KENTUCKY / OHIO CHERRY TALL-CASE CLOCK, 30-hour wooden works and painted wooden dial, case featuring broken-scroll pediment fitted with original urn-form finials, face flanked by baluster-turned front columns, deep cove moldings, waist with shaped molded-edge door exhibiting mahogany banding, chamfered corners with lamb's tongue terminals, and vigorously shaped skirt. Poplar secondary wood. Retains lead-weight pendulum, two tin / sheet-iron sand-filled weights, and a fine early surface with rich color. Case attributed to Elijah Warner (active 1810-1829, Lexington, KY), wooden works and painted wooden dial by Luman Watson (active 1819-1834, Cincinnati, OH). Circa 1820. 97 1/2" HOA.
Fine condition overall. Portion of backboard probably replaced (waist), small loss to one applied molding at end, small pieced strip repair to back edge of case (possibly when portion of backboard was removed), one finial with crack and repair. Not currently in working condition (UPDATED 6/14/17).
Provenance: From the private collection of Luke and Ann Woods, Cincinnati, OH and Spruce Pine, NC.
Purchased 1990 at an estate auction between Maysville and Lexington, KY.
Catalogue Note: The present lot, an outstanding example of its type, represents the best of early Southern backcountry ingenuity and craftsmanship. The case, restrained yet sophisticated in design, was made by Elijah Warner of Lexington, Kentucky, who was active in the Bluegrass state 1810-1829. Warner operated a cabinet shop and clock manufactory in Lexington and found success as both a producer and a retailer of goods. Lacer and Howard in "Collecting Kentucky" describe Warner as "an entrepreneur utilizing the techniques of branding, mass production, and diversification in early Kentucky", and it is clear that he also effectively grasped the concept of specialization in the production of his wares. In fact, several Warner-made clocks with wooden works and painted wooden dials marked for Luman Watson in Cincinnati, Ohio have surfaced, including the present example, indicating that there was an established relationship between Warner and Watson which entailed one craftsman manufacturing specialized parts for the other. Defying the myth of the rural craftsman working in prelapsarian isolation, the story of Elijah Warner and Lexington in general elucidates just how highly-connected and culturally aware Southern backcountry merchants and manufacturers were in the early decades of the 19th century. The appearance of the present Elijah Warner tall-case clock on the market represents a rare opportunity for astute collectors to acquire an important early Kentucky object in outstanding original condition.

Fine condition overall. Portion of backboard probably replaced (waist), small loss to one applied molding at end, small pieced strip repair to back edge of case (possibly when portion of backboard was removed), one finial with crack and repair. Not currently in working condition (UPDATED 6/14/17).