John Barton, London

• Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, pierced and engraved balance cock, diamond endstone, fusee and chain, turned cylindrical pillars • signed and numbered dust cap • movement and dust cap signed Jno. Barton, London No. 1420
• Dial: white enamel, Roman numerals, outer Arabic minute ring, blued steel beetle and poker hands
• Case: plain gold inner case, winding aperture to back, hallmarked 1771-1772, case maker’s mark TL star above incuse for Thomas Layton • chased and engraved outer
case with central portrait plaque painted en grisaille on a chocolate ground and depicting a profile bust of John Harrison attributed to George Michael Moser (after James Tassie),
engraved decoration around the case depicting globes and other navigational instruments, a gridiron pendulum, Phoebus (Radiant) Apollo at the pendant, with a fish-skin covered outer protective case.

Percy Webster Collection – Sotheby & Co. London, 27th May 1954, lot 64
Antiquorum The Art of British Horology, 21st October 1995, lot 69

Ships, Clocks & Stars: The Quest for longitude, National Maritime Museum, July 2014 - January 2015

F.J. Britten, Old Clocks and Watches, and their Makers, Sixth Edition, 1932, pp. 377-378
G.H. Baillie, Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World, 1947, p. 144
G.H. Baillie, Watches, Their History, Decoration and Mechanism, 1929, p. 219 & fig. XXXIX, 1
Humphrey Quill, John Harrison, the Man who found Longitude, 1966, p. 232 & fig. 33
Andrew King, The Images of John Harrison, Antiquarian Horology, June 2006, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 538-543
Terence Camerer Cuss, The English Watch 1585-1970, pp. 234-235, pl.142

Movement running and appears to be in good condition. Dust cap also in good condition with clear signature. Dial appears to be in good condition. Plain gold inner case with light indentations to the band and back. Outer case in excellent condition with wonderfully bright and crisp decorative engraving. The portrait panel also in very good condition with a few very small and minor scratches.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping."

John Barton, the maker of the present lot, was John Harrison’s son-in-law and was married to Harrison’s daughter, Elizabeth.  The case is hallmarked for 1771-1772, indicating that the watch may have been given as a gift to Harrison no earlier than 1772.  The year 1772 was a pivotal one for John Harrison, who was then aged 79 and had spent nearly 40 years working to solve the Longitude problem. His battle to obtain full recognition from the Board of Longitude caused Harrison to seek the help
of King George III. On 31st January 1771, Harrison’s son William was received and interviewed by the King, who is recorded to have remarked: “these people have been cruelly treated...And By God Harrison, I will see you righted!”

King George III subsequently arranged an independent trial for H5, Harrison’s last timekeeper. H5 was reported to have performed the trial superbly during 10 weeks of daily observation between May and July 1772. However, the board of Longitude refused to recognize the King’s trial. Next the King helped the Harrisons appeal directly to the Prime Minister and to Parliament. Finally, on 21st June 1773, an Act of Parliament was accepted and recognized John Harrison as the man who solved the Longitude problem. It is perhaps no coincidence that construction of the present watch, and commissioning of its enamel portrait plaque, occurred at a time of rising confidence amongst the Harrison family. In 1772 it began to appear that, with the help of the King, John Harrison might finally gain the recognition that he had worked so hard to achieve. It is
irresistible to speculate that, once completed, the watch may have been presented to a triumphant John Harrison in 1773, which interestingly was the year of his 80th birthday.

John Harrison (1693-1776) is remembered particularly for the wonderful sea clocks that he made to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea. His early clocks had movements that were made of wood and which incorporated a number of unique features which were later used in his sea clocks. His skill with  wood was inherited from his father Henry Harrison (1665-1728) who was a joiner. The family moved to Barrow upon-Humber, a remote village in North Lincolnshire in 1697 and John Harrison continued to live and work there until the age of 44. He must have had an early fascination with horology as he had completed his first clock by 1713 and no doubt had experimented with many test pieces before this. It was Harrison’s H4, with high frequency balance, his maintaining power design and principle of the bi-metallic strip which was of fundamental influence to the subsequent development of the marine chronometer. H5, made when Harrison was in his 70s, is credited for finally gaining him the recognition as the man who found Longitude.

Two paste medallions by James Tassie that are all but identical to the depiction of Harrison on the present watch survive in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. Research by Andrew King suggests that the profile portrait view of Harrison is most likely based on a wax model that Tassie is thought to have made in the 1760s. In an article for Antiquarian Horology, King illustrates, alongside the present watch, a bronze medal of near identical design to that shown on the present watch, which is by John Kirk after James Tassie. The aforementioned medal, which is in the collection of the British Museum, is contemporary to the watch and dated 1771 (see Andrew King, The Images of John Harrison, Antiquarian Horology, June 2006, Vol. 29, No. 4, fig. 5 pp. 540).

George Michael Moser was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. He moved to London during the 1720s and became a well known gold chaser, medallist and enameller. He executed a watch case for Queen Charlotte and was drawing master to George III.  Moser was a director of the Incorporated Society of Artists which after the retirement of its directors in 1767, led to the establishment of the Royal Academy.

The present watch was formerly in the collection of Percy Webster and sold in these rooms on 27th May, 1954. When Webster acquired the watch, it was accompanied by parchment deeds relating to the Harrison family and included a copy of John Harrison’s will (see extract from F.J. Britten below).  To the edge of the watch’s case back, surrounding the enamel plaque, there are engraved navigational and other instruments
associated with Harrison’s achievements, including the gridiron pendulum which he invented. A famous and well documented watch, it has been discussed and illustrated in several publications, including F.J. Britten’s Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers where it is mentioned thus: “The Horological Journal, gave the following: Fig. 531 shows a watch by John Barton with enamel profile portrait of John Harrison celebrated for his inventions and also for gaining the Government reward of twenty thousand pounds for his timekeeper.

John Barton married Elizabeth, daughter of John Harrison, and made this watch, according to the hallmark, in the year 1771. It is of 22ct. gold finely chased round the enamel with astronomical instruments, including among other objects the gridiron
pendulum invented by John Harrison.

The enamel portrait is probably the work of George Michael Moser…The movement is a verge, capped and jewelled...it has a high numbered train with beautifully light wheels with six slender “crossings.” It is in a bright state, and goes well.

The watch is in the possession of Mr. Percy Webster, to whom we are indebted for the fine photograph illustrating it. With this watch Mr. Webster became possessed of several interesting old parchment deeds relating to the Harrison family, including a copy of Wm. Harrison’s will.”

(Britten, op. cit. Sixth Edition, 1932, pp.377-378).