Positive news from Dreweatts' clocks sale at Donnington Priory, Newbury on February 10 which posted a 92 per cent selling rate.
The sale included a Tompion eight-day longcase clock in a
'mulberry' case that sold for £46,000, but chosen for illustration
is this rare trade token inscribed Joseph Knibb: Clockmaker in
Oxon.
To the obverse is a Roman numeral chapter ring with the initials
I and K either side of a single hand to the centre.
Joseph Knibb moved to Oxford c.1662, although his presence there
was not welcomed by the local trade and it was not until 1668, upon
payment of a fine, that he was allowed to work unhindered.
It is probable that the token was produced at around this time,
both to serve as a temporary form of currency (it could be redeemed
to the value of a farthing) and as a form of advertising. Knibb
moved to London in 1670.
One of 104 lots that comprised the workshop and library of
Somerset-based restorer John Hooper (1942-2007), it doubled
estimate to sell at £1600.
A similar Knibb token was sold with three other clock trade
tokens by Christie's in 1995 for £500.
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