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Cases |
| Watch cases used by McCabe were typical of the period with probably the normal ratio of silver to gold, with four early watches known in gilt metal cases. Although James senior's brother, Thomas, was apparently a casemaker (in addition to his watchmaking) James did not bring this branch of the trade "in house". |
| The firm used a number of casemakers predominantly from the London district of Clerkenwell. One gilt metal cased verge made circa 1785 has a casemaker's mark for William Robson of 11 Bridgewater Square, his mark entered on 4th September 1788. Baille lists a clock and watchmaker by the name of William Robson, apprenticed 1771, free of the Clockmakers Company 1787, died 1823 with addresses at Red Cross Street and Bridgewater Square. Britten gives his address as 48 Red Cross Street 1797 - 1810 and notes him as a "Musical clock-maker". McCabe may have bought both watch cases and clocks from him. In the early part of the 19th Century Thomas Walker produced some very nice cases with heavy cast rims for McCabe. Some were fitted with four colour gold dials and at least one example bears a scene done in four colour gold on the back under glass. |
| London Casemakers used by McCabe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Mark | Name | Years |
| Gold | TP, star above | Thomas Perry | 1775 |
| Gilt Metal | WR | William Robson | 1785 |
| Gold | IC, axe above | Joseph Carpenter | 1788 |
| Gold | SC | Sarah Carpenter | 1796 |
| Gold, Silver | IR | James Richard | 1796-1809 |
| Gold | LC, Serpent above | Louis Comptesse | 1805-1810 |
| Gold | WM | William Mean | 1813 |
| Gold | TW | Thomas Walker | 1814-1833 |
| Silver | JD | James Dow | 1820-1830 |
| Silver | EW | Edward Walker | 1827 |
| Gold | CAP, oval | Charles Auguste Petterman | 1835-1840 |
| Silver | CBH | Cornelius Brook Holiday | 1841 |
| Gold, Silver | GH, oval | Gustavus Huguenin | 1842-1851 |
| Silver | TH | Thomas Holiday | 1862-1865 |
| Gold | AS, oval | Alfred Stram | 1856-1867 |
| Gold, Silver | AS, rectangle | Alfred Stram | 1867-1878 |
| Silver | CJT | Charles James Thickbroom | 1877 |
| Alfred Stram was almost exclusively used by McCabe after the middle of the 1850s. Based in Red Lion Square, a hotbed of horological activity some two miles east of Clerkenwell, Stram must have had a busy workshop judging by the number of cases he made for most of the best London watchmakers. After 1830 the watch cases destined for sale in England are generally similar with engine turned covers and reeded rims, while the ones destined for the Indian trade tended to have overall floral engraving. | ||
| Apparently many of the firm's watches were returned to McCabe for new cases or conversion to more modern styles. On several of the recorded watches the case marks are correct for the hallmark date, however the serial number does not correspond with the normal pattern as indicated by the following examples: | ||
| (1) a duplex watch No. 1930 (c.1785) in a silver pair case
hallmarked 1805 (case maker IR) (2) a lever clock watch No . 16256 in a gold half hunter case, hallmarked 1840 in the back of case (case maker GH) and 1870 in the half hunter cover (case maker AS) (3) a duplex No. 8886 (C.1816) in a very good gold case hallmarked 1822 (case maker TW). |
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