Woolley & Wallis
Lot 257
Vulliamy, London, No. 913. A small rosewood mantel timepiece, the dial with royal monogram, single-train fusee movement with anchor escapement, signed and numbered on the back plate, with an arched silvered dial signed Vulliamy London at 12 o`clock, pendulum rise and fall adjustment within the XII numeral, blued steel spade handles, the lower dial section engraved with the monogram of King George IV with the inscription "Commander in Chief," in a chamfer top case with silvered sight ring, reeded band and brass inlaid canted corners and base, raised on adjustable brass acorn feet, 8in (20.5cm) high. No.913 is recorded in the Vulliamy records as `Small Spring time piece in rose wood case for the Horse Guards`. The movement supplied by Holmden and lists various workers for the case, engraving, a bracket shelf (now missing), silvering and examining. The timepiece was `Sent to the Horseguards by order of Col Stephenson July 16th 1826`. The Commander in Chief in 1826 was Field Marshall Prince Frederick, Duke of York. The Duke of Wellington took over the following year, 1827. It is possible that the clock may have been a leaving present to the Duke of York from the Horse Guards staff. We are most grateful to the British Horological Institute for their assistance in cataloguing this lot.
