Great Treasure In A Small Museum:

SOMERS POINT, N.J.

:Like many other small museums that dot the shoreline towns of New Jersey, the one at The Atlantic Heritage Center in Somers Point can become a beehive of activity when the local historical society meets there. And so it was on a recent late fall afternoon when a lecture and slide presentation was offered to the public.

The museum comprises of three levels - period furniture lines the walls of the large auditorium upstairs, the business area on the ground level houses clocks by Solomon Parke and Silas Hoadley. The main collection is found in the basement section.

Immediately upon entering the lower level there is a looming presence that dominates the many artifacts in this subterranean room - an imposing colonial tall case clock. Rarely does one get to see an Edward Duffield clock in such an intimate setting. It is even more unusual to have the opportunity to examine the case and works closely. Most Duffield clocks are in places such as Winterthur, Colonial Williamsburg, The American Philosophical Society and the Library Company of Philadelphia.

Duffield (1720-1801) was a man well worth revisiting and reassessing. During his lifetime he was frequently overshadowed by two of his close friends, Benjamin Franklin and clockmaker David Rittenhouse. Little information appears in the horological literature about this clockmaker of Philadelphia, who worked during the golden age of furniture making in that city, in the years just prior to the Revolution. There was a paper written at the University of Delaware in 1963 by Ian Quimby titled "Edward Duffield: Gentleman Artisan." The manuscript now resides at Winterthur, and much of what follows is taken from that source. At the same time, we will take a look at some of Duffield's horological masterpieces.

Many picture the life of a colonial clockmaker as that of a man squirreled away in a small, dimly lit room, the odor of oil and metal filings in the air, working laboriously at the bench, having little interest beyond his workshop, being neither terribly worldly nor broadly educated. Even Simon Willard, who became a friend to presidents, had little interest outside of clockmaking. Such was not the case with Edward Duffield, who worked in Philadelphia County from 1741 until the end of his life. He was described by John Fanning Watson in his 1909 Annuals of Philadelphia as a "very intelligent reading man." He was held in high esteem by his fellow citizens of Philadelphia, not only for his horological genius, but as a man involved in civic duties, religious activities and charitable work. Duffield also proved quite skilled in the mechanical sciences.

Duffield's grandfather, Benjamin, emigrated from England and was granted land in Philadelphia County in 1682. This family estate became known as "Benfield" and was actually located in Moreland Township, Philadelphia County. It was the birthplace of Edward's father, Joseph (1692-1747), and of Edward himself. Unfortunately little is known of Duffield's training, but judging by his superb craftsmanship and fine eye for detail, along with his acknowledged use of the best cabinetmakers, one would have to assume his apprenticeship likely took place in Philadelphia during the 1730s. Peter Stretch, Joseph Wills and John Wood Sr, among others, were then practicing their craft in that city. Edward set up shop in the northwest corner of Second and Arch Streets in 1741 as a clock and watchmaker. He is said to have produced one of the first watches ever made in the colonies.

It was during these early years that he became a close friend of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin founded the American Philosophical Society (APS) in 1743, and Duffield became one of its charter members, along with their mutual friend Rittenhouse. Legend has it that either Franklin (the rare owner of a pocket watch) and/or Duffield were often asked by passersby for the correct time, since watches then belonged only to those of means. As a result, Duffield decided to construct a two-faced timepiece that he completed in the late 1740s, and placed it outside the second story window of his shop. This became the first public clock in Philadelphia. (It was not until 1752 that Thomas Stretch built the famous State House clock).

As a further indication of the friendship between the two men, there is evidence that Franklin owned at least two of Duffield's clocks. The most famous example is now in the APS and is a petite tall case clock, height 6 foot 11 inches, constructed of mahogany in the Queen Anne style, likely dating from 1750-55. Its early features include a sarcophagus top, blind pierced fretwork in the frieze at the base of the pediment, colonnettes as part of the hood door, a small revolving moon dial, cherub head spandrels and simple straight bracket feet. Two brass plaques on the front of the waist door list the ownership of the clock starting with Benjamin Franklin and tracing it down through his family to 1933 when it passed into the hands of a family of financiers, the Morgans. It was gifted to the APS in 1954.

