Time Telling through the Ages

Frederick II– The Saladin of Egypt presented Frederick II of Germany with a clock in the year 1232. It resembled internally, a celestial globe, in which figures of the sun, moon, and other planets moved impelled by weights and wheels. There were also the twelve signs of the Zodiac which moved with the firmament.

Hans von Jena's– An old clock in Saxony at the top of which is a very ugly head. As the clock strikes a pilgrim offers an apple on a stick to the open mouth and then withdraws it. At the same time an angel opposite the pilgrim raises her eyes from her book. The legend goes that Hans von Jena, for a crime, was condemned to undergo such torture for three centuries.

Jefferson's– An old weight clock in which the weights are carried over a pulley and made to indicate the day of the week by their position. This is in the hallway at Monticello.

Lists and Descriptions of– See Curiosities of Clocks and Watches, E. J. Wood. Old Clocks and Watches and their Makers, F. J. Britten. Old Clock Book, N. H. Moore.

Vase Clocks of Marie Antoinette– The movement was inclosed in a marble pedestal. About the beautifully tinted porcelain urn was a double band, on which were marked the numerals and which revolved every twelve hours. A serpent with head erect pointed to the hour.

Mary, Queen of Scots– Skull Watch or Clock. A small clock in the form of a skull said to have been given by Mary, Queen of Scots, to Mary Seaton, one of her maids of honor. The skull is of silver gilt and is engraved with figures of Death, Time, Adam and Eve, and the Crucifixion. The lower part of the skull is pierced to emit the sound when it strikes, being cut in the form of emblems of the Crucifixion. The works occupy the brain's position in the skull fitting into a silver bell which fills the entire hollow of the skull. The hours are struck on this bell by a small hammer on a separate train.

Pope Sixtus' – Built by Habrecht of Strasburg in 1589. It greatly resembles the Strasburg clock which Habrecht also built. It was in the possession of the Popes for more than two centuries and later became the property of William I, King of the Netherlands. In 1850 it was exhibited in England after which it became the property of Mr. O. Morgan. It performs all the feats of the Strasburg clock.

Rouen– In the Rue de la Grosse Horloge in Rouen a clock made by Jehan de Fealius in 1389 is built in a tower which surmounts an arched gateway. Its dial is about six feet square. It shows the hours, days of the week, and phases of the moon. It still keeps excellent time and is the chief clock of the city.

St. Dunstan's– Erected in 1671 above the gateway of the old St. Dunstan's Church. The clock had two dials, back to back upheld by a quaint bracket. In a little open belfry above were the gaily painted figures of Gog and Magog which struck the quarters on bells suspended near them. In 1830 the clock was sold to the Marquis of Hertford who set it up at his home in Regent Park.

St. Paul's– A clock existed prior to 1298 in the tower of St. Paul's Cathedral which struck the hours by means of mechanical figures called Paul's Jacks. Later a fine dial was added.

Strasburg– Rebuilt twice after the first one which was begun about 1352. This first clock consisted of a calendar which showed the principal movable feasts. It showed also the movements of the sun and moon. On the upper part was a statue of the Virgin before which at noon the figures of the three Magi bowed. At the same time a cock automaton opened its beak, flapped its wings and crowed. 2. The second Strasburg clock was erected about 1570. This was a very elaborate mechanism, showing besides the time, a calendar for a century, the movements of the sun and moon, eclipses of the same and other things. The striking was done by an elaborate automatic arrangement. (See Old Clocks and Watches & Their Makers – F. J. Britten.) 3. In 1842 the clock was again thoroughly reconstructed. This, too, is a very elaborate system of motions showing the movements of sun, moon, and planets, also sidereal time, a calendar, etc. The hours and quarters are struck by automatic figures.

Ulm– In the eastern end of the old Rathaus at Ulm is installed an astronomical clock which dates from the beginning of the 16th century. It was thoroughly repaired in 1549 by the builder of the Strasburg clock – Isak Habrecht. Shows in addition to the hours, the diurnal and annual revolutions of the earth and the movements and phases of the moon. The clock is an artistic achievement as well as a mechanical wonder.

Vailly's– A scientific water clock. It consisted of a tin cylinder divided into several small cells and suspended by a thread fixed to its axis, in a frame on which the hour distances fixed by trial were marked. It was so made that the water passed slowly from one cell to the next and as it did so it changed the center of gravity of the cylinder and set it in motion so as to indicate the time on the frame. Made about 1690.

