[time-nuts] O/T, Time Tax & Pub Clocks

David t_list_1_only at braw.co.uk
Sun Feb 7 14:52:03 UTC 2010


>From the BBC:

"A pub clock dating back to the introduction of a tax on timepieces more
than 200 years ago has sold at auction for £8,800. 
The George III Act of Parliament clock, decorated with hunting scenes, was
made around 1797 and was once on the wall of a tavern. 
It was discovered in a house in Aberdeenshire, where it had been in the
possession of a family for decades. 
It was sold at Shapes auction house in Edinburgh. 
Act of Parliament public service wall clocks, most commonly found in
taverns, appeared after the introduction of a tax on all British clocks and
watches in 1797. 
The result was many people simply stopped buying watches and clocks, and
publicans tried to cash in by putting them up in their bars, hoping people
would stay for a drink when they went in to check the time

”

More at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8502260.stm






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