A Rare Black Forest Automaton Butcher Clock "Metzgeruhr"

In the days before PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals),and being a vegetarian was a trendy lifestyle… this butcher clock would be a socially acceptable fit into the everyday home! Even though many today might find this automation a little inhumane, it represented a crucial part of daily life, and for the Black Forest clockmaker’s it was a perfect scene to be incorporate into a clock.

This clock has a painting of an open door barn in the upper section of the shield, allowing the viewer to look into the barn.

Inside this room is a butcher, who is carved from wood and finely painted. He is dressed in is work uniform complete with cap, bib, and white apron (with light traces of blood)! In his hands he holds a large axe.
Lying on the ground of the barn is a ox, also is also carved from wood and painted (including a slight smile on his face!). As the clock strikes the following sequence takes place.

1. The cow immediately stands up
2. The butcher raises the ax
3. The ax is swung hitting the ox on the top of the head, with perfect sequence to the strike to the gong. (this is repeated once for each hour)
4. After the last trike to the gong the ox falls over dead and lies on the ground until the next hour.

The movement in this clock is quite complicated in order to replicate this automated sequence. It is equipped with two count wheels, one stacked on top of each other. The inner count wheel controls the strike, the outer controls the ox. There are also a series of levers that control that butcher, hammer to the gong, the ox, and a shaft that activates the automation at the hour.

This example is extremely original. It still retains its original side doors, and the wood housing behind the automation. The figures also retain their original paint, and after a professional cleaning look fantastic.

The butcher clock is one of the hardest of the Black Forest shield automata to find.

One must be careful purchasing Black Forest automata clocks these days, as many fakes are being made and are on the market. These fakes use old standard clockworks, which are modified to accept automation. They are easily spotted by experts, but many are quite good and are bought by unsuspecting buyers thinking they are getting an original.

We are always looking to add ORIGINAL automata clocks to our collection. If you have a clock that you would like us to consider please contact us through email.

Best,

Justin J. Miller

An Ancient Black Forest Wood Wheel Cuckoo Clock with Paper Shield Holtzräder-Kuckucksuhr

We would like to share with you a new addition to our collection. This clock represents the end of a decade long search to add a wood wheel cuckoo clock to our collection. We could not be happier with the final result.

As you can see in the photo the clock is completely made from wood and iron wire. Only the escape wheel is brass. This clock is one of the first long pendulum clocks, the escape wheel rises above the top plate of the movement, and is located outside the plates of the movement.

The shield is decorated with paper, that has been colored with water colors.

The hands are also wood.

The condition is nothing short of magnificent.

This clock was made during the second half of the 18th Century.



We are still searching for other early wood wheel clocks for our collection. If you have anything that you thing we would be interested contact us at www.blackforestclocks.org

A Rare Documented Black Forest Cuckoo Clock with Soldier Automaton

This last week was one of the best we can remember for new acquisitions.

I took a trip to Southern California to meet with a long time collector of Black Forest clocks. This collector had collected BF clocks back in the 1960's to the early 1990's, and at one time had one of the largest collections in the United Sates... but his interests over time changed and about 20 years ago the best clocks were put in storage.

We spent a few days with him going through his clocks , and ended up purchasing 4 very special BF clocks from his collection for our museum. Over the next couple months we will share these new finds with you as we finish the restoration work and add them into our permanent collection.

Since this Black Forest soldier clock needs nothing... we will start with this clock first.

Constructed in the form of a castle, this clock is just stunning. The two tone oak case measures in at 21" high and 12.5 " wide.


As the clock ticks the soldier slowly marches between the two turrets... guarding the fortress. When he reaches the end of his march he does a 180 degree turn around, and then marches back the other way. The soldier automation is one of our favorites, as it is one of the few forms of automata that is connected to the time train of the movement... allowing you to see the action all the time.

In the top of the fortress is a cuckoo door, and the cuckoo calls the half and full hours.

So as a summery this clock has automation connected to both the time train (soldier) and the strike train (cuckoo).

We will be including a "how does it work?" video of this clock on the front page blog of our website blackforestclocks.org. So if you have interest is seeing the mechanics check it out.
We also have an early Soldier clock in the shield variety that can be seen in our online museum through our website.

