Notes on a Brass Table Clock Bequeathed to the Society

266 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 12, 1906. IV. NOTEBRASA N SO S TABLE CLOCK BEQUEATHE E SOCIETTH O T DY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND BY THE LATE HUGH J. ROLLO, W.S., AND A SILVER-CASED TABLE CLOCK BEQUEATHED TO THE SOCIETY BY THE LATE LADY JANE DUNDAS. BY ALEX- ANDER J. S. BROOK. F.S.A. SUOT. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland received last year, by a bequest of the late Hugh J. Eollo, W.S., a large gilt brass clock; and also, in April 1898, by a bequest of the late Lady Jane Dundas, a silver alarum repeating clock-watch. There is neither an authentic history nor even a traditional story attache e subjec th o theset d d s perhapi tan , s more suitabl horoa r efo - logical society; but as the clocks in themselves are exceedingly interesting, and are. exhibited in our Museum, they have been thought worthy of being described. The first of them is in the shape of a large watch, and measures 5-|- inches in diameter, 3J inches thick, and weighs about 7 Ibs. avoirdupoi a gil s t ha bras t I ss (figcase. 1) . , elaborately pierced and engraved all over, the primary purpose of the pierced work at the back and rim being to emit the sound freely. Bot e bacd fron th he domedan kar t frone th , t cover wher glase eth s oa watcf s usualli h y fixed being very ope d pierce seriea an n y f b do s eccentri bace c th circles kcirculaa n (figs O i ) . .2 r shield decorated with a battle r siege-sceno - n casi e t relief work, surrounde a borde y db f o r pierced ornamen a slightl f o t y Gothic character. Ther s attachei e o t d looa rin d r suspendinm pan gfo ri e th clocke gth . e dia s gili Th l t brass, elaborately chase engravedd dan . Outside eth hour chapters is a large circle divided into four, with little brass knobs at each quarter, and these quarters are again divided into fifteen sub- division o represent s e minutesth t e houTh r. chapter ordinarn i e sar y Roman figures insid e quarteth e r circle d thean ,y also have little brass BRASS TABLE SILVER-CASEA CLOC D AN K D TABLE CLOCK9 26 . knobs immediately above them. This would enable a person in the dark to tell the hour by feeling the hands and comparing them with the knobs, and it would also be suitable for use by a blind person. Inside the outer circle of Eoman numerals is a circle of Arabic figures begin- ning with 13 under one o'clock and running up to 24. The inner part of the circle is ornamented with a sun in splendour. Both hour- and minute-hand made sar f steeleo . movemene Th a complicate s i t d one, strikin houre th gquarterd san s on two bells. The larger of these bells, which lies neatly inside the case, e houstrucs i th ry b k hammer e smalleth d r quarteo ran , r bell lien i s e insidth e bottoe largeth f mro one. e shapThia th f so n e i las s i t shallow saucer, as it must of necessity occupy little space. The larger bell is also pierced for the emission of the sound of the smaller one which lies inside it. The movement, which is jointed to the case, when shut down occupies the space inside the larger bell. From this brief description an idea may be formed of the arrangement movemente oth f d bellan , s insid e caseeth , wher space eth economis ei - cally utilised e e movemenplateth Th f f gil.o o s e te th brassar t d an , wheels of the quarter and striking train of steel. It is evident that at one time one of the wheels in the quarter train has been injured and has been replaced by a brass one. The wheels of the going train are all brassescapemenThe . thais t t knowvergethe as n, which, although varyin n detaile i gearlies th s i , t for f escapemenmo t with e whicar e hw acquainted s alsi ot I fitte. d wit brasha s balancordinarn a d ean y steel balance spring. n thiI s clock o fusethern o contro t s eei e spring e forcth th f l o e, although this was invented as early as 1525, but in its place there is appliee gointh o gt d trai n earliea n r contrivance knowe stackth s -a n freed (fig. 3) This .mean wa s o regulatt t d equalisan e e motivth e e forcea sprin s a ,g fully wouns veri p yu d much stronger than when nearly run down. It is not of the usual shape met with, and may be regarded as an improved form. It consists of a strong curved spring, with a roller at its extreme