The Library Company of Phladelphia's five tall-case clocks resonate with the history of horology, the library, and Philadelphia. In order of acquisition, here are their stories.
The "Cromwell Family Clock" by John Fromanteel of London, c. 1673
One of the Library Company's great rarities is the tall-case clock (Figs. 1 and 1a) made in London about 1673 by John Fromanteel, a pioneer of pendulum clockmaking in England. When its donation by William Hudson was recorded in 1796, ...