Clock type · Specialist
Musical Clocks
VerifiedClocks that play a tune, chime sequence or air on bells, a comb (as in a musical box mechanism), or organ-type pipes, at the hour or on demand, as distinct from automaton clocks whose principal feature is moving figures rather than sound.
Movement & mechanism
- A separate musical train, commonly driven by a pinned barrel that lifts hammers to strike a nest of bells or, in later work, plucks a tuned steel comb
- Release governed by the going train at set intervals (commonly the hour, or hour and quarter), or by a manual trigger
- Some fine longcase and bracket clocks combine full Westminster- or Whittington-type quarter chimes on eight or more bells with an hour strike
Identification
- A nest of bells, gongs or a tuned steel comb visible or audible in addition to a normal strike train
- A separate tune-selection mechanism on clocks offering more than one air
- Pinned barrels analogous to those found in musical boxes, on comb-type musical clocks
Terminology
- Quarter chime — a short musical phrase played at each quarter hour before the hour strike
- Whittington and Westminster chimes — the two most common English quarter-chime tune sets
- Comb — a tuned steel strip plucked by pins on a rotating barrel, as used in musical boxes and some musical clocks
Known variations
- Quarter-chiming clocks (bell-based)
- Comb-type musical clocks
- Multi-tune selectable musical clocks
Collecting notes
Quarter-chiming English longcase and bracket clocks with a choice of chime tunes are a well-established collecting sub-field; the condition and completeness of the bell or comb set materially affects both sound quality and value.
Photographs
Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.
Sources & references
- Britten, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.