end, resting on a snail which revolves as the 270 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MAKCH 12, 1906. piece runs down. When the clock is run down, the roller rests lightly on the smallest diameter of the snail, and does not retard the pull of the mainsprin whet sprine bu gn; th beins gi g snaie wounth , l alsdup o turns in the winding. It thus presents a larger diameter to the roller of the stackfreed, which presses harder e increasinoth n g diameter whed an , n fully wound it rests on the full diameter of the snail with the greatest pressure thao s ,pressurs it t retardind ean g influenc proportion i e ear o nt the pull of the mainspring. This piece of mechanism was only applied Stackfreede Th Fig . 3 . to very early timekeepers, and as it did not solve the problem of irregular time-keeping quicklwas it ,y discarded. There were rarel windiny yan g e caseholeth f sixteenth-centursn o i s y clocks, and there are none in this one. To attach the key to the winding squares the case has to be opened and the movement turned out. There is attache cloce ribboa th y kb o d t nkey a , which, although undoubtedly antique ,originae doe th t appea e sno b lo t rone . There is happily no doubt as to where, nor by whom, and approxi- mately when this interesting old timekeeper was made. On early clocks 'and watches the maker's name is rarely found; but occasionally the town workman'e marth r ko e platess th mar d f o an s ,kstampei e on n o d BKASS TABLE SILVEK-CASEA CLOC D AN K D TABLE CLOC1 27 K on this clock there is found, struck on the upper plate of the movement, the device of a crossed shovel and spade between the initials " H. G." (fig. 4). Through an inquiry in the Horological Journal it has been ascertained that this mark was used by the old Nuremberg watchmaker Hans Gruber, who became a master of the Locksmiths' Guild in 1552, and, as is recorded in an old obituary book of the royal district archives of Nuremberg, died in January 1597, so that between these two years this clock was made. The device is interesting, as it is a play on the name of the maker. A "griiber" is a digger, so the spade and Make* Mark. shovel are peculiarly appropriate. In the Germanische National Museum at Nuremberg there is a saddle watch with the same mark. The fixing of the date and the present condition of the clock raise many interesting points as to the amount of alteration and renovation movemene th s undergonha t e when later improvement discoveried an s s in the mechanism of clocks were made. At the period of its manufac- ture screws were just coming into use, Germany bein e countrth g f o y their origin screwe mosd th an f , n o thiti s s timekeeper show themselves to be hand-made, although one or two have been replaced by more modern ones. It is also evident that the escapement is not the original e balancth one s a , et invente sprinno s wa gd tils mosi lt i 1658t d an , likely that, wit e exceptioth h maie th nf o ngoinwheel w ne g a ,trai f no brass wheels wit hbalanca balancd ean e spring were supplie muca t da h later date. Thi s evideni s t fro n examinatioma wheelse e th f Th o n . onew e clearlne ar s y machine-cu d welan tl finished d weran , e likely supplied subsequentl o 1660t y , whil e oldeth e r steel wheel e asar s clearly cut by hand with a file. A regulator, consisting of a pinion and segment of a circle carrying the regulating pins, has also been supplied. additioe Th minute-hana f no clocko dt firss si t recorde havins da g taken place in 1665, and in this instance the alteration has been so carefully done as not to leave any trace. e pierceTh d metal dom n placi ea glas f s o ealsi s o noteworthyd an , 272 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 12, 1906. corroborates the date, ascribed to the clock, for glasses were not used for table clocks until a later period. e amisb t closelo notw t sno ho ey y ma thi t I s cloc s linkee i k th o t d origina f thio l s clas f timekeepero s s not f courseo wa , t I ., untie th l mainsprin introduces gwa e motivth s da e power instea f weightdo s that it became possible to have a portable timepiece, and it is generally conceded tha e manufacturth t s f firsthio e wa st accomplishe Petey b d r Henlein a clockmake, Nurembergof r die 1542earliesin dwho , The .

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