Rufus Porter: Yankee Artist, Inventor, and Publisher

Clock expert Bob Frishman returns for another fascinating history presentation! Rufus Porter (1792-1884) is best known for the scenic wall murals and individual watercolor portraits he produced as an itinerant New England artist. However, he also published best-selling instructional books and was the founder in 1845 of Scientific American magazine. He was granted more than twenty patents for innovative mechanical inventions, anticipating the future of dirigibles, revolver firearms, agricultural machinery, and more. His only known signed clock was in Bob Frishman's collection but now stands at the Rufus Porter Museum in Bridgton, Maine, where Frishman delivered it a few years ago.

Bob Frishman entered the world of horology on Thanksgiving, 1980 when he met a collector/dealer/repairer who started him down the path that has led to nearly 8,000 clocks repaired, nearly 1,800 antique clocks sold, more than 100 articles published and more than 100 lectures delivered. A scholar of horology — the science of timekeeping, he is a Silver Star Fellow of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, the London guild chartered in 1631. He lives and works in Andover, Massachusetts. Learn more about his work at www.bell-time.com/