Beschreibung:

A fine and potentially historically important George III mahogany striking table regulator, Thomas Mudge and William Dutton, London circa 1770 The nine-pillar twin fusee rack and bell striking movement with plates measuring 9.75 by 6 inches, massive spring barrels, Harrisons maintaining power to the going train and now with half-deadbeat escapement regulated by half seconds pendulum with cylindrical brass bob, the foliate rococo scroll engraved backplate with arched recess to lower margin and applied with unusual twin scroll-shaped uprights attached via four knopped pillars and connected at the top via a complex bracket with slots cut to take a wide T bar pendulum suspension, the front plate of conforming dimensions inscribed William Dutton & Sons,London over the arched recess to lower margin, the 7.5 inch single sheet silvered brass Roman numeral dial with vacant calendar aperture and signed Thos Mudge, Willm Dutton to centre, with Arabic five minutes to outer track and scroll-pierced blued steel hands, the break-arch case with hinged brass carrying handle and three generous moulded rectangular pads to top over glazed circular dial aperture over concave-topped recessed panel to front door, the sides with arched brass trellis sound frets, the rear with further glazed break-arch door set within the frame of the case, on cavetto moulded skirt base with brass squab feet, 38cm (15ins) high excluding handle. Provenance: The property of a private collector; purchased Sothebys, London sale of Good Clocks, Watches, Wristwatches, Barometers and Scientific Instruments, Thursday 5th March 1992 (lot 69). Thomas Mudge was born in Exeter, Devon in 1717 and was apprenticed to George Graham before setting himself up in business at 151 Fleet Street, London in 1748. At around the time of the death of his former Master in 1751, Mudge was joined in partnership by a fellow former apprentice of Graham, William Dutton, who is recorded in Baillie, G.H. Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World as apprenticed in 1738 and gaining his freedom of the Clockmakers' Company in 1746. The business subsequently traded from 148 Fleet Street and Mudge, whilst in partnership with Dutton, rapidly acquired a reputation as one of Englands outstanding watchmakers. In around 1755, if not earlier, Mudge invented the detached lever escapement, which he first applied to a clock, but when incorporated into a watch became the greatest single improvement ever applied to them. In 1765 Mudge published the book, Thoughts on the Means of Improving Watches, Particularly those for Use at Sea, and the following year, alongside Dutton, was elevated to Liveryman. In around 1771 Thomas Mudge retired to Plymouth in order to spend more time to pursue his development of a marine timekeeper. The first of these went on trial in 1774 where it performed superbly leading to an award of 500 guineas. Mudge went on to complete two others in 1779 in the continuing attempt to satisfy the increasingly difficult requirements set by the Board of Longitude. They were tested by the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, and declared as being unsatisfactory. There followed a controversy in which it was claimed that Maskelyne had not given them a fair trial. A similar controversy had arisen when John Harrison had been denied the full amount of the 1714 prize by the Board of Longitude. Eventually, in 1792, two years before his death, Mudge was awarded £2,500 by a Committee of the House of Commons who decided for Mudge and against the Board of Longitude, then headed by Sir Joseph Banks. In around 1775 Dutton took both his sons (Thomas and Matthew) into the business forming a second partnership of William Dutton and Sons however the name Mudge and Dutton was often still used (mainly for watches) up to around 1790. William Dutton died in 1794 leaving the business to be continued very much in his tradition by his sons Thomas and Matthew. The work of William Dutton can be characterised by its distinctive originalit