Object Details
maker
Hill, Peter
Description
Peter Hill (1767-1820) is one of the few African American professional clockmakers known to have worked in antebellum America. A freed slave, he had a shop first in Burlington Township and then in Mount Holly, New Jersey--two small, predominantly Quaker communities near Philadelphia.
Undoubtedly the Quaker commitment to educating and freeing slaves benefited Hill. While still a slave, he served a traditional apprenticeship with his master, Joseph Hollingshead, Jr., a clockmaker whose brother John and father Joseph, Sr., practiced the trade as well. Hill gained his freedom in 1795. He married, set up a workshop of his own, and purchased land in Burlington. He also may have continued to work for either or both of the Hollingshead brothers for a time. Hill never became rich, but his status as a skilled freedman in a Quaker community permitted him to live comfortably and work independently.
Only a few clocks by Hill are known to survive. The movement of the Smithsonian example, which dates from about 1800, closely resembles English clocks of the period. The painted dial, marked "No. 30/ Peter Hill/ Burlington," is an English import. The clock's walnut case is attributed to the cabinetmaker George Deacon, whose shop was only a few doors from Hill's own home and workshop in Burlington.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1800
ID Number
ME.335538
catalog number
335538
accession number
323462
Object Name
clock
clock, tall case
Other Terms
clock; Mechanical, Weight-Driven; Tall Case Clock
Physical Description
"brass" (movement material)
wood (case material)
Measurements
overall: 91 in x 22 in x 11 in; 231.14 cm x 55.88 cm x 27.94 cm
hood: 30 1/4 in x 21 1/2 in x 10 3/4 in; 76.835 cm x 54.61 cm x 27.305 cm
case: 83 in x 19 1/2 in x 10 in; 210.82 cm x 49.53 cm x 25.4 cm
movement: 18 1/2 in x 14 3/4 in x 6 3/4 in; 46.99 cm x 37.465 cm x 17.145 cm
weight #1: 8 1/2 in x 3 in; 21.59 cm x 7.62 cm
weight #2: 8 in x 3 in; 20.32 cm x 7.62 cm
case key #1: 1 1/2 in x 3/4 in x 5/32 in; 3.81 cm x 1.905 cm x .381 cm
case key #2: 2 1/2 in x 13/16 in x 3/16 in; 6.35 cm x 2.032 cm x .508 cm
pendulum: 43 in x 4 1/2 in x 1/2 in; 109.22 cm x 11.43 cm x 1.27 cm
winding crank: 4 1/4 in x 4 in x 1 1/4 in; 10.795 cm x 10.16 cm x 3.175 cm
Place Made
United States: New Jersey, Burlington
See more items in
Work and Industry: Mechanisms
Domestic Furnishings
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_856728