Old & New

I was recently offered the post of finishing the work I began on the 1765 George Pyke clock at Temple Newsam House I mentioned in a previous blog entry. You can read about it here.

Unfortunately this old path is not the future path. It was extremely difficult to set aside my feelings of attachment to this project and the desire to finish what I started. As previously mentioned, three years of prep work, grant applications, research, and multiple visits to assess the condition went into putting the proposal together that I presented to West Dean. I owe so much to Ian Fraser, the head Conservator at Temple Newsam, for all of his hard work and support on this project.

The reason my path has changed course is the following: I have been offered the opportunity of handling the estate of the late horologist Dennis E. Harmon. A friend of George Daniels, and a man who did everything in the old way, making his own pigments from scratch for his enameling work and grinding raw diamonds down for polishing powders. His workshop is painted with the original green paint from the (long closed) Bulova watchmaking factory. This man was one of the Greats and is missed by many. He is the best friend, tutor, and all around most amazing person I never met.

From what I understand, Dennis and his brother were a force to be reckoned with – traveling to auctions far and wide, buying up anything and everything horological. If the Harmon Brothers showed, you were out of luck.

His workshop includes, but is not limited to the following:

A Rose Engine

A Straight-Line Engine

Schaublin 70 + all accessories

Schaublin 102 + all accessories