Another important feature of this clock is its provenance:

This exact clock was photographed by this collector and contributed to the book, Black Forest Clocks by Rick Ortenburger in 1991. This clock is features in the section of Automated Black Forest Clocks... and was given a full page display on page 244. We are including some photographs from this book showing this identical clock.







For those of you who have an interest in owning an original soldier clock of your own, you might be in luck... as we have another example of a soldier and cuckoo in our collection that this clock will replace.

We will be offering this clock up for sale immediately through an ebay auction. We will update this post with a link to its sale, and remove this memo when it has been sold.

Best,

Justin

An Extreamly Rare Black Forest Shelf Clock with Owl Automaton

This is our newest addition to the collection, and it is a clock that we are so exited to add to our collection and share with you today.


At first look this clock appears to be a shelf trumpeter, with an unusual castle motif... but this is in fact something quite different.

This shelf clock is constructed in the form of a Castle, and beautifully carved. In the top arch of the castle is a large set of double doors, similar in size to what would be found on a trumpeter clock. Instead of the common cuckoo bird or trumpeter a large 3" carved owl with big glass eyes appears behind the doors and calls the full and half hours. As the owl sounds his beak flutters.

The movement is equally interesting. The plates are cast from brass in the lyre form, held together with pins. On the left side of the case is a large oversize wood pipe, with a large bellow. The arm that pumps (flutters) this large bellow needs substantially more leverage than a cuckoo clock. For this reason the clock maker placed it on the time side of the movement... and interesting design. To reproduce the owls call, the bellow is lifted to half capacity and then rapidly fluttered...reproducing the owls call.


It is hard to put into words how rare this clock is... but to give you an idea...

A Wehrle Singing Bird clock is also rare, as is his Rooster clocks, but we know where a handful of each are today. The same thing applies to the Beha cuckoo clocks with life size 12" birds...also very scarce, but we know where there are several. This clock is different.

In all our years of collecting rare Black Forest clocks we have never seen another... not in a book, a museum, a private collection even a photograph... NEVER.

In fact this clock was brought out of the shadows during a lively discussion online among advanced collectors in 2010...the conversation was about if an Owl clock was ever made, or if an antique version exists. Down the line the answer was an owl clock does not exist. Of course after collecting Black Forest clocks for years, you learn to never say never...as we still don't know exactly what was made, and what is actually out there...and magnificent pieces still turn up from time to time. This is why I love collecting Black Forest clocks.

A collector joined the conversation sharing this clock as proof to their existence!


Since the clock has surfaced it was sent to a well known and respected restorer of rare Black Forest clocks. The clock was dismantled and cleaned, the original large bellows was re-skinned, bringing the call of the owl back to life.

Without question this owl clock is original and untouched, and is shown as it was made in the Black Forest C. 1890-1900.

We are always looking to add Rare or Unusual Black Forest Clocks to our collection. If you have a clock that you think we would be interested in please contact us.

To the untrained eye this clock may look like little more than a novelty clock or a nice shelf cuckoo, but to us it was enough to offer a Emilian Wehrle 9 horn two tune trumpeter clock in a wonderfully carved case in a trade to make this deal happen! We are always willing to "step up" to make a deal happen for a clock we want, as we did with this owl clock.


UPDATE: After posting this Owl Clock to our online Museum, we received an email from a German collector, who claimed to know of another example in a European Collection. This email was followed with 3 photographs of another Owl Clock, proving its existence!

This other example is a wall model in a carved case, decorated with ferns and a eagle on the top of the pediment. It is also powered by a cast brass spring driven movement very similar to our example. This other Owl clock shares the identical Owl and wood pipe inside the clock. It is nice to see another surviving example that shares many of the same components of our example here, most likely made by the same unknown maker.

We are grateful for the opportunity to be able to have this website, and use the internet to connect with other collectors all around the world.

A Magnificent Black Forest Sorguhr Biedermeier Case

This clock is the newest addition to our collection. It just returned to us this week with a fresh overhaul to the movement, and minor restoration work to the case.

We have a passion for Black Forest miniatures, and were thrilled to be able to add this rare cased variety to our collection.

While the traditional Sorguhr consists of a embossed brass shield and enamel dial, there were many variations. This cased example is one of these many variations. Far less common than the traditional Sorg the movement inside this miniature case is true to the form...measuring at 2.5" in height, and 1.75 inches wide. The enamel dial uses Arabic numerals and measures in at 2.25". The case from the top of the finial to the bottom of bottom final is 10.5".

