Tall Case Clock
Walnut
Light wood inlays
Kentucky, Probably Adair County
C. 1810
94″ H
The distinctive inlays with interlocking ripple edges link this clock case to a larger group of furniture attributed to Adair County. Catalogue #24 in Making Time, the Art of the Kentucky Tall Case Clock, 1790-1850 published by the Speed Art Museum, 2019, records a similar clock that is likely associated with the same shop or inlay-maker. Beyond clocks, the group includes a dining table, smaller table and chest of drawers. Of particular appeal are the relatively diminutive proportions of this clock’s case standing at only 94″. The eight day movement does not appear to be signed but the iron false plate is marked “Osborne” for the Birmingham manufacturer who supplied parts for numerous American clocks found in Kentucky and elsewhere. The clock face is similar in its decorative elements to at least two other Kentucky clocks documented in the KOAR website attributed to Samuel Feemster and Pleasant Baird suggesting that they worked with the same supplier or clockmaker to some degree. As noted in Making Time, “despite a common vocabulary of materials and often similar formats and proportions the resulting clocks vary widely in appearance and construction. (reflecting) the diverse backgrounds of many Kentucky cabinetmakers.” Likewise, components for the clocks’ works were acquired from a broad variety of sources in England and America with many components linked to shipments from Philadelphia and New York.
Beyond the inlay and other clues as to its origins, two other details may help to eventually identify the maker. The square, tapered columns on the hood are very unusual and could point to a cabinetmaker with a link to a Rockingham County, Virginia clock in the Colonial Williamsburg Collection, (1974-667, A&B) with similar columns. The numerous Virginians settling in Kentucky and the frequent links to Virginia cabinet shops, especially the Valley, is discussed in Catalogue 24 (Making Time)(and elsewhere) regarding another Adair County clock with Valley of Virginia associations. Also unusual is the construction of the case back comprised of a stack of 9 multiple horizontal poplar boards from base to hood nailed into rabbets cut into the case sides. The hood back are vertical boards similarly attached. This feature, while labor intensive, produces significant case strength and stability.
The clock case retains significant portion of it’s original surface, now lightly consolidated. The case, cornice and feet are original. The finials are replaced.
