Machine clock

Machine clocks combine the function of a clock with that of a mechanical machine .

description

Machine clocks were often equipped with artistically designed and automatically moving figures. They can be found in all types of clocks , including pocket , table, standing , but also astronomical clocks and tower clocks . The movements often had additional mechanisms such as repeater or self- striking mechanisms . Also music game works often were used. The most famous form of the machine clock is the cuckoo clock . The three androids by Pierre Jaquet-Droz are considered to be the most complicated historical automatons today .

Reports about the automatic clock have been handed down from antiquity, for example about monumental water clocks from the Orient that were equipped with automatic mechanisms. In Europe, automatic clocks only appeared after the invention of the mechanical wheel clock . Large clocks on public buildings and churches have been built as automatic clocks since the 16th century . Many of these machine clocks also had astronomical displays. Well-known examples are the automatic functions of the clock in Frauenkirche (Munich) , the astronomical clock in Strasbourg Cathedral and the Prague City Hall clock .

photos

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  Pocket watch around 1810, ( World Museum Liverpool )

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  Cuckoo clock with wooden wheels around 1780, ( German Clock Museum )

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  Wall clock, Black Forest, around 1840, ( Museum for Folk Culture in Waldenbuch )

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  Table clock, Renaissance around 1585, galleon , ( British Museum )

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  Peacock clock around 1772, ( Hermitage in Saint Petersburg )

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  Frauenkirche Munich

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  Wells Cathedral

Web links

Commons : vending machine clocks  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Search for a machine clock in the SPK digital portal of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
• Machine clocks ; Antique pocket watches
• Figurine machine clock "Drumming Bear" ; State Art Collections Dresden
• Automatic watch "Strauss and Bear" ; State Museum Württemberg
• Automatic clock in the shape of a riding pasha ; Historical Museum Basel

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Viktor Pröstler: Callweys manual of the clock types. From the wrist watch to the zappler , Callwey Munich 1994, ISBN 3-7667-1098-2 ; P. 165.
2. ↑ Fritz von Osterhausen: Callweys lexicon . Munich 1999, ISBN 3-7667-1353-1 ; P. 28.
3. ↑ Automatenuhr UhrenLexikon
4. ↑ Die Automatenuhr ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Munich Cathedral