Washington Mantle Clock

In late March and early April 1815 extracts of a letter from Paris appeared in newspapers published in several American cities. The letter, signed by “DUBUC, Aine horloger, rue Michel Le Compte, No. 33, en face Le Bureau des Hypotheques a Paris”, discussed a clock design that featured a likeness of George Washington. By having this letter published widely, it seems that the clock’s Paris-based maker, Jacques-Nicolas-Pierre-Francois Dubuc, and likely an as yet unknown US-based importer, hoped to promote this new product to patriotic Americans in the immediate aftermath of the War of 1812, which saw the United States victorious. As Dubuc’s letter noted, Washington was considered by this point “Father of the Republic” – a unifying symbol to the young country. The Dubuc clocks, which exist in a few sizes and variations, feature a three-dimensional representation of Washington. The version seen on the Walters example was likely based on a 1796 print done after a 1792 painting titled "General George Washington at Trenton" by John Trumbell (Yale University Art Gallery, accession no. 1806.1). In addition, the clock prominently features a plaque on its front with the legend “WASHINGTON / The First in WAR, The First in PEACE, And in his COUNTRYMEN' [sic] HEARTS.” This legend is based on a well-known extract from a eulogy given for Washington by his close friend Major General Henry Lee to US Congress in 1799. While Lee wrote “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,” the version on the clock differs, perhaps due to its translation and transcription by French artisans.

Acquisition of a Washington Mantle Clock allowed wealthy American consumers to not only display their patriotism, but also their sophisticated tastes, in that it was a luxurious example French metal casting and gilding as applied to a timepiece. The Walters clock was given to the museum with an accompanying wooden plinth and glass dome. While it is unclear if these originally accompanied the clock, the published extracts from the Dubuc letter did mention that his clock would be accompanied “with an elegant glass and everything complete.”

The plinth that accompanied the Walters clock bears a partially legible label from "MORTON’S FURNITURE STORAGE WAREHOUSE,” at 327 North Howard Street, Baltimore. John E. Morton operated a furniture storage and retail business, P. Morton & Son, at this address from 1887/1888 until his death in 1912. (Until 1886 this business operated at another address, 108 North Howard Street.) This could indicate that the Walters clock and its housing were in Baltimore by the late 19th century or early 20th century, if not earlier.

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Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Collection of Lillian Gary Taylor, New York City, 1930s (?) [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; by exchange to Ann Keyser Gary, Baltimore, 1930s (?) [date of acquisition unknown] [1]; given to James A. Gary, III, Baltimore, ca. 1975 (?) [date of acquisition unknown]; given to the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, 2002.

[1]. When he gave the clock to the Walters in 2002 James A. Gary, III, indicated he recalled that his mother, Ann Keyser Gary, in the 1930s "traded" her aunt, Lillian Gary Taylor, a larger version of the "Washington Clock" for this one.