smaller tavern clock, e. halfhide / hereford

[bruce linde]

just got this off my local craigslist... 46" tall, kind of a typical tall case movement but smaller, e. halfhide of hereford. i found a mention of him in an 1840 registry but that was it (other than a william halfhide, who seems to have been a little earlier.)

comments? info?

thx!

 

[jmclaugh]

Nice clock, it's what is called a Norfolk dial clock or East Anglian/Norwich wall clock not a tavern clock. They first appeared around the first quarter of the 19th C and aren't that common. Loomes lists Edward Halfhide in Hereford 1844-50 (William Halfhide Hereford is listed 1835).

 

[JTD]

I may be wrong, but I think the words on the dial are a relatively modern re-paint. Others may know more/better.

A very nice clock.

JTD

 

[Jim DuBois]

Nice find! Congratulations! I can't offer any information on the maker/owner/retailer name on the dial, but it looks like you found another "unicorn" in that it looks to be original with all the appropriate parts and in overall great condition.

A slight aside, is the dial a repaint or just remarkably well preserved? (Goes to the name we have on the dial and subsequent research on it, not intended as a criticism)

In any event, I like it!

 

[wow]

Great find, Bruce! I check Craigslist regularly and never have found anything like that. Congrats!

 

[RAK]

Great Find! Looks great next to the other amazing choices you've made for your collection.

I never even think to check Craigslist. My expectation is that the only clocks I'll see there are a bunch of quartz driven Howard Millers (no offense meant to folks who like those, just not my thing). From now on I'll have to check it from time to time.

Thanks for sharing,

Bob

 

[Thomas Sanguigni]

One of the weights looks like a Morbier weight. Neat looking acquisition.

 

[novicetimekeeper]

good find, and agree with Jonathan. Is the black diamond where there was an escutcheon? Seems quite big, so perhaps brass not bone?

 

[bruce linde]

hard to tell about the dial... it doesn't look hand done or new, but it's got a more glossy finish than expected. the more i stare at it, the more the e. halfhide signature looks added.... by halfhide? someone else? the font and weight of the hereford go better with the numbers, to my eye.

it came with 11-ish lb weights... i was trying 9-ish pounders, just to see. i put the originals back on.

it seems a little smaller (@ 46") than a lot of the norwich's i find... and a bit plainer.... but it looks nice hanging with its bros... a nice (and higher quality) movement, running happily after cleaning. (someone put in one bushing along the way, didn't need any new ones.)

finding good clocks on craigslist can be done, but it's more a testament to my perservance (ocd?) that i've come up with as many as i have.

here are some closeups of the diamond and latch....

 

[zedric]

As I'm sure you would know, Herefordshire has one of the lowest population densities of any county in England, and in the 1840s I would imagine that there would be few families that would have been interested to order and buy such a clock. So it is a rare thing, and not unexpected that it would be a bit more plain than those from Norfolk.. I would expect it would be the only one of this style that the maker made..

 

[bruce linde]

i did not know that, thx!

just found archives for the hereford times between 1830 and 1849 at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

apparently our boy was active between 1833 and 1849:

April 3, 1833. HALFHIDE, Watch clock maker, Working Jeweller, Silversmith, and Engravfr, Next Door to the Green Dragon, Broad Street, Hereford,

1839 Youth of respectable connections, as an APPRENTICE to a WATCH and CLOCK-MAKER, WORKING-JEWELLER, &c. where he will be treated in every respect as one of the particulars apply to Mr. Halfhide, Broad-street, Hereford

1841 TO PARENTS AND GUARDIANS. WANTED, a Youth of respectable connexions, as Apprentice to a Watch and Clock Maker, ... of respectable connexions, as Apprentice to a Watch and Clock Maker, Working Jeweller, Silversmith, &c, who will treated in. every respect as one of the family. For particulars apply to Mr. Halfhide, Broad-street, Hereford.

1849 NOTICE OF REMOVAL. E. HALFHIDE, WATCH AND CLOCK MAKER, WORKING JEWELLER, SILVERSMITH AND OPTICIAN, EIGN STREET, NEARLY OPPOSITE THE GREYHOUND INN

i think this internet thing has some possibilities....

 

[Les harland]

Bruce
The Green Dragon still exists, it is now a hotel

 

[bruce linde]

The Green Dragon still exists, it is now a hotel

!!

 

[jmclaugh]

Good sleuthing Bruce. Afaik the cases of these clocks, like English dial clocks. are typically relatively plain with no decoration. Their name seems to be because they were more popular in East Anglia than elsewhere but they were found in most parts of the country.