The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City holds in its collections a tall-case striking clock that Benjamin Bagnall, Sr., constructed in Boston before 1740 and that Elisha Williams probably acquired between 1725 and 1739 while he was rector of Yale College.[1]
The term American clock refers to a style of clock design. During the 1600s, when metal was harder to come by in the colonies than wood, works for many American clocks were made of wood, including the gears, which were whittled and fashioned by hand, as were all other parts.[2] There is some evidence that wooden clocks were being made as early as 1715 near New Haven.[3] Benjamin Cheney of East Hartford, Connecticut, was producing wooden striking clocks by 1745.[3]
In the 19th century, many clocks and watches were produced in the United States, especially in Connecticut, where many companies were formed to mass-produce quality timepieces.[4] Makers of American clocks included:
^ abUselding, Paul (2003). "Clock and Watch Industry". Dictionary of American History. The Gale Group Inc. Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2017-05-31. The first clockmaker of record in America was Thomas Nash, an early settler of New Haven in 1638. Throughout the seventeenth century, eight-day striking clocks with brass movements, similar to those made in England, were produced by craft methods in several towns and villages in Connecticut. .... By 1745 Benjamin Cheney of East Hartford was producing wooden clocks, and there is some evidence that these clocks were being made as early as 1715 near New Haven.
