| Object ID |
1986.349 |
| Object Name |
Clock, Tall Case |
| Dimensions |
H-96.5 inches |
| Early Date |
1796 |
| Late Date |
1800 |
| Made By |
Nicholas Goddard |
| Description |
Musical tall clocks represent the highest achievement of the 18th century clockmaker's domestic production, and fewer than 100 American examples are known to survive. In their first advertisement, placed in the Rutland Herald of July 3, 1797, the partnership of Benjamin Lord and Nichols Goddard listed musical clocks along with gold beads and rings, silver spoons, buckles, buttons, and sugar tongs. Benjamin Lord provided the partnership with its silversmithing skills. A native of Norwich, Connecticut, he first advertised his trade in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1796, and a year later had joined Goddard in Rutland. Their partnership was dissolved within 10 years; however, Lord continued his trade there until 1831 when he moved to Athens, Georgia.
According to Nichols Goddard, Jr., his father learned the trade of clockmaking in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, where he was born. At least two musical tall clocks made during the time of the Goddard/Lord partnership remained in the possession of the Goddard family in 1886, when Nichols, Jr. published a newspaper account of his family recollections. He states the clocks played one tune each day of the week, with a psalm reserved for Sundays, and "in the manufacture of these clocks there was a fine hand-engine or milling machine used by Goddard for cutting gears and pinions." Both Lord and Goddard were respected businessmen in Rutland, active freemasons who held important positions in town government.
A musical clock such as this would have been one of the most prized possessions in the household, valued at up to $70 or $80 and second only to the fully furnished bed as a sign of affluence and taste. Fine examples of tall clocks by Lord and Goddard can be seen in the collections of the Sheldon Museum and the Albany Institute of Art. Made after the partnership dissolved, the Bennington Museum's clock is one of only two musical examples known to exist. |
|
