Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Tall Case Clock
1768-1772
Benjamin Willard (1743-1803)
USA: Massachusetts, Lexington
Mahogany, brass, steel; glass
overall: 94-1/2"h x 20-1/2"w x 10-1/2"d
Gift of Robert T. Dann in Memory of Dr. James R. and Constance D. Gallagher
98.028a-g

Tall Case Clock; :a: movement, 8-day, key-wind brass movement, with anchor excapement, has rack and pinion hours strike; front and rear movement plates have been cast and hand-plannished; cable winding drums are grooved; b: mahogany case; c: "hollow-top" bonnet; arched door, and plain base; brass composite dial has applied cast brass foliated spandrels, and trepanium with an applied brass rondel engraved with an American eagle and the motto "Tempus Fugit."; dial composed of an applied chapter ring with Roman hours, and Arabic minutes around the circumference, and open work steel hands; inside the ring, above the main arbor, is a round aperature for a seconds dial which is engraved in script "B. Willard/ Lexington/ Fecit No. 80"; below the arbor, is a square date aperature; in center of dial has been given a non-reflective matted surface; d: tall weight; e: short weight; f: winder; bag of bits; g: pendulum is composed of a wood rod with a brass-faced lead bob. h-i: 2 keys; 1 fits on door of body j-l: 3 wooden finials, reproduction, bronze paint

Nathanial Mulliken (1722–1767) of Lexington, Massachusetts, is thought to have trained Benjamin Willard, the maker of this clock—but not for long. Only a year into Willard’s apprenticeship, Mulliken died. Willard stayed in Lexington to make clocks with Mulliken’s teenaged son for four years. Willard made over 20 clocks per year before tensions with Britain, scarce metal supplies, and an uncertain economy disrupted his work. With this clock, Willard provided his client with a device that measured hours, minutes, and--unusual for the 1700s--seconds. This clock did more than tell the time. It also conveyed a moral lesson. Willard decorated its dial with the Latin motto Tempus Fugit, loosely translated as “Time Flies.” He and the clock’s owner wanted to remind everyone of the importance of using time well. For further information, see blog post, October 22, 2009, http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2009/10/tempus-fugit.html Benjamin Willard (1743-1803). Benjamin's last known Grafton-made movement was No. 16 [made in 1768]. He moved to Lexington in 1768 and worked with Nathaniel Mullekin, Jr. (1752-1776). Benjamin's earliest known Lexington movement is No. 18 [made in 1768]; his last known Lexington movement was No. 114 (113? HAS 2/2009). In 1771/2 Benjamin moved his shop to Roxbury. In 1937 this clock came into the possession of Constance Dann Gallagher from her parents, Clarence B. and Ruby M. Dann of New Haven, CT. The Danns purchased it in 1929 from Mrs. Frank L. Kirschner, in whose parental home it had been for many years. From "Clock Making in New England 1725-1825," OSV "BW made and sold 253 clocks in Massachusetts before 1774." p. 29 See file for note about "Master Willard" from Lexington town minutes. 4-9-2025: door of body of clock is locked while on exhibition; door of bonnet has no lock, so two "worms" of wax applied on inside of door on either side of the lock plate. MKHarper From conversation with Bob Boyd, 10/15, recoil escapement. HAS Label text from exhibition, "Keeping Time: Clockmakers and Collectors," Oct 2015 - Oct 2016. Blog post, October 22, 2009 http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2009/10/tempus-fugit.html