As a recognized clock expert, Gary Sullivan has for many years been involved in gathering information on the early clock making industry in Southeastern Massachusetts. The product of this research will be documented in a book which Gary is co-authoring with noted furniture scholar Brock Jobe. Working together with furniture scholars and the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, they have been studying the furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts from the William and Mary period through the Classical and Empire periods (circa 1710-1850).

---

The result of the study will be the first detailed catalog of the furniture making industry in this vital New England region. The project will culminate in the March 2009 release of a book entitled "Harbor and Home: The Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710-1850". It will be released in conjunction with a traveling museum exhibition, which will begin at Winterthur and travel to the Nantucket Historical Association and the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Clock making was a significant industry in Southeastern Massachusetts, particularly during the first quarter of the Nineteenth Century. A portion of the volume will document the work of these craftsmen, and whenever possible, will identify the clock case makers and allied artisans.

---

We are interested in learning about and documenting any pre-1850 furniture or clocks which can be firmly tied to this region. (The study includes the counties of Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket)
Those clockmakers and cabinetmakers that are being sought are John Bailey, Calvin Bailey and John Bailey Jr. from Hanover; Joshua Wilder and Rueben Tower from Hingham; Stephen Taber and Josiah Wood from New Bedford; as well as Joseph Gooding, Alanson Gooding, Allen Kelley, Ezra Kelley, Samuel Rogers and David Studley. Pertinent contribution to this research are welcome.

IMPORTANT DISCOVERY Simon Willard Family Record and Memorial. Boston circa 1810-24 - Watercolor, Pen & Ink on paper board.

This historically significant memorial was recently acquired by Mr. Sullivan. He has donated a photo realistic reproduction of the document for public display at the Willard House & Clock Museum, North Grafton, Mass
This Classically rendered watercolor memorial illustrates the family of celebrated clock maker Simon Willard of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Perhaps the best known of all American clock makers, Simon Willard was an innovator who changed the course of clock making with a number of major improvements such as the patent timepiece commonly referred to as the "Banjo Clock".
The memorial illustrates the names and birth dates of Simon, his wife Mary and their eleven children. Included are two memorials to daughter Julia in 1799 and eldest son Thomas in 1810. Therefore the record would a have been created after 1810 but prior to 1823, the year that his wife Mary died. Although official records of Willard family genealogy are known, it is extraordinary to have discovered the personal record owned by the Willard household.

Mr. Sullivan is assisting independent scholar Mr. Paul J. Foley in his latest undertaking, to publish a history, catalog and guide of Simon Willard's lighthouse clocks. In conjunction with The Willard House and Clock Museum in North Grafton, Massachusetts, Gary is helping to locate privately held lighthouse clocks made by Simon Willard. In 2002, Mr. Foley published a very highly regarded, comprehensive guide to Simon Willard's patent time pieces.

Willard House & Clock Museum, North Grafton, Mass

Information relating to, and examples of these clocks are being sought for an upcoming publication devoted to this important form. In addition to those clocks which were included in the museum's recent exhibition of Willard lighthouse clocks, the author wishes to include all known examples of these masterpieces.