Banjo clock

A slim, weight-driven wall clock patented in Massachusetts in 1802, named by later collectors for its resemblance to the stringed instrument.

What a banjo clock is

A banjo clock is a narrow wall clock with a round dial at the top, a long tapering neck in the middle and a rectangular box at the bottom. Hung on a wall, the outline looks a lot like an upturned banjo, and that resemblance gave the clock its popular name.

Its makers did not use that name. Simon Willard of Roxbury, Massachusetts, patented the design on February 8, 1802, and Britannica notes that Willard himself never called it a banjo clock. Many early examples carry the word Patent or the phrase S. Willard's Patent painted on the glass, and the RISD Museum still catalogs one example under the title Patent Timepiece.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History describes the design as an original American form, one that helped show American clockmaking could stand apart from European traditions.

How it works

A banjo clock is driven by a falling weight, not a spring. The weight hangs inside the narrow neck of the case, and the movement is geared so that a drop of only about 15 inches keeps the clock running for eight days. A tall case clock, by comparison, needs its weight to fall about six feet.

The brass movement sits behind the round dial and is small and light, similar to the one in the Massachusetts shelf clock but scaled down. Willard hung the pendulum in front of the movement instead of behind it, which made servicing easier. The Smithsonian notes that American clockmakers widely adopted that arrangement afterward.

Most banjo clocks are timepieces only. They show the time but do not strike the hours or sound an alarm, which kept them cheap to build. You wind them through holes in the dial, and the pendulum can be reached through a hinged panel in the base.

History

Before 1802, a household that wanted an accurate weight-driven clock usually needed a tall case clock, a large and costly piece of furniture. Willard's compact wall clock offered a dependable eight-day timepiece in a fraction of the space and at lower cost. The RISD Museum notes that its more affordable, compact form drew buyers away from tall case clocks.

Willard was no newcomer when he took out the patent. Britannica records that he was born in Grafton, Massachusetts, in 1753, moved to Roxbury near Boston around 1780 and worked there until he retired in 1839. Besides the timepiece, he patented a clockwork-driven meat roaster in 1784 and an alarm clock in 1819.

Willard's own shop probably made several thousand banjo clocks, according to the Smithsonian. He also allowed relatives, former apprentices and other clockmakers to build clocks to his design, and many imitators followed. The Henry Ford museum notes that the style stayed popular through the nineteenth century.

Sources differ slightly on credit. Most museums and Britannica name Simon Willard as the patentee, while the RISD Museum describes brothers Aaron and Simon Willard developing and patenting the style together. Either way, the Smithsonian says the design has been made with little change ever since.

Famous makers and museum examples

Simon Willard's brother Aaron Willard and Aaron's son, Aaron Willard Jr., both made banjo clocks in Boston. The Smithsonian's example is signed by Aaron, and the museum points out that its plain mahogany case is unusual next to the brightly painted and gilded cases Aaron is better known for. That clock also has an unusual alarm fitted on top of the case.

Other makers put their own names on the form. The Henry Ford holds a gilded banjo clock from 1813 to 1818 marked Warranted by Curtis and Dunning below the hands, with Patent on a red ribbon, standing about 51.5 inches tall. The RISD Museum owns one by David Williams of Newport, Rhode Island, made around 1815 to 1820 and about 43 inches tall, and notes that Rhode Island makers improved the internal mechanism rather than simply copying Willard.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, owns a Simon Willard banjo clock dated 1802 to 1810 with S. Willard's Patent in gilt on the door. It is about 34.75 inches tall, with mahogany and curly maple veneers and a brass finial. Theodora Willard of Cambridge bought it in 1892 from a secondhand shop in Boston and left it to the museum, which accessioned it in 1937.

How to recognize one

Look for the three-part outline: a round dial behind a hinged glass door with a brass bezel, a narrow waist that tapers downward, and a rectangular box at the bottom. Many examples have pierced brass scrolls running down each side of the waist and a carved finial on top, often a gilded eagle or a brass ball.

The glass panels in the waist and base are usually reverse-painted, a technique called eglomise, with gilt borders and patriotic or allegorical scenes. A clock at Colonial Williamsburg by Aaron Willard Jr., signed A. Willard, Jr. / Boston on the dial, shows Fame holding a liberty cap in the waist and a figure in a chariot drawn by winged horses in the base. The word Patent appears in a painted scroll on its glass, and its base panel is hinged so the pendulum can be adjusted. The RISD clock's panels instead show an eagle, a Federal shield and a waterfront mansion.

Inside, a period example will have a small brass movement, a weight hanging in the waist and, usually, no striking train. Later factory clocks and modern reproductions copy the outline, so a name on the dial or glass is a clue, not proof, of who made it.

See also: what to look for in a modern wall clock on OnlineClock.app.

Keep exploring

Sources

1. A Banjo Clock, National Museum of American History (Smithsonian)
2. Banjo Wall Clock, 1813-1818, The Henry Ford
3. Patent Timepiece by David Williams, RISD Museum
4. Banjo clock by Aaron Willard Jr., Colonial Williamsburg
5. Banjo clock by Simon Willard, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
6. Simon Willard, Encyclopaedia Britannica