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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Clock type · Specialist

Watchman's and Tell-Tale Clocks

Partially verified

Clocks that record whether a night watchman made his rounds.

Movement & mechanism

  • A rotating dial with movable pegs or a paper tape records each visit
  • A key at each station, or a pin pressed at the clock, marks the time of the round
  • Portable versions were carried and punched a paper disc

Identification

  • A recording dial with pegs, or a paper disc holder
  • Provision for station keys in portable versions
  • Surviving paper discs are valuable documentary evidence

Terminology

  • Tell-tale clock
  • Watchman's clock
  • Station key

Known variations

  • Fixed tell-tale and portable watchman's versions

Collecting notes

Originality decides value and interest: check that movement, dial and case belong together, and prefer honest wear over refinishing. Movement work belongs with a clockmaker; cleaning a dial or case yourself commonly destroys the evidence that dates the clock.

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., reference works on British clockmakers (edition-dependent)
  3. Museum catalogue descriptions of comparable examples

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