The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) was founded in 1731 by Franklin and some friends to promote learning. It was doubtless made use of by Duffield, who was invited to become a member in 1760. Recently one of his classic Queen Anne clocks, circa 1760, was gifted to the library. This clock, of superb proportions and condition, stands 9 feet tall and is made of walnut. Period findings include the sarcophagus top, signed dial boss, tombstone door and straight bracket feet. Interestingly, this clock was donated by the gentleman who currently holds Duffield's original membership share in the LCP.

In 1762, the city of Philadelphia chose Duffield to succeed Stretch in the care of the town clock located in the State House (now known as Independence Hall). Stretch had constructed the clock in 1752, and it seemed to require frequent repair. This was in great part due to the fact that the two faces of the clock were located at opposite ends of the building and were each connected to the movement by long rods, a rather unusual and awkward mechanism. Duffield was paid 20 pounds per year and remained in charge of the clock until 1775 when he left the city, being replaced by Rittenhouse in the performance of this particular duty.

Duffield was also held in high esteem by the silversmiths of Philadelphia. He was chosen in 1767 to evaluate the quality of all gold and silver in the province. He had previously cut the dies for the first medal of honor in the colonies in 1756 (for valor in military service) and the first peace medal in 1757.

In 1762, he was elected a member of the APS, and became an officer of that society in 1773. In 1769, he was requested to construct a clock for the APS observatory, which is still in the possession of the society. This clock was under Duffield's supervision until he left Philadelphia in 1775, when it came under the care of Rittenhouse.

By 1771, Duffield was appointed a "warden of the city," in charge of certain aspects of city management and taxation, and was involved with issuing paper currency. In 1774, he was chosen to oversee construction of the Walnut Street Prison. For several years leading up to the Revolution he donated his time and money while managing the "Charity School for Negro Children." He took part in activities leading to the First Continental Congress in September 1774, and when the British blocked the port of Boston he was placed on a committee to decide upon a course of action to protect Philadelphia.

Perhaps his two greatest masterpieces reside in Winterthur and at Colonial Williamsburg. Both cases are mahogany and represent the consummation of the Delaware River Valley style of cabinetry. Both clocks exhibit broken arch pediments with hand carved terminals and flamboyant finials. Both cabinets use rocaille carvings in the tympanum of the hood (the Winterthur example employs a rarely seen hand carving on the hood door also). There are free standing fully fluted colonnettes adjacent to the dial, fluted quarter columns in the waist and base, shaped waist door and base panel, ogee bracket and tombstone-shaped side-lites (glass windows) in the sides of the hood. The dials are brass with applied brass spandrels and chapter rings, with a boss in the lunette of the Williamsburg example and a rotating moon dial in the one from Winterthur.

It is known that Duffield used the finest cabinetmakers in Philadelphia. Little, however, is known about who created each case. There are recorded business dealings with cabinetmaker Benjamin Randolph. Others linked closely with this clockmaker are Thomas Affleck, who also made cases for Rittenhouse, and Solomon Fussell. Jonathan Gostelowe (1744-1806) worked between Arch and Market Streets and married Edward Duffield's niece in 1768. Family ties in the clock business seemed to matter and Gostelowe was known to have constructed clock cases. It therefore appears likely that he must have done work for our clockmaker. Duffield also had business ties outside of Philadelphia. He owned 20 acres of land in Burlington County across the Delaware River. Clocks, as well as watches, were sold in neighboring New Jersey.

In 1775, at the age of 55, he left Philadelphia and retired to his ancestral estate at Benfield in Moreland Township, Philadelphia County. During the British occupation of his city, Duffield gave shelter to the family of Ben Franklin for an extended period of time. During the winter of 1779, Sarah Franklin Bache wrote to her father in France, "I think myself lucky to have had such a friend." The two men remained very close. Franklin chose Duffield as one of the executors of his estate (along with John Jay, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court and an author of the Federalist Papers). Upon Franklin's death in 1790, he left his cherished French-made weywiser, a carriage odometer, to his old friend.

