About the same time as mantel and table clocks were increasing in popularity, which
resulted in a lower general cost for those timepieces, similar styles were made to
hang on the wall. They used a spring or weights and a pendulum, just as mantel and
table clocks did. Perhaps because they were not made to be moved from room to room
the original square or rectangle shape was modified with more flowing shapes to the
cases. As a fixed piece there was an earlier tendency to make wall clocks more lavish
than the mantel clock. This became even more pronounced after the highly ornate mantel
clocks began to be created in France in the early part of the 18th century.
Click here to browse wall clocks. There was also not so great a concern for the
weight of the case as there was with portable clocks, allowing some wall clocks to be
larger, particularly those using a pendulum. Because of the ease of transportation,
many of the clocks brought to America in the 17th century were mantel or wall clocks,
floor clocks following later. Most of the early settlers simply did not bother with
clocks, using the ones installed in church towers or town halls when a more precise
measure of time was needed that the sun would provide. It wasn't until around the end
of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries that clocks were made in American,
mainly in Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. It was in those and other cities where
there were more wealthy people, who were not agrarian, who could contract for a wall
clock to be made as most of those clocks were handcrafted at that time. By around 1830
wooden shelf and wall clocks were being mass-produced and sold by peddlers in the small
towns that had sprung up around the farmland. For those able to afford them, clocks were
still handcrafted in a variety of shapes, such as banjo clocks, lyre clocks, or round
clocks as well as more fancy versions of traditional shapes. Wall clocks continue to be
popular, mostly in kitchens and offices where space may not be available for a table or
mantel clock.
One particular variety of wall clocks deserves special mention because of its almost
universal popularity: the cuckoo clock. The cuckoo is a native bird of the forests
and open country of Europe, with some relatives in American, most notably the
roadrunner, made famous by cartoons with Wiley Coyote. There are almost as many myths
and stories surrounding the creation of the cuckoo clock, as there might have been
the live bird in the forests in the early 18th century. We will not try to resolve
the discussions among those horological historians, rather simply say that these
clocks began appearing in Southern Germany around the Black Forest around the middle
of the 18th century. The design and style of these clocks has changed very little
since then. Most often there is a chalet of wood, which contains the movement, with
an opening door above the clock face out of which a cuckoo pops to chirp the time,
along with a chime that rings the hour. They are weight driven with the weights of
cast iron in the shape and color of pinecones, the accuracy of time maintained by a
pendulum with the bob often in the shape of a leaf. The cuckoo clock became a staple
of the clock industry in the Black Forest region of Bavaria so much so that the clock
is often simply called a "Black Forest" clock, even though it's manufacture in the
20th century was throughout Europe and America. More designs were added to the chalet,
often carvings of birds and animals on the sides or surrounding the face. An additional
weight was added as the design flourished enabling the clock to also play a tune in
addition to the cuckoo and striking of the hour. Other moving parts were added to some,
Swiss dancers in a circle moving in and out of the case being a very popular one, as
clockmakers enhanced the basic, classic design. Merritt' Antiques has an extensive
variety of both antique and
excellent modern recreations of Cuckoo Clocks. The classic ones are still made of
wood in Bavaria and many antique cockoo clocks are available. Modern Cuckoo Clocks,
while mass produced, are also made of wood and convey a very good resemblance to the
older, hand crafted clocks because of the attention to detail and quality of the
manufacturers. Those wood reproductions have been very careful to carry with them the
sound and resonance of true antique clocks. Sadly, there are some modern reproductions
that are made of plastic and lack the "distinct" sound of the bird.
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