Simon Willard

Simon Willard (April 3, 1753 – August 30, 1848) was a celebrated American clockmaker. Simon Willard clocks were produced in Massachusetts in the towns of Grafton and Roxbury, near Boston. Among his many innovations and timekeeping improvements, Simon Willard is best known for inventing the eight-day patent timepiece that came to be known as the gallery or banjo clock.

Early life

Simon Willard – a 2nd great-grandson of the Massachusetts colonist Simon Willard (1605–1676) – was of the fifth Willard generation in America. The original Willard family had arrived in 1634 from Horsmonden, Kent (England), and they were among the founders of Concord, Massachusetts. Simon Willard's parents were Benjamin Willard (1716–1775) and Sarah Brooks (1717–1775), who were Grafton natives. Like all the Willard brothers, Simon was born on the family farm in Grafton, April 3, 1753. He was the second son; his brothers were Benjamin (1743–1803), Aaron (1757–1844), and Ephraim (1755–1832).

The farm, now operated as the Willard House and Clock Museum, had been built in 1718 by the Willards' third American generation. When Simon Willard was born, the house had just one room. The elder brother, Benjamin, who was 10 years older than Simon, learned horology and opened a workshop adjacent to the house in 1766. It is presumed that the other Willard brothers were taught horology by Benjamin.

At the age of eleven, Simon began to study horology, showing some inherent aptitude for it. A year later, Benjamin hired an Englishman named Morris to teach horology—particularly to Simon. Years afterward, Simon revealed that Morris did not actually know much on the matter and that his brother Benjamin had been his actual mentor. After one more year, Simon built his first tall clock.

Like some other contemporary horologists, the Willards divided their lives between farm chores and the clock business. As the latter became profitable, Benjamin set up a workshop in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1767. Simon Willard managed his own business in Grafton; some clocks survive bearing the maker's mark "Simon Willard, Grafton."

At his workshop in Grafton, Willard studied the clocks by other makers which were brought to him to be repaired. He extensively experimented, seeking to improve the efficiency of the driving and the regulation parts of those timepieces' parts. The smallest clock of the time was the bracket clock, which influenced Simon's gallery clock, which he patented in 1802. His next creation was the shelf clock, which was based on his gallery clock.

A pioneer American industry

In about 1780, Simon Willard moved to 2196 Roxbury Street in Boston (later known as Washington Street), and set up a four-room workshop on his own. Soon thereafter, his brother Aaron settled in the same neighborhood, a quarter mile away. In 1784, Willard advertised: "Simon Willard opened a shop in Roxbury Street, nearly facing the road which turns off to Plymouth. There, Simon Willard carries on the clockmaking business, in all its branches." Like Aaron, Simon was still interested in perfecting the mechanism of compact clocks. Nonetheless, from the 1790s onward, Willard's workshop also built tall clocks in great numbers while also performing general clock repair.

Simon and Aaron Willard both combined 18th century knowledge of horology with then-contemporary industrial methods (pre-cast parts, template usage, labor division, standardized production, efficient management). Simon and Aaron Willard each developed an industrial zone, throughout a quarter- mile radius around their shops. By 1807, twenty factories in Boston were sub-contracted to supply parts or materials to the Willard brothers' businesses. This included mahogany (from nearby mills), clock parts (amongst which 20 cabinetmakers were), gilder works, and other important artistic resources. Both Willard brothers utilized the same suppliers and often even shared the same workers.

Since the early United States lacked vital raw materials—most particularly brass—most clockmakers either fabricated their movements from wood or other inferior materials, or they imported parts and entire movements from English suppliers and assembled them into the locally-produced mahogany clock cases. By their quality, the clocks of Boston became a status symbol. Americans were eager to buy clocks for parlors, offices, churches, or other public spaces. Simon Willard's clocks were the most famous in America. However, they were still too expensive for most people. Indeed, Simon Willard preferred to build sumptuous models that featured elaborate artistic details (especially brass trim).