The Baltimore Museum of Art owns an example of Duffield's work during this time period. Its clock stands 8 feet 10 inches and is made of mahogany with pine, tulip and sweet gum secondary woods. There is a delicately carved floral cartouche as the center finial flanked by two urn and flame finials. There is a broken arch pediment with carved rosette terminals, a shaped door in the waist and a similarly shaped panel in the base, both flanked by fluted quarter columns. Ogee bracket feet support the base. The brass dial is engraved rather than having applied spandrels and chapter rings. This suggests a date after the Revolution, perhaps 1780-1790. It contains a rotating moon dial. The form and proportions of the clock appear to be near perfect.

In 1785, Duffield was elected a delegate to the first Protestant Episcopal Church Convention, and he became a member of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society, where he wrote a paper on the use of plaster of Paris as a fertilizer. He helped found the Lower Dublin Academy and became a trustee and its first president. He donated the old two-faced clock that he built during the 1740s to the academy. It became the standard timekeeper not only for the school but for the village as well. Today it no longer exists and the physical structure is a private residence. A circular window can still be seen above the front entrance. At one time it housed the dial of what was then Philadelphia's first public clock.

The Duffield tall case clock at Somers Point is made of richly grained and deeply colored walnut. The case includes most of the features of the fully developed style of Delaware Valley case construction. These include an imposing hood structure with a heavy broken arch pediment and carved terminals, fluted hood colonnettes, fluted quarter columns that run the full length of the waist and the full length of the base, a shaped waist door and a shaped tablet in the base. The three ball and spire finials have a mahogany stain and appear to be later replacements, as is a circular rosette and a strip of applied scroll decoration placed just below the center finial. The feet, likely of the ogee bracket type, are missing.

The brass dial retains an old patina, with Roman hour numerals and Arabic five-minute markers. The hands are of beautifully cut steel, and the break arch of the dial is roughened and worked. The boss contains the name and place of the clockmaker in a script that matches his other clocks. The spandrels give a clue as to the date, since all six contain elaborately shaped C-scrolls, which mimic the wood carvings found on Philadelphia tall case clocks in the years approaching the Revolution. The spandrels around the boss do not contain the usual dolphin forms that one associates with England and likely indicate a date very close to the war with England (circa 1770-1775).

The brass eight-day time and strike movement is placed on a seat, which contains old shims and holes indicating that the seat board always sat on these shims. The movement exhibits brass plates, which, although thick, seem less so than those found in English movements. There are grooved winding drums, well formed tapered and turned brass pillars and deeply cut teeth. The lack of a tail on the gathering pallet and the central placement of the strike hammer suggest American manufacture. The spandrels appear to be riveted in place.

Over the course of his lifetime as a clockmaker, Duffield advertised little. This may have been because of the abundance of horological work in his shop and his involvement in a host of ancillary activities. In his early years, when business was not nearly as brisk, it is recorded that he sold in his shop "olives, anchovies and lemons." He died at Benfield in 1801 at age 81. His estate was valued at $23,000, a goodly sum in those times. But that did not count his real estate holdings, which were substantial and included 20 acres in Burlington County, N.J., and land in Nova Scotia. Benfield itself had to be rather large. Today it no longer exists, but the land is now occupied by the North Philadelphia airport, a golf course and a housing project. Duffield's estate contained five servants, unfinished clocks, 200 pounds of sheet brass (clock plates, gears and dials), 15 pounds of whale teeth and five pounds of turtle shell (both for watches). These latter items are further evidence that he continued as a clock and watchmaker until his last years.

It would have been sufficient if Duffield had simply left us his clocks, which rank among the finest ever produced anywhere in this country. But as Ian Quimby concludes in his manuscript, what comes across about this man is that he was an active, intelligent, well-read citizen with interest in the life about him, the needs of his fellow man and a desire to improve the lot of all mankind.

The Museum of the Atlantic County Heritage Center (formerly The Atlantic County Historical Society Museum) is at 907 Shore Road. It is open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am to 3:30 pm, and the first Thursday each month, 6 pm to 9 pm. Admission to the museum is free. For information, 609-927-5218.

David A. Sperling, MD, of Father and Son Antiques (www.homestead.com/fatherandsonantiques), Sussex, N.J., is a longtime collector of Americana. He lectures for the New Jersey Council for the Humanities on the history of early American clockmaking. He writes for several antiques publications and does appraisals for museums, insurance companies and private individuals. He can be reached at horology@att.net.