LANCASTER, Pa. — A rare tall case musical clock made by famed Lancaster clockmaker Martin Shreiner will be on exhibit at Historic Rock Ford’s John J. Snyder, Jr. Gallery of Early Lancaster County Decorative Arts starting on April 1, the museum announced this week.
The clock is on loan from John F. Pyfer, Jr. and Carol T. Pyfer of Willow Street, who have had the clock fully restored so that it is once again fully operable and able to play seven different tunes, the museum said in a press release.
In the early nineteenth century, musical clocks were very rare and quite expensive, Rock Ford said. This clock, originally made for and owned by the Shreiner family, represents one of the few surviving Martin Shreiner musical clocks that is in operable condition.
Martin Shreiner is believed to have made the clock around 1830. Its case is made of cherry wood in the Pennsylvania, Hepplewhite style and is unusually tall with both an upper short door and a lower full door.
“We are delighted to welcome this magnificent clock to the Snyder Gallery and pleased that our visitors will have the rare opportunity to see—and to hear—a fully functioning Martin Shreiner musical clock,” said Sam Slaymaker, Executive Director of Historic Rock Ford.
Martin Shreiner was born on North Queen Street in Lancaster in 1769. He opened a clockmaking shop in Lancaster in 1791 and had a long and distinguished career in clockmaking with his sons Martin, Jr. and Philip eventually joining him in the family business. He died at 97 years of age and was buried at Shreiner’s cemetery at the corner of West Chestnut and Mulberry Streets, which he had founded in 1836.
Located at 881 Rockford Road, Lancaster, Historic Rock Ford, comprised of the circa 1794 General Edward Hand Mansion and the John J. Snyder, Jr. Gallery of Early Lancaster County Decorative Arts, is open for tours from April 1 through October 30.
Admission information may be found at HistoricRockFord.org or rockford.yapsody.com.