Wallingford's– Built in 1326 in St. Alban's Monastery. It showed besides the hours, the apparent motion of the sun, the ebb and flow of tides, changes of moon, etc. It continued to run until the time of Henry VIII. Held by some to have been a mere planetarium.

Wells Cathedral– Clock built by Peter Lightfoot, A. D. 1340 at Glastonbury and removed to Wells Cathedral during the Reformation, after the dissolution of the Glastonbury monastery. In 1835 it was again removed to the South Kensington museum. At that time the worn-out works were replaced by a new train, but the dial and knights were retained. The dial is divided into twenty-four hours and shows the motion of the sun and moon. On its summit are eight armed knights tilting at one another, lance at rest by a double rotary motion.

Westminster– A clock said to have been erected at Westminster with the proceeds of a fine imposed upon one of the Chief Justices about 1288. About 1365 Edward III had a stone clock tower erected at Westminster. This tower contained a clock which struck the hours on a great bell. It also contained other bells. This tower was razed by the Roundhead mob about 1650. Later a dial with the motto "Discite justiam monite" was placed on the site. The bell "Great Tom" was given to St. Paul's about the beginning of the 18th Century. The present Westminster clock is made after plans by E. B. Denison (Sir Edmund Beckett) and made by E. J. Dent. The bell is called "Big Ben." It is claimed to be the best timekeeper of its kind in the world. It was for use in this clock that Denison invented his gravity escapement.

Wimborne– A very old clock at Wimborne in Dorsetshire, much like the Wells Cathedral clock. By some authorities believed also to have been planned by Peter Lightfoot.

Clock-Setters – During the early history of turret clocks, for each one was employed a caretaker called the "setter." That such an official was needed indicates that they were more or less undependable.

Cock – A horizontal bracket. See: Balance Cock (#Balance_Cock); Escape Cock (#Escape_Cock); Pendulum Cock; Potance (#Potance).

Collet – A collar or flange on a cylindrical piece of metal. Any part of such cylinder of greater diameter than the rest. Sometimes of the same piece of metal; sometimes fitted friction tight upon it.

Compensation – The provision made in a clock or watch to counteract the expansion and contraction due to variations of temperature. In the clock it is applied to the pendulum; in the watch to the balance.

Compensation Balance – A balance corrected for errors caused by variations in temperature. The type in most general use was invented by Thomas Earnshaw in the second half of the 18th century. The double rim of this balance is constructed of brass and steel soldered together in the form of a cut ring, the brass on the outside. When heat, elongating the balance ring, causes it to vibrate more slowly, the brass, expanding more than the steel, bends the free ends of the cut rim toward the center, thus decreasing the diameter of the balance and quickening the vibration. On the other hand, when cold, contracting the ring tends to quicken the vibration of the balance, the contraction of the brass rim draws the free end outward, making the diameter larger and the vibration slower in consequence. The compensation balance is also made with brass as the inner metal and aluminum outside.

Compensation Curb – A laminated bar of brass and steel or aluminum and brass fixed at one end, the free end carrying the curb pins that regulate the length of the balance spring. Common in old watches but not now in use.

Compensation Pendulum – A pendulum so constructed that the distance between the point of suspension and the center of oscillation remains constant in all temperatures. See: Pendulum, Gridiron (#Pendulum_Gridiron) and Pendulum, Mercurial Compensation (#Pendulum_Mercurial_Compensation).

Contrate Wheel – A wheel whose cogs are parallel to its axis and whose axis is at right angles to the axis of the wheel into which it gears. A crown wheel.

Corrosion – The eating or wearing away of metals by slow degrees through chemical action.

Countersink – To enlarge the outer end of a hole for the reception of the head of a screw, bolt, etc. The term is also applied to the tool with which the countersink is formed.

Coventry – A municipal, county, and parliamentary borough of Warwickshire, England. One of the important watchmaking centers of Great Britain.

Crown Wheel – A wheel whose teeth project at right angles to the plane of the wheel. A contrate wheel. The escape wheel of the verge escapement is an illustration.

Crutch – A light rod in a clock descending from the pallet arbor and ending in a fork which embraces the pendulum rod. It transmits the motion of the pallet to the pendulum.

