A history of timepieces made in Pennsylvania from William Penn's time to the present, this book is more than a compendium of clock and watchmakers and their work. With abundant illustrations and lore from historians in every part of the state, it recreates a time when clock and watchmaking was not a mere occupation: it was truly a craft. The author attributes this characteristic to the Keystone State's unusually varied population, and explores the various "old world" influences affecting the design and style of timepieces. The story of clock and watchmaking from colonial Philadelphia to Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle is a major chapter in the history of industry, trade, tastemaking, and craftsmanship. Clocks of finely carved wood decorated the homes of prosperous early settlers, and golden watchcases adorned their persons; meanwhile, clocks on Independence Hall and other public buildings measured the hours for the general citizenry. As time passed, more utilitarian clocks graced schools and factories, while Hamilton watches kept the trains running on time. Resisting the temptation to lower standards for the sake of mass production, Pennsylvania clock and watchmakers gained fame for their high-quality craftsmanship. The making of clocks and watches is detailed by Dr. Gibbs from its beginning in the southeastern counties of William Penn Country, through the Pennsylvania Dutch Country and the center of the Commonwealth, and on to the state's northern and western frontiers. The craftsmen are presented in historical context, with emphasis on their social and educational backgrounds and the effect of these on their timepieces. Separate sections focus on illustrious clockmakers such as the Ellicott and Solliday families, Jacob Detweiler Custer, and the master of horology and astronomy, Dr. David Rittenhouse. Pennsylvania Clocks and Watches is an indispensable handbook for the experienced collector and a stimulating guide for the beginner. It is also a valuable reference for students of industrial and social history, design, and folkways.

Additional Author Is Courtenay A. Ilbert. Diagrams By F. Janca. A Historical And Descriptive Account Of The Different Styles Of Clocks And Watches Of The Past In England And Abroad Containing A List Of Nearly Fourteen Thousand Makers.

Contains 250 black and white photographs of clocks, followed by a List of American Clockmakers and a List of Foreign Clockmakers. Indexed. Note publication date of 1924.

One of Smithsonian Magazine's Ten Best History Books of 2021 A captivating, surprising history of timekeeping and how it has shaped our world. For thousands of years, people of all cultures have made and used clocks, from the city sundials of ancient Rome to the medieval water clocks of imperial China, hourglasses fomenting revolution in the Middle Ages, the Stock Exchange clock of Amsterdam in 1611, Enlightenment observatories in India, and the high-precision clocks circling the Earth on a fleet of GPS satellites that have been launched since 1978. Clocks have helped us navigate the world and build empires, and have even taken us to the brink of destruction. Elites have used them to wield power, make money, govern citizens, and control lives—and sometimes the people have used them to fight back. Through the stories of twelve clocks, About Time brings pivotal moments from the past vividly to life. Historian and lifelong clock enthusiast David Rooney takes us from the unveiling of al-Jazari’s castle clock in 1206, in present-day Turkey; to the Cape of Good Hope observatory at the southern tip of Africa, where nineteenth-century British government astronomers moved the gears of empire with a time ball and a gun; to the burial of a plutonium clock now sealed beneath a public park in Osaka, where it will keep time for 5,000 years. Rooney shows, through these artifacts, how time has been imagined, politicized, and weaponized over the centuries—and how it might bring peace. Ultimately, he writes, the technical history of horology is only the start of the story. A history of clocks is a history of civilization.