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When this English bracket clock was made by London horologist Peter Desmarais in the 1790s, relations between Great Britain and America were at low ebb. Almost two centuries later, the House of Representatives accepted it from donors who noted that it “serves as a tangible symbol of time’s healing qualities.” The clock marks time more literally—and noisily. It has a progressive strike: not only does it strike the hours, but also strikes one ring on the quarter-hour, two on the half-hour, and three on the three-quarter’s hour.
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “English Bracket Clock,” https://history.house.gov/Collection/Listing/2016/2016-231-000/ (April 18, 2021)
Office of the Historian
Office of Art and Archives
Attic, Thomas Jefferson Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 226-1300
