Thomas Mudge & William Dutton No.58 circa 1785

6ft

The archetypal Fleet Street regulator case with a flat topped hood with moulded cornice over canted reeded angles, the hood door with fine and typical bolection mouldings. The concave throat molding above the long rectangular trunk door of excellent figure and colour and a fine molded edge, the base applied with a matching panel to a skirted plinth, standing on solid mahogany block feet.

The 10 inch square silvered dial with outer minute track enclosing the large subsidiary seconds dial and wide Arabic hour aperture, the signature Thos. Mudge & Willm. Dutton London flanking the chamfered date aperture and secured to the weight driven movement by four screwed heavy turned dial feet.

The movement with heavy shouldered plates united by five large knopped pillars, latched to the frontplate, and stamped 58 to the under edge of the backplate. The five-wheel going train with Harrison’s maintaining power and high count pinions terminating in a deadbeat six-spoke ‘scape wheel with steel pallets, all with double-screwed endstops to the backplate, the massive original grid-iron pendulum suspended from a substantial brass A-frame, the columns screwed to both the backplate and solid mahogany seatboard, the pendulum reading against a silvered beat scale secured to the solid mahogany backboard of the case.

One month

The Inches family (of Hamilton & Inches jewellers, Edinburgh), possibly acquired direct from Mudge & Dutton, by descent to Deidre Inches Carr.

Private collection U.K.