Y A fine rare George IV brass mounted mahogany table regulator Barwise, London, circa 1825 The four swollen columnar pillar single chain fusee movement with inverted pear-shaped plates, Harrison's maintaining power and delicate pin-wheel escapement incorporating adjustable pallets regulated by heavy disc bob half-seconds pendulum with fine beat adjustment to crutch and suspension bar bridging the movement plates, the frontplate stamped with serial number 738 to the lower margin and the rear signed Barwise, London over the pendulum holdfast screw bracket, the 6 inch circular silvered dial with subsidiary seconds over Roman numeral hour dials and inscribed Barwise, London to centre within outer minute track incorporating Arabic five minutes, with blued steel hands and milled surround set behind a hinged convex-glazed cast brass bezel, the arch-top case with five generous canted brass-fillet edged glazed panels evenly positioned within the curvature of the top and sides of the upper section and fine ebony strung borders around the dial to the front, the tall plinth base section with crisply cut ebonised upper mouldings over brass-fillet edged glazed panel incorporating concealed spring catch and pin hinges to allow access to the pendulum behind and with cockbeaded surround, the sides with fine flame figured veneers and the rear with arched door set within the frame of the case incorporating glazed aperture positioned behind the movement, on moulded skirt with brass bell-shaped feet, 41cm (16.25ins) high. The life of John Barwise and his family are outlined by A.D. Stewart in his article Barwise & Sons: Watchmakers to the King. A brief history of family and firm published in the March 2014 issue of ANTIQUARIAN HOROLOGY (Vol IIIV No. 1 pages 621-34). Stewart notes that John Barwise was born into a clockmaking family in Cockermouth, Cumberland in around 1756. By 1780 he had moved to London where he opened a watch retailing business. Ten years later he married Elizabeth Weston with his address being recorded as 29 St. Martin's Lane where he remained until his death in 1820. Of their eleven children two (possibly three) died in infancy and two, John II (born 1795) and Weston (born 1793), subsequently joined their father in the family business. In 1800, such was his success, John Barwise I purchased a second house in Dulwich. In 1805 John Barwise I was one of the fifteen watchmakers appointed by The Board of Longitude to adjudicate in the dispute between John Arnold and Thomas Earnshaw regarding 'the respective merits of their chronometers'. On the 14th February 1811 Barwise was the victim of five highwayman who relieved him of a 'gold watch, greatcoat, and a guinea-and-a-half in cash' whilst en-route from Camberwell to Dulwich. This unfortunate occurrence may well have tempered Barwise's enthusiasm for his house in Dulwich as records indicate it was rented out to tenants by 1813. In around 1816 his sons, John II (who had just turned 21) and Weston, joined him in partnership with the business then becoming 'Barwise & Sons'. Shortly afterwards (probably in 1820) the firm obtained the Royal Warrant as watchmakers to King George IV. John Barwise senior died in 1820; by this time he was a wealthy man leaving two properties and substantial investments to his widow and children. The business was continued by Weston and John II in partnership, however this only lasted six years as Weston died in 1826 leaving the business in the hands of John II alone. It was at this time that John II married and moved from the family home at St. Martin's Lane to nearby 42 Craven Street; and then in 1840 to a spacious residence called East Lodge, near Acton which at that time was in open countryside. At around the same time John Barwise II entered into an alliance with the highly inventive Scottish Clockmaker Alexander Bain who was in the process of developing the first electric timepiece. Barwise and Bain subsequently filed a patent (No. 8743) for an 'Electro-Magnetic Clock' which was granted in January 1841; an example of which was then subsequently exhibited at the Royal Polytechnic Institution shortly afterwards. In 1842 John Barwise II was approached by Pierre Frederic Ingold (1787-1878) to assist in the creation of a watch factory which, by employing newly invented machinery, would be able to mass produce high quality watches at a much smaller cost than the prevalent hand-built movements available at the time. Barwise, along with Thomas Earnshaw junior, subsequently became managing directors of the newly established 'British Watch and Clockmaking Company'. The factory was established at 75 Dean Street but only lasted two years before closing due to financial difficulties mostly brought-about by poor reputation fuelled by pressure from rival watch component makers to whose livelihoods the factory posed a great risk. It would appear that John Barwise II had invested most of his personal wealth in the venture as he was declared bankrupt in 1846. With this he lost his house, East Lodge near Acton, but still managed to keep the business afloat - perhaps mainly due to the generosity of his father-in-law, Charles Baumer, who provided the family with a house at 7 Queen's Row, Camberwell rent free presumably until Barwise was back on his feet. In 1853 another former business Barwise partner the Calcutta retail Jeweller Robert John Lattey returned to London and became founder and auditor of the 'London & Eastern Banking Corporation'. With the resources of the Bank behind him Lattey (trading as Lattey and Company) took-on Barwise's debt and became owner of the business. It was at this point that John Barwise II stepped back from the firm with the overall management passing to the to the Swiss watchmaker, Jules Rochat who had joined the business in 1847. Unfortunately the situation did not improve under Rochat's tenureship as it subsequently transpired that the funds used to purchase the business were illicitly acquired, and in 1857 the London & Eastern Banking Corporation collapsed. After the 1857 liqudation of Lattey and Company the firm was acquired by the jeweller and Goldsmith Douglas Guillaume Cave and continued, again under Jules Rochat's management, until 1869 when bankruptcy again forced the company to change hands. The firm was subsequently continued under the Barwise name in the hands of several different owners up until 1988 with their last known address being 153 Fenchurch Street. Of John Barwise II, he is recorded in the 1861 census as being a 'chronometer maker out of business' and presumably still resided at 7 Queen's Row, Camberwell until his death in 1869. To read more, please refer to the full lot description in the page turning catalogue via the link here. Condition Report: Condition reports for this lot are available from the Clocks Department upon request (clocks@dreweatts.com). Condition Report Disclaimer