An English strut clock, signed on the dial by the retailer C. F. Hancock London and the maker THOS COLE LONDON on the movement, c. 1850. The gilt and engraved case is surmounted by a small hinged carrying handle and has a swivel support to enable the clock to be placed in a vertical position. At the back there is an easel-type support for positioning the clock at an angle. The rectangular silvered brass dial is richly engraved in floral patterns and has a plain chapter ring and two blued-steel fleur-de-lys hands. There is a hatch giving access to the escapement to regulate the movement which is inscribed with the retailer’s name: C.F. HANCOCK BY APPOINTMENT TO THE PRINCIPAL SOVEREIGNS & COURTS OF EUROPE 39 BRUTON ST LONDON. The plated eight-day movement, numbered 606, consists of going and striking trains. The going train has an English lever escapement, whilst the rack striking train indicates the hours on a gong. • Height: 15.5 cm; width: 10.2 cm. • The maker, Thomas Cole (1800 - 1864), was the son of James Cole. He started his clock-making business when he was 39 years old, after having been associated for a while with his brother James Ferguson. He made a whole range of strut clocks in various shapes and had followers who made clocks in his manner. His total output is estimated at 1900 clocks, which he largely sold via retailers such as Garrards, Hunt & Roskell, and Hancocks. Cole exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and at the Paris Exhibition of 1855. He died of typhoid fever in 1864. • The retailer, C.F Hancock, was a jeweller and silver dealer on the corner of Bruton Street and Bond Street. The firm was founded in 1849 and still exists today, now established in Burlington Arcade. Queen Victoria was a client of the business as were other members of European royal families.

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