This rare and fine American Colonial period mahogany tall case clock is one of the nation’s most treasured examples of craftsmanship in clockmaking. The clock case is labeled “Shaw Chisholm” and houses an eight-day time and strike movement. The dial has a shaped plate engraved “William Faris Annapolis,” the silversmith who fabricated the clock’s movement. Among other unique features, it is the only extant object labeled by the partnership of William Faris and John Shaw. John Shaw, born in Glasgow in 1745 and arrived in Annapolis in 1763, is considered one of the preeminent cabinetmakers of Annapolis. Shaw and his shop helped bring the Neoclassical style to Annapolis homes and public buildings. These furnishings in turn influenced the architecture around them, both public and private, keeping the city at the forefront of British taste during a forming independence movement. The label allows us to date the clock accurately. John Shaw and Archibald Chisolm, also from Scotland, worked in partnership for only a short time between 1772 and 1776. Moon dials, as seen on this clock, involved movements that were considerably more sophisticated and displayed the phases of the moon in tandem with the time. This piece is the only known Faris moon dial still with its original case. The painted moon face is exquisitely rendered, and the unusual quality of its extreme detail suggests the work of a fine portrait painter or highly trained miniaturist. The Faris-Shaw-Chisholm clock testifies to the creative ingenuity and close network of Annapolis craftsmen during, when Maryland’s capital city experienced tremendous growth and affluence in the form of Georgian mansions, portraiture, and luxury objects. As Scottish and English-trained craftsmen, all three makers of Historic Annapolis’s clock sought to secure social and economic stability while advancing their local community, and ultimately, helped establish a strong future for the young United States. For instance, John Shaw worked to further the establishment of the independent government by constructing the Maryland State House in 1779 and creating a set of chairs for the Maryland Senate in 1797. The timepiece now stands in the home built for William Paca, a patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence. It reflects how the partnership of Faris, Shaw, and Chisholm created an artistic legacy that significantly illumines the American spirit.