The miniature movement is constructed with wood plates and wood spindles. This example has both a time and strike train. The hours are struck on a small gong located on the backboard. The trains are positioned front to back, and both trains of the clock are powered by a single weight that hangs on a pulley that runs diagonally between the two trains.

We are always interested in meeting other collectors who have an interest in these Black Forest miniatures, both the Sorguhren and Jockele.

Best,

Justin

A Early Cuckoo Clock by Johann Baptist Beha

This next clock in our collection is a wonderful example of Beha's early work. This cuckoo clock was made by Johann Baptist Beha in Eisenbach in the late 1850's, and it bears his signature on the inside of the backboard. It is surviving proof that there were in fact high quality cuckoo clocks being produced in the Black Forest.

The case on this cuckoo clock is just magnificent. The case maker utilized extensive inlays of both brass and zinc, creating a wonderful floral motif that is just stunning against the ebonized case. The case on this clock was made by the famous Peter Wehrle, who apprenticed in Vienna, working on fine Vinenna regulators. By looking at the etched inlays on the case, and the wonderful proportions in the cases design it is clear it was made by a true maser. Peter Wehrle's experience in Vienna enabled him to be extreamly influential to Beha's success as a high quality maker.
The dial on the this clock is made of Alabaster, and is accented with blue gilt set cartouches. This dial is scarcely found on cuckoo clocks due to the high cost to manufacture. The front door to the case is complete with its original lock mechanism. A key is required to access the dial behind the glass. Bellow the dial is a glass window, trimmed in a gilt frame. While the clock is running the brass pendulum can be seen against a cobalt blue background.
The movement is a typical Beha wood plate movement of the era, using a double fusee... allowing the clock to run a full 8 days on a winding. The movement also has a mechanism where the owner can disable the Gong with the flick of a switch. This quiets the call on the hour, making the night hours more peaceful. The clock retains its original bellow pipes, and tops.

The clock is being shown as it came to us is near complete, but unrestored condition. Its only falut is a missing cuckoo door, but a near identical example resides in the Cuckooland museum in the UK... which will allow us to restore this missing door perfectly.
This last photo shows our new Beha next to another early Beha table clock in the collection. Please read an early post for more details on this other fine Beha table clock is double eye automation.

I am always interested in adding early Beha cuckoos to my collection. If you have a clock you think I would be interested in please contact me directly at madeinfurtwangen@yahoo.com

A Rare Beha Cuckoo with Oil Painting and Double Eye Automation Augenwender

This next clock is a wonderful example of an early Beha picture frame cuckoo clock. Beha records show this clock was made in 1856, and as you can see from the photos it has survived very well.

The clock has a wonderful painting on zinc that is framed in a wonderful high gloss black frame with stenciled corners.

The painting behind the glass shows a hunter holding his gun with his dog. The dog is just about to flush the rabbit whose moments are clearly numbered.

They eye of the dog and the rabbit move with the swing of the pendulum. In most Black Forest clocks with eye automation, the automation scene is almost always above the dial. This clock is special as the automation action is below the dial, allowing the cuckoo bird to emerge from the tree within the painting.

The detail work on this clock is just fantastic.

The clock is equipped with a spring driven wood plate movement that will run for 50 hours. There is also a feature on this movement where with the pull of a lever through the side door the gong can be disabled quieting the call.

The clock is being shown here with the movement removed from the case in preparation for restoration.

We will update the post with a final photograph when the clock is finished.

We are always looking to add Black Forest clocks with paintings (tinplate) to our collection, both with and without cuckoo or automation.

If you have something you would like to share, I would love to hear from you.

Best,

Justin J. Miller

www.blackforestclocks.org

A Rare and Unusual Black Forest Sorguhr

This next clock in the collection is a very unusual Sorguhr. This example is different from the traditional Sorguhren in many ways, and at first glance it may even appear to the untrained eye to not be from the Black Forest.

The shield on this sorg is flat brass that has been hand engraved, with a very primitive flower. The whole clock is only 2 7/8" at its largest measurement! It is shown here with a Quarter so you can get a feel for its size.


