Clock (Shelf clock)

Description

David Wood apprenticed as a clockmaker and then established his first "Clock-Dial Manufactory" workshop in 1792 in Newburyport's market square. He married Elizabeth Bird in 1795 and his business as a clock and watchmaker flourished despite a significant fire, international trade embargoes, and the War of 1812. His newspaper advertisements indicate a steady business in watch and clock repairs as well as small luxury items like seals, jewelry, hair clasps, and enamel boxes. Numerous tall case clocks with brass or enameled iron dials bearing his name survive today. Wood was among several Boston regional clockmakers such as Daniel Balch Jr. and Simon Willard of Roxbury who offered reliable shelf clocks to suit the growing market for smaller, more affordable timepieces. Wood's shelf clocks are fairly scarce and are distinguished by the stylistic variety of the cases and individuality of the painted dials. This two-day, weight-driven timepiece in a diminutive case is remarkably pristine in its structural originality and surface patina. It falls into Wood's early career with a a fine, but not overly expressive early classical style.