"Balloon" Shelf Clock
Simon Willard American
Not on view
Simon Willard experimented with the production of economical, 30-hour shelf clocks for the mass market and obtained patents that were widely pirated by his contemporaries. This shelf clock is an exceedingly rare form, being the sole example with a brass dial signed by Simon Willard. The unusual balloon-shaped case bears similarities to eighteenth-century, French bracket clocks. Folklore associated with this clock perpetuated the myth that Willard may have taken inspiration from the first successful ascension of a hot-air balloon launched in France, in 1783, by brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier. Willard’s direct influence by this historic event remains unconfirmed.
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