| Height | 7 feet 10 inches |
| Case | Case of superb burr walnut veneers on oak, hood with inverted-bell top, finely pierced walnut frets, brass-capped Doric columns, concave throat mouldings, trunk door punch-numbered twice 734 on the leading edge and the interior face, the plinth with boxwood and ebony line-inlaid panels above a double footed skirt. |
| Dial | 12¼ inch square gilt-brass latched dial signed Geo: Graham London at base, large seconds ring and pinhole adjusted calendar aperture, silvered chapter-ring and blued-steel hands; double-screwed Indian-mask-and-scroll spandrels with foliate and strap engraving (G.515) between; bolt-and-shutter lever between II and III. |
| Movement | 6 by 8⅛ inch plates with five latched baluster pillars, brass flat-section pendulum rod and large bob with nib to calibrated rating nut, rack striking on a large bell, base of backplate punch-numbered 734. Securing bracket fixed to a brass T-bar on the backboard. Square-section winding key with lignum vitae handle punch-numbered 73 , the 4 inverted (see photo). |
| Duration | 8-day. |
| Provenance | Probably bought by the 2nd Duke of Buccleuch, thence by descent at Dalkeith Palace, Scotland, whence purchased 1943 by JC Hirst of Leicester, who also owned Tompion no. 418. Sotheby’s London, 1 October, 1998, lot 468. Christie’s London, 15 September 2004, lot 19 (£171,614). |
| Literature | RW Symonds, ‘The Genius of George Graham’, Country Life Annual, 1951, fig. 2-3. HA Lloyd, ‘George Graham, Horologist & Astronomer’, Horological Journal, Nov. 1951, p.709. HA Lloyd, Chats on Old Clocks, London, 1951, pl. 30.r, 60.r. HA Lloyd, Collectors’ Dictionary of Clocks, 1964, p. 99, fig.252. Garnier & Carter, The Golden Age of English Horology, 2015, p.172-175. |
| Escapement | Deadbeat with bolt-and-shutter maintaining power. |
The Buccleuch Graham, No. 734 circa 1739
An exceptional Type 3 walnut 8-day longcase clock with original numbered winding key
This Type 3 clock is the first of Graham’s final, most sophisticated form of domestic longcase which included a deadbeat escapement, simplified dial of greater clarity, and upgraded case with superb veneers and inverted-bell superstructure. Graham and Buccleuch were acquainted, being FRS (Graham elected Mar 1721, Buccleuch elected 12 Mar 1724) and both were Freemasons, members of the same un-named Lodge, meeting at Rummer’s Tavern, Charing Cross.
Product Description
This Type 3 clock is the first of Graham’s final, most sophisticated form of domestic longcase which included a deadbeat escapement, simplified dial of greater clarity, and upgraded case with superb veneers and inverted-bell superstructure. Graham and Buccleuch were acquainted, being FRS (Graham elected Mar 1721, Buccleuch elected 12 Mar 1724) and both were Freemasons, members of the same un-named Lodge, meeting at Rummer’s Tavern, Charing Cross.
Additional information
| Dimensions | 5827373 cm |
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