A GEORGE III MAHOGANY AND SATINWOOD EIGHT-DAY LONGCASE CLOCK WITH TIDAL INDICATION AND MOONPHASE WILLIAM TARLETON, LIVERPOOL, CIRCA 1775The four pillar rack and bell striking movement with break-arch plates and escapement offset to the right fitted with cranked crutch to provide impulse to the seconds pendulum suspended at the centre, the 14 inch brass break-arch dial with subsidiary calendar and seconds dials set beside each other to the upper part of the foliate scroll engraved silvered centre with further dial annotated HIGH/LOW and with curved sector revealing painted scenes of changing coastal views, within applied silvered Roman numeral chapter ring with Arabic five minutes to outer track and geometric border to outer edge, with pierced steel hands and applied cast rococo scroll spandrels to angles beneath arch with rolling moonphase incorporating sunburst and delineated terrestrial globe engraved lunettes beneath disc annotated for the age of the moon and times of high water to outer edge, the upper margin of the arch boldly engraved with simulated scroll signed WILL'M TARLETON LIVERPOOL, the case with swan neck pediment joined by an arch at the centre and with satinwood panel infill over hinged break-arch glazed dial aperture applied with fluted half columns to stiles flanked by free-standing Doric columns to front angles and with further conforming half columns set to the sides at the rear, the trunk with unusual satinwood 'rocaille' overlay to the lip of the cavetto throat moulding over inlaid arcaded frieze and shaped-top caddy moulded door flanked by quarter columns, the plinth base with stepped ogee top mouldings and geometric panel border inlay to fascia flanked by canted angles, on shallow moulded skirt with squat ogee bracket feet.237.5cm (93.5ins) high excluding finial, 58cm (22.75ins) wide, 26cm (10.25ins) deep.William Tarleton is recorded in Baillie, G.H. Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World as a 'watch-maker of repute' working in Liverpool 1763-1807. In 1798 Tarleton's business was taken-on by his son-in-law Robert Roskell, who went on to establish one of the most important watchmaking workshops of the 19th century.The dial of the current lot is unusual in that it incorporates a subsidiary which indicates high or low tide (both with a hand as well as a sector revealing ever changing coastal views) in addition to having tidal indications to the rolling moonphase. In order to provide space for the tidal dial (as well as a calendar dial to the centre) the maker moved the seconds dial to the right of its normal central position. Tarleton achieved this by offsetting the escapement and fitting a Hindley type cranked link to the crutch to allow the pendulum to be suspended from the centre of the back plate. In addition to the slightly unusual layout the dial is particularly well finished with fine geometric engraved border to the chapter ring and nicely detailed scroll terminals to the signature banner. The attention given to the tidal indications and the high quality finish to the dial would suggest that the present clock would have most likely been supplied to a wealthy merchant or ship owner to whom knowledge of the tides would have been important.