Clock
Simon Willard American
In 1822 the highly inventive and successful Massachusetts clockmaker Simon Willard advertised that "the President of the United States has granted him a PATENT for his newly invented ALARUM TIMEPIECE that will run for 8 days with one winding, and keep exact time." Accompanying the newspaper advertisement was a wood engraving of a clock identical to this one, down to its ball feet and gilded brass appliqué on the octagonal base. Nowhere in the advertisement is the timepiece referred to as a "lighthouse clock," a name assigned to it at a later date on account of its shape. This example retains its original blown-glass dome with applied swirl decoration. The clock has a dummy bell and no alarm, however, indicating that the latter was optional.
#3855. Clock
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