A walnut cased bracket/mantle clock, circa 1870's.
Designed by Lewis Foreman Day (1845-1910).
Retailed by Howell, James & Co, Regent Street London.

The movement (probably English) striking on a gong and in perfect working order.

The enamal dial signed:
HOWELL, JAMES & Co TO THE QUEEN

42cm (16.5 inches) high
28cm (11 inches) wide
18.5cm (7¼ inches) deep

Lewis Foreman Day designed numerous clocks for the London Retailer Howell, James & Co during the 1870' and 80's with them becoming a store speciality. The earliest example was published in the Art Journal of 1873.

 'It is not difficult to see why these clocks caught on in the market place. They were popular accoutrements to the ebonised Anglo-Japanese furniture then in vogue as well as the current rage for blue and white china. They also allowed consumers to respond to the burgeoning Aesthetic Movement without abandoning all their other furnishings.'

 Un-surprisingly, due to their popularity, these clocks were plagiarised frequently by other makers and retailers. Luckily however, Howell marked the dials of their clocks, some of these marked dials include the words 'TO THE QUEEN', for the firm held the Royal warrant for its clocks. Joan Maria Hansen writes:

 'The firm touted its 'unrivalled stock of clocks', which had been purchased by Her Majesty the Queen as well as the reigning monarch of Germany, Greece, Denmark and Belgium'.

See below for a clock designed by Lewis Foreman Day and displayed on the facade of the Howell stand at the 1878 Paris Exhibition.