Ctesibus – A famous Greek mechanician who lived in Alexandria about 130 B. C. Although his was not the first clepsydra as is claimed by some it was an ingenious and interesting one. Believed to have first applied toothed wheels to clepsydrae about 140 B. C.

Curb Pins – See Banking Pins (#Banking_Pins).

Cusin, Charles – A watchmaker from Autun, Burgundy, who laid the foundation for the Swiss watch industry in Geneva in 1587. It grew very slowly at first – in 1687 having only one hundred watchmakers with three hundred assistants. In 1760 there were at Geneva eight hundred watchmakers with 5,000 to 6,000 assistants.

Custer, Jacob D. – (1809-1879.) A Pennsylvania clockmaker in 1831; he was one of the early makers of watches in America in 1840. However, his work was not important commercially, for he produced only about a dozen watches. A very ingenious man, who, it is said, made everything from a steam engine to his own shoes. He made hundreds of the clock movements which at that period were used to revolve the lanterns in lighthouses.

Cycle of the Sun – A period of twenty-eight years, after which the days of the week again fall on the same days of the month as during the first year of the former cycle. It has no relation to the sun's course but was invented for the purpose of finding out the days of the month on which the Sundays fall during each year of the cycle. Cycles of the sun date from nine years before the Christian era.

Cycloid – A curve generated by a given point in the circumference of a circle which is rolled along a straight line always in the same place. Example: The curve traced by any point in the rim of a wheel which travels in a straight line along a level road.

Cylinder Escapement – See: Escapement, Cylinder (#Escapement_Cylinder).

Cylinder Plugs – Plugs fitted into the ends of the cylinder of a cylinder escapement. Their outer extremities are formed into the pivots on which the cylinder rotates.

Damaskeen – To decorate a metal by inlaying other metals or jewels, or by etching designs upon its surface. To be distinguished from snailing, with which it is often confounded.

Day – The time of one complete revolution of the earth on its axis. The actual length of this day is continually changing owing to the eccentricity of the earth's orbit and the angle of the ecliptic. The mean solar day is 24 hours. The sidereal day is 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.099 seconds.

Day, Nautical – The nautical day begins when the sun is on the meridian and eight bells are struck. The day is divided into "afternoon watch" or four hours, two "dog watches" of two hours each, then "middle watch," "night watch," "morning watch" and "forenoon watch," each of four hours, completing the day.

Denison, Edmund Beckett – Sir Edmund Beckett – Lord Grimthorpe. Born 1816. A lawyer by profession, and the inventor of the gravity escapement for turret clocks; also an authoritative writer on horological subjects. He designed and planned the Westminster clock said to be the best timekeeper of its kind in the world. Died 1905.

Dennison, Aaron L. – Born in Freeport, Me., in 1812. Died Birmingham, England, January 9, 1898. At eighteen he was apprenticed to a watchmaker. Later in working at the trade, he was impressed with the inaccuracies which existed in the best handmade watches. This, with a visit to the Springfield Armory, gave him his idea of machine-made watches with interchangeable parts. He interested Edward Howard in the project, and having found the needed capital they started in the business and laid the foundation of what is now the Waltham Watch Company. Dennison has been called the "father of American Watchmaking" tho there seems ground for the claim that he shares that honor with Edward Howard.

Depthing – The technical name for the proper adjusting or spacing of the gearing in a watch.

Detent – The device which halts, and releases, at the proper instant the escapement of a clock or chronometer. See: Escapement (#Escapement).

de Vick, de Wyck, or de Wieck, Henry – A German clockmaker who, in 1364, made the first turret clock of which reliable information and description remains. The clock was made for Charles V. See: Clocks, Interesting Old – De Vick's (#de_Vicks).

Dial – Commonly called the face of the watch – made of gold or silver or other metal or of enamel, with the required figures – in the United States one to twelve upon it in a contrasting color. See also, Sun-dial (#Sun_Dial).

Dial Feet – Short wires soldered to the back of the dial of a watch or clock which hold it in place by fitting into holes in the pillar plate.

Dial of Ahaz – A sun-dial belonging to Ahaz, King of Judea 742-727 B. C., mention of which occurs twice in the Scriptures – II Kings, XX: 9-11, and Isaiah XXXVIII: 8. It is believed that one of his Babylonian astrologers constructed it for him.

Dial Plate – See Lower Plate (#Lower_Plate).