Simon Willard's clocks required considerable skilled handcraftsmanship, and their movements were outstandingly precise. His own skills were considerable, and he was able to file cogwheels without leaving file-marks, producing mechanisms with a margin of error of just thirty seconds over the course of a month. By about 1810, both Simon and Aaron were producing clocks which as good as those being produced in Europe. Simon's workshop produced fewer clocks than did Aaron's, and today the higher prices that Simon's clocks reach at auction reflect their superior refinement.

Simon Willard personally interviewed his customers, evaluating each detail, and he ordered his technicians to extensively test each movement in the customer's own home. Into each clock, Simon included a brochure, instructions, and a written guarantee. Any necessary technical support was included with the timepiece's purchase. Although Simon knew little about advertising, he promoted his workshop through leaflets which were affixed inside the cases. He touted: "These clocks are made in the best manner. They run for a year and they don't wind up. We will give evidence that it is much cheaper to buy new clocks than to buy old or second hand clocks. Simon Willard warrants all his clocks." Nonetheless, over the years his maker's signature has occasionally become lost or obscured from his clocks.

The clocks

Longcase clocks

Simon Willard built longcase clocks which were quite sumptuous, being adorned with many fine details.

In the most expensive tall clock units, the mahogany cases had a mid-18th century English style and, bearing exactly similar English brass mechanisms all, their case complexity determined their final price. Distinctively for Willard's workshop, above the clock's top fretwork, three pedestals were, on which two spherical finials and a large bird figure were mounted. In addition, like Aaron, Simon built a glass dial door, whose top had a half arch shape. Onto the dial, Boston painters painted different motifs. Also, with few extra mechanism, amusing wheels with animated figures were featured on the dial, enticing the customer interest effectively.

During his career, Willard manufactured 1,200 tall models. However, after 1802, in which the gallery clock was finally patented, he spurned the manufacture of the tall clock, which was thereafter produced only by special commission.

Patent Timepiece, or "banjo" clocks

Simon Willard invented the Patent Timepiece, later called the "banjo" clock, at Roxbury. It was America's first commercially successful wall clock. It was an innovative design. It was the first American eight-day wall clock, the first American wallclock to have the pendulum suspended in front of the weight in the case, and the first American wallclock to have the weight attached to a pulley. The brass clock mechanism was reduced to a much smaller size, therefore saving brass which was in scarce supply in the early 19th century. Its shape was an imitation of the traditional wheel barometers. Early Patent Timepieces were built by hand, to order. By 1805 the clockworks, and standard cases, could be produced in quantity, reducing the cost of the clock.

Its small size meant a much lower price of 30 dollars, although this was still a large amount of money. Nonetheless, while American consumerism was arising, Simon's Patent Timepiece revolutionized the clock industry, becoming the most popular clock in the United States, whereas Europe lacked some counterpart of it.

Willard patented its creation quite late (1802) but most competitors of Simon dodged this document, reaping much money with their own versions of the Patent Timepiece. However, Simon never filed a demand against such usage. After 1802, in Simon's workshop, the smaller Banjo and shelf clocks were the bread and butter models while Simon pursued his other great projects, throughout the United States. Eventually, Willard's workshop manufactured 4,000 small timepieces (Banjo and shelf clocks).

Since its patenting, the Patent Timepiece remained with the same original design. Typically, they were surrounded by glass tablets, which were reversely painted with neoclassical motifs. Additionally, Willard expanded the Banjo clock in accordance with the patent, making much larger "seconds beating" regulators.

The shelf clock

Before creating the Banjo model, Simon designed a shelf clock (1780s, Grafton). It was similar to the tall model, with its original hood and base, but lacking its middle body. The shortened shelf clocks had lower prices, too, and they were commercially successful. Shelf models were produced until approximately 1830.

The lighthouse clock

In 1818 he invented and patented a type of mantel clock, know