The David Morris Collection

VIEW AUCTION     REQUEST A VALUATION     CONTACT A SPECIALIST

An engineer by profession and a true perfectionist, he combined his interest in classic cars with a passion for antiques, and antique horology in particular.

David met his wife, Tina, in 1968 when he was working the pumps at Meadside Garage in Hertford. It was through her that David was first introduced to antiques, as she loved trawling the local antique shops and car boot sales with her mum. Over time, David developed a deep interest in clocks and barometers and their workings.

His exceptional engineering skills (rarely one for fashion, he wore a patched-up lab coat for most occasions) allowed him to become a very capable restorer and he enjoyed the research the discipline demands. His day job was that of a second-hand car dealer and proprietor of the same garage that he manned the pumps of as a teenager; David Morris Autos hosted many discussions with fellow clock and barometer collectors and dealers, who would often stop by to discuss acquisitions over a cup of tea. As technology progressed, the conversations moved to internet discussion boards.

^{A brass lantern clock last quarter of the 17th century (£2,000-3,000)}

Displaying an eye for quality and detail, David’s collection covers two centuries of European clockmaking history, from a late 17th-century lantern clock by Thomas Knifton of Lothbury (estimate £2,000-3,000), to a French 'giant' brass carriage clock with a repeating mechanism, c.1860 (estimate £1,500-2,000). 

^{A large brass carriage clock c.1860, French (£1,500-2,000)}

Many of the clocks in this twenty-eight lot collection date from the Georgian and Regency eras when elegance of design combined with movements of increasing accuracy. Keeping perfect time in the Morris household was a Regency mahogany cased regulator by G J Wagstaff, London, with a substantial six-pillar movement featuring sophistications such as Harrison’s maintaining power. Now that the family has decided the moment is right to sell some of David's prized possessions, it is guided at £2,000-3,000.

^{A Regency mahogany cased regulator by G J Wagstaff (£2,000-3,000)}

David’s interest in the historic and the vintage has been passed to his family. Today his daughter Hannah trades in 20th-century furnishings, living above and working from the same garage where her dad started out 50 years ago.

Tuesday 11 & Wednesday 12 June

fineinteriors@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778

VIEW AUCTION