[Revere, Paul.] Engraved watch paper for A[aron] Willard, Watch & Clock Maker, Boston. Boston, 1781

[REVERE, PAUL.]

A[ARON] WILLARD, WATCH & CLOCK MAKER, BOSTON. [ENGRAVED BY PAUL REVERE, BOSTON, 1781]

Circular watch paper, 2 in. diameter (50 mm). Original slits around edges, to fit paper inside back of concave pocket watch, manuscript note on verso: "Nath'l Clap. Glass & Clean'd $1.25. July 14, 1827"; some browning.

The only known watch paper engraved by Paul Revere, done for Aaron Willard, the famous Boston clock-maker. The design depicts an angel blowing a trumpet, Father Time, a clock, and a watch. One of two states, no known priority. This state has a simple ampersand without flourish; the other state has a more elaborate ampersand (and other differences). Watch papers were round decorative papers placed inside pocket watches to protect the inner workings from dust. They also served as decorative advertisements for watchmakers. Records of watch cleanings were often written on verso.

A remarkable survival. "The search for such a watch paper [recorded in Revere's ledger] has gone on for many years" (Brigham, writing in 1954). 

LITERATURE:

Brigham, Paul Revere's Engravings pp. 122-23, both states illustrated; Spear, American Watch Papers pp. 67-68.