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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Clock type · Specialist

Industrial (Novelty) Clocks

Partially verified

Clocks with cases modeled after industrial machines like steam engines, lighthouses, or pistons.

Movement & mechanism

  • French movements, often with an additional movement to drive the 'machine'
  • The machine part (e.g., a piston) moves as part of the animation
  • Gilt and silvered bronze cases

Identification

  • Model of a machine (steam engine, forge, etc.)
  • Moving parts that are not strictly necessary for timekeeping
  • High-quality industrial aesthetic

Terminology

  • Steam engine clock
  • Lighthouse clock
  • Animation

Known variations

  • Steam engine, windmill, and lighthouse versions

Collecting notes

Condition and originality are paramount. For technical clocks like regulators or atmospheric clocks, the completeness of the original mechanism is more important than case condition. For decorative clocks (Boulle, Empire), the quality of the case craft is central.

Related photographs

Automaton clock, maker unknown, Germany, c. 1600-1615 - Waddesdon Manor - Buckinghamshire, England - DSC07705
Automaton clock, maker unknown, Germany, c. 1600-1615 - Waddesdon Manor - Buckinghamshire, England - DSC07705 — Daderot, Public domain. Wikimedia Commons file page
Automaton clock in the form of Diana on her chariot, South Germany, probably Augsburg, c. 1610, ebony, gilt bronze, silver, iron, brass - Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York City - DSC07058
Automaton clock in the form of Diana on her chariot, South Germany, probably Augsburg, c. 1610, ebony, gilt bronze, silver, iron, brass - Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York City - DSC07058 — 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. Britten, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers
  2. Loomes, B., The Early Clockmakers of Great Britain
  3. Roberts, D., British Skeleton Clocks
  4. Museum catalogue records

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