Q & A

D.B. of Saint John , NB writes:

I am possession of a grandfather clock that was hand-carried by an elderly Scotsman from Glasgow, Scotland who was a friend of our family and who thought my husband and myself would enjoy having it for a "house warming" gift. We have made several attempts to research clocks of this description but have had no success. We have been told the clock may be approximately 250 years old. The names on the face of the clock are - M. WHITELAW on the left side and WISHAW on the right side. I would appreciate any information you can provide for us.

We asked Ray Saunders to respond:

This family all began making clocks in Edinburgh with James,1776, and David Whitelaw, 1815 to 1825, who was "a maker of repute, who published in Edinburgh"; for Phillip, 1823, there was "an account of a new escapement." (The parts that make the clock tick.)The last two makers in the book are Alexander and Fletcher, 1824. (One of these two must have been the father of M. Whitelaw.) He may not have made many clocks and was not noted in the book.

That is all I can find on this family. Wishaw is South West of Glasgow and if one was to make inquirers to The Antiquarian Horology Society of England, or the Chamber of Commerce of Wishaw, you might find out more information on this family. Good luck. There are many similar clocks in my reference books that date 1820 to 50's that all have the same dials and top hoods.

My description of this clock is:

A fine Scottish mahogany grandfather clock signed " M. WHITELAW, WISHAW ", ca. 1830’s, measuring XX" high, XX" wide, XX" deep with half turned columns on each side of the case door. The ‘swan necked’ pediment and wooden finial crowns and covers the arched top painted dial which has black Roman numbers, and decorated with hand painted scenes. The clock has ornate pierced hands, small subsidiary seconds, and a calendar dial above the six. The eight day key wound five pillar twin train weight driven brass movement has an anchor escapement, with rack striking the hours on a bell, with a painted cast iron pendulum, and cast iron weights.

CURRENT MARKET VALUE $ 8,500.00

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