John Bellamy
Carved Masonic Clock
circa
1875
Here is a carved Clock case frame
with Masonic symbolism, circa 1875. The frame includes the name, "J.H.
Bellamy." The Masonic
symbols have been cleverly arranged to simulate armorial devices.
A special
"Thanks" from Brother Al Lohman, a 30 year collector and 30+ year
Masonic Lodge member from Wisconsin. Al trades on eBay under the User ID
"lochlohman"
About the
Artist/Carver
John Haley
Bellamy 1836 - 1914
John Haley Bellamy was a wood
carver in Maine, Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Boston. Although he is best
known for his ship figureheads and carved eagles, he also carved decorative
pieces and family coats of arms. Heraldry was a hobby of his and his
familiarity with the subject is obvious in the design of the above pictures
what-not-shelf. Although he is best known for his ship figureheads and
carved eagles, he also carved decorative pieces and family coats of arms.
Heraldry was a hobby of his and his familiarity with the subject is obvious in
the design of the above pictured clock case. Born in 1836 in Kittery
Point, Maine, John Haley Bellamy worked in Boston as a young man in the shop of
the ship carver Laban Beecher (1805-1876) and later attended the New Hampton
Literary institute. Sometime after 1857, Bellamy began his career as a
carver, working first at a shop on Washington street in Boston and later back
home in Maine. By the time he was thirty, his work was beginning to be
recognized for its creativity. Though he never considered himself an
artist, he was fiercely proud of his creations: "There is one thing I can say as
to this work of mine. It is original with me and never known or heard of
until I produced it." In addition to his well-known eagles, Bellamy's
output included clock cases, signs, frames, animal figures, and furniture.
Despite enjoying a reputation as a master carver, shipping his pieces throughout
the country, and patenting six types of clock cases and an oarlock by 1880,
Bellamy never achieved true financial security. Part of this is due to his
restless nature which never allowed him to stay in one position, no matter how
successful, for too long. Regardless, Bellamy never stopped carving, and,
by the time of his death, his work was well-known. When Bellamy died in
1914, The Portsmouth Herald wrote prophetically that "his name and his
carvings will probably be known longer to the outside world than that of any ...
man from (Portsmouth)."
Bellamy's most famous work is the
monumental Eagle figurehead carved in the late 1870s for the ship U.S.S.
Lancaster in Portsmouth, removed from the ship in the 1920s. Despite
weighing 3,200 pounds and displaying an eighteen foot wingspan, the Lancaster
Eagle is Bellamy's masterpiece, exemplifying his skill in using simple lines to
convey action. The only identifiable figurehead carved by Bellamy, the
Lancaster Eagle is in the collection of the Mariner's Museum in Newport News,
Virginia.
Twenty-one years after his death,
Victor Stafford, Bellamy's nephew, published "John Haley Bellamy, The
Woodcarver of Kittery Point" in The Magazine Antiques, which was the first
national article to explore his life and work. A later, more scholarly,
treatment of his life and work is Yvonne Brault Smith's John Haley Bellamy;
Carver of Eagles published in 1982.
