A Victorian brass novelty clock by Elkington & Co

A Victorian brass novelty clock by Elkington & Co., in the form of a double steering-wheel, one wheel enclosing a clock and the other a barometer, with two additional Fahrenheit thermometers attached to the curved sides, all surmounted by a gimballed compass and set upon a rotating, ratchetted capstan flanked by cannonballs on a rectangular marble plinth.  The clock face inscribed ‘Elkington & Co, Paris.’  English and French, circa 1885.

Footnote: Elkington & Co was started by George Richards Elkington and his brother, Henry Elkington, in 1824.  In 1838 the brothers found success when they patented and cultivated an electroplating technique which involved coating a thin layer of metal onto the surface of a workpiece by using an electric current.  This process totally revolutionised the production of silverware and flatware.  By 1860, Elkington & Co. had become the world’s leading maker of plated silverware.  The exceptional quality of their work lead to countless commissions, royal warrants and awards.  Notable commissions included silverware for Queen Victoria, trophies for the LTW at Wimbledon and dinnerware on the Titanic.  They won the Gold Medal for Excellence at the Great Exhibition, Crystal Palace, 1851 and exhibited further wares at the 1862 and 1867 Paris exhibitions, and the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876.

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