison and Thomas Mudge during the 18 th century to the leading makers who carried the story into the 19 th century when London and Liverpool makers were supplying the world with marine chronometers for navigation. At the same time it was the London makers such as the Arnolds who were supply the observatories of the world with regulators as essential scientific instruments used in the furtherance of astronomical observations. Significance of materials/process/usage? See above. Is/are the item(s) of local/regional/national importance? This regulator, by one of London’s most celebrated makers, is of national importance in the history of horology. Summary of related items in public/private ownership in the UK (see appendix 3 below) References: Vaudrey Mercer, John Arnold & Son , Antiquarian Horological Society, London, 1972. Hans Staeger, 100 Jahre Präzisionuhren von Arnold bis Arnold & Frodsham , 1763-1862 , Staeger, Stuttgart, 1997. Derek Roberts, English Precision Pendulum Clocks , Schiffer, Atglen, 2003. Bonhams, London Sale Rooms, Fine Clocks and Barometers, 15 th December 2009 , lot132. Name of Expert Adviser and Institution: Dr. Jonathan Williams Keeper Prehistory & Europe British Museum Great Russell Street London WC1B 3DG Author of report (if different) David Thompson Curator of Horology Prehistory & Europe British Museum Great Russell Street London WC1B 3DG Date: 7 th July 2010 Appendix 1 John Arnold and John Roger Arnold.