Thomas Cummins, London

• Movement: gilded full plate, lever escapement, jewelled to the third wheel, two-arm bi-metallic compensation balance, helical balance spring, engraved beat scale, fusee and chain, maintaining power, signed and numbered Thos. Cummins, 4-25, London, Invt. et Fecit 
• Dial: gold engine turned regulator-type dial, satin finished chapter rings, hour dial at 6 with Roman numerals, subsidiary seconds at 12 and outermost minute ring with Arabic numerals, blued steel hands
• Case: gold, engine turned band and back centred with the crest of a Peacock's head, case hallmarked London 1824 and with case maker's mark LC with scroll above incuse for Louis Comtesse

Christie’s London, P.W. Pegge Collection, February 1960
Sotheby's London, 18th March 1974, lot 31
Antiquorum Geneva, Thomas Engel Collection, 11^th November 2001, lot 291

Terence Camerer Cuss, The English Watch 1585-1970, 2009, p. 386-387, pl. 242

Movement running at time of cataloguing. Dial with some light scuffs to matte decoration. Engine turned decoration to case back and band in good overall condition with some light rubbing towards the edge of the back. One case/movement securing screw missing to bezel.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping."

Thomas Cummins is recorded by Loomes, in Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, as a member of the Clockmakers' Company from 1806-1832. In their book Watches, Cecil Clutton and George Daniels noted: "This virtually unknown maker was almost certainly the first English maker to use the lever escapement in watches of the highest quality, when this escapement was revived after its almost complete neglect in England from 1800-1820. He appears to have started using the lever escapement soon after 1820, with a highly sophisticated form of Massey’s escapement" [see op. cit. 1^st Ed, 1965, p.130]. The lever escapement in the present watch is an enhanced form of Massey's Type IV escapement with draw and resilient banking, there is also maintaining power and Cummins' own form of fusee stop device. There is no motion work between the hands so that frictional loss and variations due to it are avoided.

Approximately half a dozen watches signed by Thomas Cummins are known, three similar examples previously sold by Sotheby’s are:

Thomas Cummins No. 61-22 hallmarked 1822 (enamel dial) Sotheby’s London, 21^st October 1977, lot 161
Thomas Cummins No. 14-26 hallmarked 1825, Sotheby’s London, The Belin Collection, 19^th November 1979, lot 172
Thomas Cummins No. 17-27 hallmarked 1826, Sotheby’s London, Celebration of the English Watch Part I, lot 79

Thomas Cummins employed a 'twin' numbering system, comparing these numbers with the hallmark years of his known watches (remembering that the London hallmark year cycle changes in May i.e. covering approximately six months of two different years) the secondary number appears to represent the year of production, whilst the number which precedes the year is presumably the watch’s production number within that year.

The crest to the case back is that of Robert Smith, first Baron Carrington – the balance cock is engraved with the name I.W. Smith, 8 Gray's Inn Square, it would seem that Robert’s crest was adopted by his brother or cousin, the first initial could be for John Smith, a member of the London banking family Smith Payne & Co. and M.P. for Nottingham (the J commuted, as was common, to I). Interestingly, Cummins no. 14-26 has a cock which also appears to be engraved for its original owner, in that case a certain H.L. Goater.