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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Clock type · Specialist

Flying-Pendulum (Ignatz) Novelty Clocks

Partially verified

An American novelty clock type in which timekeeping regulation is provided visually by a small ball whirling on a cord in place of an ordinary swinging pendulum, most closely associated with the trade name 'Ignatz'.

Movement & mechanism

  • A small ball attached to a cord is driven in an oscillating, near-circular 'flying' path by an escapement-linked mechanism rather than a conventional rod-and-bob pendulum
  • Spring-driven going train, generally of relatively low grade and short duration, intended for visual novelty rather than precision timekeeping
  • The apparent regulation is largely decorative: because the ball's path is not a true simple-pendulum motion, timekeeping is inherently less accurate than an ordinary anchor-and-pendulum clock

Identification

  • A cord and ball assembly whirling above or beside the movement in place of any conventional pendulum is the defining and unmistakable feature
  • Cases are typically small, inexpensive, and mass-produced rather than fine cabinetwork
  • The 'Ignatz' trade name or similar novelty branding sometimes appears on the dial or movement

Terminology

  • Flying pendulum — the whirling ball-and-cord regulator distinctive to this novelty type
  • Ignatz clock — a widely used trade name for this type, after an early or well-known producer/pattern

Known variations

  • Table/mantel-format flying-pendulum novelty clocks
  • Variants with differing dial and case ornamentation but the same whirling-ball regulator

Collecting notes

Flying-pendulum clocks are collected chiefly as American novelty and mechanical curiosities rather than for fine timekeeping; because the whirling cord and ball assembly is fragile and often replaced or restrung, originality of this assembly is a key conservation and authenticity concern.

Related photographs

Haller torsion pendulum anniversary clock
Haller torsion pendulum anniversary clock — Graham Evans, Battersea Clocks Home (aka westminsterclocks), CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Anniversary Clock, made by Ferguson's Watch and Clock Shop, Walpole MA, undated - Bennington Museum - Bennington, VT - DSC08665
Anniversary Clock, made by Ferguson's Watch and Clock Shop, Walpole MA, undated - Bennington Museum - Bennington, VT - DSC08665 — Daderot, Public domain. Wikimedia Commons file page

No confidently matched photograph of this subject has been found yet. These photographs show a closely related record, and are not examples of the type described on this page.

Sources & references

  1. Palmer, B., A Treasury of American Clocks
  2. Precise manufacturer attributions and patent details for this novelty type are not verified here and vary between secondary sources.

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.