Lot 575

William Goffe, Falmouth, Movement No. 809, 150 x 160 x 150 mm, circa 1830
A small one day ship's chronometer
Case: mahogany, brass inlays, inlaid mother of pearl signature shield, screwed on handles, case key, brass gimbals and bowl, three-body, with lid and glass. Dial: enamel, signed, radial Roman hours, auxiliary seconds, spade hands. Movm.: brass movement, decorated, moulded pillars, chain/fusee, spring detent escapement according to Thomas Earnshaw, three-arm compensation balance with 3 movable weights and 3 regulation screws, freesprung blued helical balance spring, chatoned ruby endstone on escape and seconds wheel, chatoned diamond endstone on balance.
William Goffe trug den Titel "Chronometer maker to his Majesty's Packets"
The Post Office Packet Service dates to Tudor times and ran until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed control of the service. Originally, the Post Office used packet ships to carry mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. The vessels generally also carried bullion, private goods and passengers. The ships were usually lightly armed and relied on speed for their security. However, Britain was at war almost continuously during the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries with the result that packet ships did get involved in naval engagements with enemy warships and privateers, and were, occasionally, captured.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Packet_Service

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