Stretch: America's First Family of Clockmakers

This volume presents the definitive history of the Staffordshire-born Stretch family of clockmakers who emigrated to Philadelphia in 1703 and played an influential role in the city's early clock making, civic, and Quaker communities. Initial essays discuss the family and the importance of their Quaker beliefs; time-telling and the clock making community in pre-1750 Philadelphia; innovative mechanical advances made by the Stretches; and their notable civic and cultural contributions to the city. The catalogue section of the book features 84 of the 133 Peter, Thomas, and William Stretch clocks discovered during the course of the project, illustrating and fully describing both the cases and the works. The majority of the clocks passed down through the generations and still in private collections, are being published for the first time. AUTHOR: Donald L. Fennimore, Curator Emeritus, served as metalwork specialist at Winterthur Museum, Delaware, for 34 years. The list of his numerous publications includes "Metalwork in Early America" (Winterthur, 1996); "Iron at Winterthur" (Winterthur, 2004); and "Silversmiths to the Nation: Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner" (ACC, 2007). Frank L. Hohmann III, a retired Wall Street executive, is a collector of 18th-century furniture, with a concentration on brass dial clocks. He co-authored and published the volume "Timeless: Masterpiece American Brass Dial Clocks" (2009). He is a Trustee of Winterthur Museum, Delaware and a Liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. ILLUSTRATIONS: 457 colour