Autograph Letter Signed from the Welsh antiquary Octavius Morgan, discussing in detail a watch by Johann Sayller of Ulm in the possession of the unnamed recipient of the letter, and the evils of modern restoration of clocks and watches.

3pp., 12mo. 52 lines. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. He thanks him for sending for his 'inspection the old watch which is a nice specimen', but would have been of more interest had it been left in its original condition'. He describes the alterations, and his reasons for believing that they were 'done by a French man, & I should think prior to the time of your late Brother'. Morgan possesses a watch by Sayller, and he 'once saw an extremely curious & beautiful clock of his in a case of silver'. The latter 'has gone through the process of "Restoration" that is removal of all the old curious works & insertion of modern ones to suit the present day - & I think now belongs to one of the Rothschilds'. He returns to the recipient's watch, describing it in detail, including the comment: 'the ornaments of the dial are in a state which was introduced by Theodor de Bry in the XVI century, filled in with black in imitation of niello'. He concludes: 'The date of the watch, judging from the stile, I consider to be from 1600 to 1625'.