09/04/2026
Rethinking the Making of a Willard Clock - Looking Beyond the Name on the Dial
In his groundbreaking April 2000 article in Magazine Antiques, “Roxbury Eight-Day Movements and the English Connection, 1785–1825,” our museum Executive Director, Robert C. Cheney challenged long-held assumptions about how early American clocks were made—and changed how scholars look at Roxbury clockmaking.
He changed the story: Robert showed that the name on a clock dial did not necessarily tell the whole story of who made its movement.
His research revealed a global trade network: Roxbury clocks were connected to a sophisticated network of English specialists, American craftsmen, brass founders, dial painters, cabinetmakers and other trades.
Robert gave clockmakers new tools: By examining movement construction, hidden markings, components and “shop traditions,” Cheney demonstrated how individual movements can be identified and understood.
His insights transformed horological scholarship: What was considered “horological heresy” when published in 2000 is now widely cited in both horological and decorative-arts scholarship.
For clockmakers, collectors and historians, his work remains important because it reminds us to look beyond the name on the dial—and into the movement itself.
Check out Robert's article: https://ow.ly/Wpzb50ZIpik
