Parkinson & Frodsham

PARKINSON & FRODSHAM - Lot 297

PARKINSON & FRODSHAM Chronometer pocket watch in 18K (750 thousandths) gold, white enamel dial, black minute track, hour markers with black Roman hands, small seconds at six o'clock. Hinged caseback in 18K (750 crowned Lion, inside 18-carat London 1865 gold guarantee hallmarks, dust cover in in 18K (750 thousandths) gold, inscribed "Presented to Walter Fergus Esq. M.D. by the parents of boys attacked by Scarlatina at Marlborough College in 1870 in grateful remembrance of his unremitting attendance skill & kindness". Mechanical movement hand-wound, three-quarter plate, blued bezels and screws, signed "Parkinson & Frodsham" mention "Change Alley London" N°5215, decorated engraved balance bridge, bimetallic balance wheel, detent escapement. Watch partially functional at time of appraisal, with no guarantee of future operation or condition of parts. Scratches to case, crack to dial. A very fine, late example of a pocket watch made by the Parkinson & Frodsham association. Parkinson & Frodsham is a company company specializing in the trade of fine marine and pocket chronometers (supplier to the Royal Navy), which was founded in 1801 by William James Frodsham (1778-1850) and William Parkinson (died c.1842). From 1801 to 1890, its business address was 4 Change Alley. After the death of the founders, the company was taken over by William James Frodsham's sons. Our copy is unusual in that its dust jacket has been engraved, explaining its provenance, in this case a physician, Walter Fergus, who was offered this watch for his services. The name Fergus is an important one in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. The family name appears four times between 1874 and 1931. Dr. Walter Fergus, was born in Newcastle in 1819, and graduated in medicine from Edinburgh University in 1842. In 1849, he was appointed physician at Marlborough College School in Wiltshire, where he remained until his death on December 8, 1886. Circa 1865 D. 48 mm - Gross weight 95 g