A Queen Anne Figured Walnut Tall-Case Clock, Works by Benjamin Mooris, New Britain, Bucks County, Pennsylvania circa 1760

Appears to retain its orginal finials. Feet restored.

Powell Hampton estate, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1972

Secondary woods are poplar and yellow pine, case refinished.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Inscribed Benj Morris / NEW BRITAIN, the eight day movement of this clock was made by Benjamin Morris (1748-1833), a clockmaker working in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania Clocks and Watches, James W. Gibbs lists Benjamin Morris as a prolific clockmaker in Hilltown and New Britton, Pennsylvania from about 1760 until 1780 and credits him with the manufacture of over 300 tall case clocks.¹  A descendant of English Quakers, Morris also worked as a farmer and owned 150 acres of land in Hilltown, where he is buried in the Baptist cemetery.²

Morris spent most of his career in Hilltown before moving to nearby New Britain, where this clock was made. A similar movement made by Morris in New Britain is displayed in a tall case clock with an inlaid case illustrated in Israel Sack Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Volume VI, pp. 1502-3.  Two other of his extant tall-case clocks exhibit a brass plate with his initials attached to the front of the dial. One in the collection of Chalfant American Fine Art & Antiques has a history in the Roberts family of West Chester. Another at the State Museum of Pennsylvania is housed in a case attributed to Isaac Thomas (1721-1802), a joiner, owner of a sawmill, and clockmaker of Willistown, Chester County.

¹ James W. Gibbs, Pennsylvania Clocks and Watches, University Park and London, 1984, p. 106.
² J. Carter Harris, Pennsylvania Clocks, 1750-1850: A Special Exhibit of the National Watch and Clock Museum, Columbia PA, 2002, pp. 16-7.