Aaron Willard (1757-1884) developed the Massachusetts Shelf clock at the end of the 18th century. His inspiration came from the English Bracket clocks. It consists of two parts, a shelf to hang on the wall or a piece of furniture plus the clock, 60 cm to 100 cm (24 to 39 inches) high. So, it is a hybrid clock. Its 30-hour weight movement was like the ones found in Simon Willard’s early Banjo clock.
This Willard comes from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York. In addition to the Willards, other Massachusetts clockmakers, including Daniel Bach, David Wood, Joseph Loring, and John Sawin, produced such clocks. A few New Hampshire clockmakers did the same, Levi Hutchins, William Fitz, Silas Parsons and
Benjamin Morrill, and Vermont’s Nathan Hale (Schorsch,
1981).
