Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Ralph Pokluda will be known to many as a familiar face on the PBS Antiques Roadshow. In this video, Ralph talks us through the finer points of a rare and early New York tall clock, by White Matlack, from the collections at the National Watch & Clock Museum.
Ralph explains some of the history of clockmaking in the New York area and explains how some of the fine details in the engraving and construction of the movement give clues as to the clock's origins.
By comparing the clock to its contemporaries, he introduces the history of the transition from composite brass dials to the use of engraved flat dials in the London area, while the Midlands were beginning to export painted iron clock dials.
The carpentry on this mahogany clock case is wonderful and Ralph explains why we know it was made in America.
A number of typical period features are discussed:
30-hour clocks, false winding arbors, strike/silent mechanisms, case styles, engraving style, cabinet making, mechanical movement, and painted dials.
Ralph Pokluda will be known to many as a familiar face on the PBS Antiques Roadshow. In this video, Ralph talks us through the finer points of a rare and early New York tall clock, by White Matlack, from the collections at the National Watch & Clock Museum.
Ralph explains some of the history of clockmaking in the New York area and explains how some of the fine details in the engraving and construction of the movement give clues as to the clock's origins.
By comparing the clock to its contemporaries, he introduces the history of the transition from composite brass dials to the use of engraved flat dials in the London area, while the Midlands were beginning to export painted iron clock dials.
The carpentry on this mahogany clock case is wonderful and Ralph explains why we know it was made in America.
A number of typical period features are discussed:
30-hour clocks, false winding arbors, strike/silent mechanisms, case styles, engraving style, cabinet making, mechanical movement, and painted dials.
