Joseph Norris
Joseph Norris , (* 1650 probably in Abingdon ; † after 1700) was an English clockmaker from London who worked in Amsterdam from 1677 to 1693 . His floor clocks made during this period are considered to be the earliest in the Netherlands .
Life and watchmaking achievement
High-quality floor clocks were known in England as early as 1660 , after John Fromanteel had studied Huygens' principle of the pendulum clock with Salomon Coster in The Hague and brought it to London. The competition in London was fierce at that time, a number of well-known and capable watchmakers made grandfather clocks, such as Thomas Tompion , the Fromanteel family or Joseph Knibb and Edward East .
Norris, a former student of Ahasversus Fromanteel in London, settled in Amsterdam in 1677, where he married Alicea Arnold on August 22, 1677, who was two years his junior. In his workshop he made floor clocks, Haagse Klokken , as well as wall clocks and pocket watches . Norris brought the knowledge of making high quality floor clocks with her to Amsterdam, where this type of clock was apparently still unknown at the time. From 1677 to 1681, Norris was the only major clockmaker who worked in Amsterdam. It is certain that Norris introduced the floor clock based on the English model in Amsterdam and made it famous. In the period that followed, the Nederlandse Staande Klok , the Dutch floor clock, developed from this .
On the basis of the early Amsterdam floor clocks from before 1700 that still remain today, it can be understood that Norris first came to Amsterdam. Then some other well-known watchmakers followed. From 1681 the Fromanteel family had a studio on the Vigendam in Amsterdam. Joseph Story followed in 1686 and from 1689 Steven Huygen took up his work as a watchmaker. The Englishman Edward Brookes finally came to Amsterdam in 1696 with his brother Otto. The early clocks of Ahasversus II. Fromanteel and his brother John differ in style from all clocks made before 1685. These are attributed to Norris.
Preserved watches
Five clocks signed by Joseph Norris from the period 1680 to 1695 have been preserved in private collections and museums. The movements have anchor escapement, lock disc striking mechanism on two bells, quarter-hour strike and date display. The duration is one week each. The watch cases are made of oak and veneered in walnut or rosewood.
literature
- J. Zeeman: De Nederlandse Staande Klok . Van Gorcum Assen, Amsterdam 1977, ISBN 9023214196 .
Web links
- Lantern clock in archive "Brian & Joy Loomes" (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Norris, Joseph |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English watchmaker |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1650 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Abingdon (Oxfordshire) , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 1700 |