Physical Description

This clock is 11.5 inches long, 21 inches wide, and 91 inches tall. It is made of cherry and white pine wood, has a molded edge, metal, swan neck, glass, paint, and the clock is the tempanent of the case. In the center, there is a brass ball and Arabic numerals. The dial clock face has a star-shaped wheel and a gold leaf triangular-like flower shape. The clock has a locally-made alarm feature. Inside, two weights hang on pulleys and a pendulum that is not attached. The feet on the base section have been shaved and the wood has small scratches and areas of discoloration. There are blocks under the clock that lift it off the ground. 

On the face of the clock we can see a second hand dial above two diamond style brass hands, and its calendar dial is missing a hand. The face of the clock originally had the numbers: 15, 30, 45, and 60. Then the numbers 1-12 were added later on. 

Covering the clock’s face is an arched, glazed dial door. The finish of the clock is very dull, and there is no false plate on this clock, making it very Scottish (a false plate is used by the clockmaker as an aid for them to not pierce the paint on the clock). The hood has two rotated columns and curved rectangular glass panes on the side panels. 

Provenance

This DuBois clock located in the Visitor Center at Huguenot Street was made by the artist Kenneth Maclennan, however he did not sign it. It was made in New York between the years of 1810 and 1820, as the style of the case and dial are very traditional. Because the piece is cherry, it hints at the idea that the piece originated in a rural area. The absence of a false plate means the dial must be American or Scottish. It was passed down through the DuBois family, ultimately from Jonas to Perry to Charles A. DuBois. Before Charles A. passed away in 2009, he gifted the clock to Huguenot Street.

Narrative (The History of the Tall Case Clock):

In the 18th-19th century, clockmakers had many restrictions, especially when they were apprentices. Apprenticeships for clockmaking were rigorous and lasted about seven years. The men who did this were forbidden to have girlfriends or wives. In the same light, women were not allowed to work on the clocks or become clockmakers. The masterful clockmakers wanted their apprentices to focus on their craft and not be distracted by a girlfriend or wife. 

Clockmakers of the tall case clock were first located in cities, mainly Philadelphia and New York. It was much easier for clockmakers to sell their clocks in cities, as there were more rich people to buy them. In the country/rural areas, there were very few clocks that were made. More and more clockmakers moved to New York City in an effort to find their niche in clockwork. This upped production in New York at this time, specifically in the city. Seeing a clock in someone’s house meant they were quite rich. Clocks were often the most expensive item in the home. They took up a significant amount of space and owners often used them to flaunt their wealth. The biggest appeal for rich folk to buy tall case clocks was the aesthetic and look of them. The bigger the inlay of the clock, the more wealthy the person who had it was. They are a unique addition to home decor, as it is more out of the ordinary in comparison to an expensive table or chair. Sometimes clocks were sold overseas so the artists could make more money and so people who were not in the United States could acquire such high class clocks. 

Tall case clocks were more common than grandfather clocks, but then it was found that smaller clocks needed to be made. Then grandfather clocks went out of business for the most part, and people bought the smaller ones. Clocks began to be mass produced and became less expensive. The average man could now afford a clock. Clockmakers also made the clocks more practical by making the faces white so the black numbers could be more visible at night. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the United States became the biggest supplier of clocks.

Narrative (Distinguishing a Tall Case Clock and New York Styles):

The most prominent New York clockmakers in the 18th century were Thomas Pearsall, Anthony Ward, the Embry Family, and Samuel Marti. Clocks can be distinguished based on the mechanical features on them. This often shows the time period as well as who the maker was. NY clocks in particular have a very unique style to them. Swan neck tops, differently painted tiles, cherry and white pine indigenous woods, and molded edges are very New York styles. One way to determine the artist of the clock is to look at the dial; this is where the artist often signs their name. Sometimes artists do not sign their name, and you must infer who made the clock based on its features.

On some clocks, there was a strike feature which could silence the ticking of the clock. If someone had this feature on their clock, it meant they had quite a lot of money, as one would only silence a clock if they had another clock they wanted to hear instead. To make a tall case clock, there must be a clockmaker/artist as well as a cabinetmaker. The artist was the person who received credit for the making of it, even though the cabinet maker was heavily involved in the wood making part of the clock. In some instances, artists were not very good mathematicians. For instance, the hand would beat once every seventy seconds instead of sixty (and this happened more than once). 

Narrative (Importance to Huguenot Street and New Paltz History):

This specific Huguenot Street tall case clock is seen as an unusual and unique clock. The center has a star wheel, which is the alarm disk that runs and strikes a bell. The buyer of the clock had to request the alarm function be built into it. The alarm disk function is seen on three clocks on Huguenot Street. This is interesting since this is an incredibly rare feature, yet it is quite common on Huguenot Street. The Deyo house and Fevre house hold the most of these clocks. This shows that this feature had regional influence. There were very few clocks in New York in comparison to Pennsylvania, and there were very few clocks outside of the city. In Ulster County, there were a handful of these rare clocks, especially those with the alarm function. This is important to New Paltz history, as it signifies that there were some very wealthy people here. These wealthy people not only had many clocks, they had many clocks with a unique and more expensive feature. These clocks are very unique to New Paltz history. 

References

DuBois, Mary, and Stephen DuBois. “2021.05.” Mcgoldrick, Louise, 20 July 

2021. 

Musso, Anthony P. Hidden Treasures of the Hudson Valley / Anthony P. Musso. NetPublications, 2011.

Received by Louise McGoldrick, Research on Standing Alarm Clock Object, 

1 May 2023. 

“What Makes a Clock New York, a Virtual Presentation.” Performance by 

Ralph Pokluda, and Kara Augustine, ZOOM, 2021.