Joshua Wilder, Hingham, MA, Mahogany-Front Banjo Clock, Made Circa 1820

Описание: “Warranted by J. Wilder / Hingham” is not a mere ornament. It’s a mark of confidence by a clockmaker who expected time to judge his work.

The clock is a mahogany-front wall timepiece made by Joshua Wilder, Hingham, Massachusetts, c. 1820. It is elegant and simple. The mahogany case rises in measured vertical rhythm from its presentation bracket to the finial. Brass side arms frame the body. A hinged, glass bezel protects the dial. Roman numerals sit between a closed minute ring and a softly gleaming gilt chapter ring. Below, a veneered lower door opens to reveal the pendulum's steady arc, a reminder that time here is measured, not rushed.

The craftsmanship is restrained and deliberate. The case, formed from figured mahogany and white pine, encloses a quality, weight-driven brass movement that powers the clock for eight days. Long plates, undercut gear teeth, a recoil escapement, and steel arbors reveal a maker who values both durability and refinement.

Joshua Wilder, born in Hingham in 1786, apprenticed with John Bailey Jr. of nearby Hanover. By the early 1800s, Wilder returned home and opened a workshop on Main Street in Hingham’s South Parish, becoming the town’s first resident clockmaker. It was good timing; Hingham was prosperous and valued well-made objects that showed both utility and taste.

Wilder supplied many: tall case clocks for prominent homes, wall clocks for parlors and offices, and, most notably, dwarf clocks - compact, architectural forms that defined his output. All were signed, warranted, and built to last.

Known locally as “Old Quaker Joshua Wilder,” he was active in the Society of Friends and involved in Hingham’s Peace and Temperance Societies, causes that matched the steady regularity of his profession. Over time, his workshop expanded into a retail business. He also trained a generation of clockmakers, among them his son Ezra, who joined him around 1840.

Wilder died in 1860, but his clocks are still found, especially in Massachusetts. A tall case example is displayed at the Hingham Library, a fitting tribute to a craftsman whose work once quietly marked the town’s hours.

Today, the banjo clock endures not just as decoration but as a record of early American life, when time was local, craftsmanship personal, and a maker’s name a promise and a point of pride.

Length 42", Width 10", Depth 4". Dial Diameter 9".

Inventory number 225090.