Although scarcely seen, there are a couple other known examples made by Joseph Sorg with very similar shields. These other examples are also made of flat brass stock, with primitive floral engraving. One example resides in the British Museum in London. This clock can also be seen in the book, "In Die Neue Zeit" Pg 8.
The movement on this Sorguhr is equally unique and we will explain its features here in a moment. The movement is a wood plate, wood arbor movement that is rope drive. The movement has both time and alarm functions. The movement measures in at only 2 3/16" high, 1 7/16" wide, and 1 3/8" deep.The photos with the shield removed lets you see a closer look at this Gem.

The fist thing that is unique about the movement is the alarm trains location. In most Sorguhrn the alarm train is located on the side of the plates where the time train is housed. A small wheel is mounted perpendicular to the rest of the gears. A very simple notched wheel and lever will set and release the alarm at the desired time. On this example the clock maker clearly was experimenting. The Alarm train is located between the plates of the movement, and is in front of the time train. A special cam lever rides a wheel that is notched through the front plate of the movement.A series of pins activate a third hand on the dial to set off the Alarm. A simular set up can also be seen on the Capucine clocks.

We have showed this clock to several experts on Sorguhren in Germany, and they agree this clock is all original and a rare example of Sorguhr.





This next photo set compares this miniature to another traditional sorguhr that we have in our collection (Also a time and alarm variety). You can see the difference in the sizes of the clocks ;)





We are happy to have this little Gem in our collection!

A Black Forest Musical Carillion Shield Clock "Spieluhren" playing 6 tunes on 11 bells

This next clock in our collection is an excellent example of early Black Forest horology.


Before the musical trumpeter clocks of Emilian Wehrle,there were some wonderful musical clocks made in the Black Forest. Although these early musical clocks are rarely seen outside museums in Europe, they are some of the most desirable of the Black Forest clocks to private collectors.

These early musical clocks include clocks that play on Glass bells,metal bells, strings(harp clocks or Hackbrettuhr)and wood pipes(flute clock).


This is an example of a early Black Forest Spieluhren. The early wood plate,wood arbor three train movement will strike the hour on a large bell located on the top of the clock.

After the hour is called the clock will play one of 6 musical tunes on a nest of 11 tuned bronze bells. By shifting the large pinned wheel you can change the tune.


This example is a true museum quality clock, a fantastic untouched well cared for example that has aged well. We are honored to be able to be its care taker, and are committed to make sure it survives for future generations to enjoy. It has a place in our collection next to a early harp clock (hackbrettuhr). We are still searching for an early Flute clock and a Glass bell Spieluhren. If you have an example of either one of these pieces we would love to hear from you.

Best,

Justin J. Miller

A Magnificent Black Forest Flötenuhren (Organ Clock) with 43 pipes playing 8 American Tunes with Automata

This fantastic Black Forest organ clock is a recent addition to the collection.Over the years we have owned several organ clocks, but none that we felt was the "perfect" fit to our collection. This clock in our eyes has it all, and will represent the end of our search and a permanent addition to our collection.
This magnificent organ clock was made in the Black Forest C. 1830 for the American Market and will run for 8 days on a single winding. The clock will tell the time and strike the hour, after the hour is struck the movement activates a large organ. The organ plays 8 American tunes on 43 pipes. These tunes include Yankee Doodle, Washington's March,and 6 other American Favorites.

The clock also features a complex automation with four figures. As the music plays the two musicians raise instruments to their mouth and turn side to side with the music. The two dancers in the middle of the dial have a fantastic automation sequence. The move in circles nearly 360 degrees pivoting on post. They are also on a track and move toward each other and back apart. They also jump up and down. The man is jointed in his arms, waist and knees... so there is a great deal of action in this automation sequence. Although we have seen other organ clocks with more figures, this is one of the most fascinating and automation sequences we have seen.



The clock was imported into Philadelphia by a German handler of clocks and music boxes. His label can be found on the inside of the case, as well as the back of the upper dial. Upon its arrival to the United States the clock was cased in a fantastic Flame Mahogany case that has gold leaf accents to the carved columns and the finials.

At this point the clock was retailed to a upper class American customer.



Although organ clocks can still be found on the market not all organ clocks were equal. To find an example of this quality, with a high pipe count, a complex automation function, American tunes, and a magnificent well proportioned case is nearly impossible.


The clock is complete, but is in need of a musical restoration. We hope to have the clock in fully restored playing condition by the end of 2010.

We will be sure to update our blog with a video of the clock at that time.

Best,

Justin J. Miller