pocket watch

Dateca. 1700

Mediumsilver, glass

Dimensions2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)

Donor credit lineGift of Miss. Elizabeth Bailey

Object number00.233.6

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionA thick silver pocket watch with highly ornamented (Greco-Roman style) engraved silver face with Roman and Arabic numerals. In the center of the face the engraving reads: "Gould/ London". The watch has gold-metal gears. The enclosed card reads: "Gould - London/ Gi. Eliz. Bailey/ 1910". An A-shaped filigree engraving is on the reverse of the outer case. The interior engraving reads:"Chr. Gould/ London/ 630."

Christopher Gould was one of the most eminent of English makers during the late 1600s He was made a Free Brother in the Clockmakers’ Company in 1682. In 1697 he signed the Clockmakers’ Company oath of allegiance. In 1701 he worked at the Royal Exchange. He was Beadle of the Company in 1713 but by then was receiving a charity pension which continued until his death in 1718. This watch dates from around 1700.

First, a silver watch, the gift of Miss Elizabeth Bailey, which came down to her from an English great great grandmother. William Sawyer Wall was in England in 1798, and was paying a visit to his grandmother, Mary Moreton. When he was about to return home, she took the watch from her side and sent it to his daughter, Mary Moreton Wall, her namesake. Miss Bailey is the daughter of Cornelius Bailey and Mary Wall.

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