a fine goergian longcase clock by the important maker, james ivory of dundee

A fine Georgian eight-day mahogany longcase clock by James Ivory of Dundee, circa 1790. James Ivory was probably the most important Dundee maker ever. He warrants his own Wikipedia entry which is below. Although dealing with his output of watches, there is little to add except to point out that this clock has one of the finest cases we have seen on a clock which comes, anyway, from a region that produced the very best Georgian clocks. The clock comes with its original painted Scottish pendulum. It is fully cleaned and overhauled and the price includes delivery and setting up in Suffolk, Norfolk or Essex. We deliver further afield but there is a reasonable charge - for most places - £150.

Wikipedia entry.James Ivory (1729 – 1793) was a Scottish watchmaker, clockmaker, and engraver. He was briefly followed by his son Thomas Ivory.James Ivory was a very prominent watchmaker and clockmaker in Dundee, Scotland during the mid-to-late 18th century. Born in Liberton, near Edinburgh in 1729, he worked as an apprentice in London, England (years unknown). There he married Jane Brown on 27 January 1761 at St. Clement Danes Church in London. In late 1762 he returned to Scotland to work in Dundee, where he lived until his death in 1793. On 17 February 1765 his first son Sir James Ivory was born in Dundee. His wife Jane however died shortly after child birth. He went on to marry Margaret Cook on 16 September 1768. James Ivory had 3 sons and 2 daughters through his two marriages including his stepchildren. James's second son Thomas who was born on 5 April 1770, followed after his father and became a watchmaker in 1795 in his own right after apprenticing under his father. He later gave up the trade in 1800 to work in publishing until his death in 1825. Thomas in turn named his son James who later become known as Lord Ivory.
James Ivory rose to considerable eminence as a renowned clockmaker in Dundee and throughout the United Kingdom. He was entrusted with the making of the clock for the steeple of St. Andrew's Parish Church in the Cowgate area of Dundee in 1774 which is still in use today. He also served as a Dundee Town Councillor from 1768 until 1789. It was while acting in this capacity that his eldest son, mathematician Sir James Ivory, was appointed one of the teachers at the Dundee Academy.
After completing his apprenticeship in London, he opened a workshop there prior to moving to Dundee after marriage. His extremely rare early pieces thus have "London" engraved onto them rather than "Dundee". During his time as an active clockmaker and watchmaker between the mid 1750s and 1793, he made pocket watches, hall clocks, wall clocks, etc., many of which were of the verge fusee escapement type of movement. Most of his pocket watches would have had "beetle and poker"-style hands, white enamel faces, and baluster-style pillars. Many of his pieces have been sold at auction for tens of thousands of dollars and are regarded as "the best that money could buy in London at the time" by auction houses even today.Based upon engraved serial numbers on his pocket watch movements from 1759 through 1768, he produced an estimated average of 20 watches a year during that time. Between 1769 and 1774 that number increased to an average of 78. By comparison, others were putting out hundreds, sometimes thousands, of movements per year from their workshops. This just goes to show that much of the work was in fact done by him personally rather than with the help of several apprentices like many other makers of the time. Being an engraver himself, he created most if not all of the work on his movements vs. sourcing finished parts from other suppliers as was common practice by others. Most of the components were ordered unfinished, which was every makers practice, then finished by the makers shop. By and large, most other makers whose signatures were engraved on their movements, may not even have touched it themselves at all and apprentices performed most of the remaining engraving, finishing, and assembly.

Antiques.co.uk Ref: K6FC5MAWB

Maker/Artist:

James Ivory, Dundee

Materials:

Mahogany, brass, steel

Width (cm):

47

Height (cm):

205

Depth (cm):

23

Please note that this price may NOT include delivery charges which the seller may charge extra for.

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J. and R. Norman Antiques

We have been antique dealers since 1974 and specialize in antique clocks, especially longcases, but also bracket, carriage and wall clocks. For many years we sourced clocks for a world-renowned clock specialist and author of books about clocks, who has now retired. We carry out restoration on pre-1860 clocks. We are also the largest dealers in 19th century stereoscopic photography in the world. We are a family business and are fortunate in having three generations working - aged from 22 to 75!

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