A George III oak-cased eight-day longcase clock, with anti-cider Excise Duty inscription
Joel Spiller, Wellington (fl. 1759 - 1769)
Having a twelve-inch brass dial with Roman hours and Arabic minutes, framing an engraved centre with large mouth shaped date engraved with sun and parrot motif, signed 'Joel Spiller, Wellington' and annotated either side of a cider barrel 'No Excise On Cyder'; the four knopped pillar movement rack-striking simultaneously on a bell, the hood with a broken swan neck pediment with applied floral roundels, the tapering fluted turned columns with brass capitals, the plain crossbanded long trunk door between mahogany veneered canted sides, on a matching base raised on a shaped plinth, (sold with two weights, pendulum and door key), 202cm (79.5") high
Having a twelve-inch brass dial with Roman hours and Arabic minutes, framing an engraved centre with large mouth shaped date engraved with sun and parrot motif, signed 'Joel Spiller, Wellington' and annotated either side of a cider barrel 'No Excise On Cyder'; the four knopped pillar movement rack-striking simultaneously on a bell, the hood with a broken swan neck pediment with applied floral roundels, the tapering fluted turned columns with brass capitals, the plain crossbanded long trunk door between mahogany veneered canted sides, on a matching base raised on a shaped plinth, (sold with two weights, pendulum and door key), 202cm (79.5") high
Sold for
£3,500
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Literature: A. J. Moore, The Clockmakers of Somerset, has Joel Spiller working at Wellington, 1759 - 1769.
In 1763 Lord Bute, when what is now known as Prime Minister, was the first man to introduce an excise duty on cider, thinking it a good way to pay for the Seven Years War. His decision to give excise men the right to enter people's homes spawned the phrase 'an Englishman's home is his castle'. Riots ensued and the prime minister was forced to resign.
Category: Clocks and Watches / Clocks
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