Clocks · Clock
Clock by Erik Holmén, 1900–1999
- Maker / attribution
- Erik Holmén (creator)
- Date
- 1900–1999
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Clock
- Holding institution
- Nordic Museum Foundation
- Accession / object no.
- nomu_photo_NMA0097234
- Catalogue title (original)
- Klocka Ingrahm Lapel Watch (ngt.sprucket neg.)
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Nordic Museum Foundation (object number nomu_photo_NMA0097234), this is a clock by Erik Holmén, dated 1900–1999. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Clocks collection. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Catalogue description from Nordic Museum Foundation (Swedish)
Fotografi ur Nordiska kompaniets arkiv, storformatsnegativ i glas. Erik Holmén var fotograf för Nordiska Kompaniet (NK) under perioden 1925-1961. Hans bilder utgör en betydande del av NK:s bildarkiv och består främst av svartvita bilder. Fotografiet digitaliserades 2020 i ett samarbetsprojekt med Riksarkivet med målet att testa och utforska metoder för hur bildarkiv kan massdigitiseras. Bildfångsten har skett genom avfotografering med digital systemkamera med glasnegativet liggande på ett ljusbord. En råfil, dng, och en jpg har processats automatiskt i Photoshop och är därför inte optimalt bildbehandlade men råfilen kan användas för att framställa en fullgod bild. Metadata har hämtats automatiskt till databasen från bildinformationen. Varje enstaka bild är fortsatt i behov av att beskrivas mer detaljerat.
Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
Post-war clocks combined new materials and industrial design: plastic and metal cases, battery-powered transistor movements from the late 1950s, and design classics by George Nelson, Max Bill and others. The first caesium atomic clock (1955) moved the definition of time from astronomy to physics.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Domestic clocks
A clock combines four systems: a source of power (falling weight, coiled spring, or later electricity), a gear train that divides time, an escapement and oscillator that regulate it (foliot, pendulum or balance), and an indicating system of dial and hands or a bell. Its history runs from the large iron weight-driven clocks of the late thirteenth century to Renaissance spring-driven table clocks, the pendulum revolution of 1656, the factory clocks of the nineteenth century and electric and quartz clocks of the twentieth.
Domestic clocks also reflect regional furniture and decorative traditions — English longcase and bracket clocks, French pendules, Viennese regulators, Black Forest and American shelf clocks — and therefore record changing tastes as much as technical progress.
What to look for
- How the clock is powered: weights, spring barrel, fusee, electric coil.
- The oscillator: foliot, short pendulum, long seconds pendulum or balance.
- Whether it strikes: hour only (count wheel) or hours and quarters (rack striking).
- The maker or retailer's name on dial and movement, and any factory trademarks.
- Signs of alteration — replaced dials, converted escapements, 'married' cases.
Dating clues
- Before 1656 clocks used foliots or balances; after, most domestic clocks have pendulums.
- Anchor escapements spread after c. 1670; minute hands became common at the same time.
- Factory production in America and Germany transformed prices after c. 1840.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Related records
Clocks · 1873–2021
Clock, Poland, 1873–2021
The International Center for Information Management Systems and Services
Clocks · 20th century
Base Metal, 20th c. Bronze, marble and ivory clock by Chiparus
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · 1900–1999
Clock by Französisch (Schule), 1900–1999
Fine Arts Museum Vienna
Clocks · 1900–1999
Clock by Friedrich Mauthe, Germany, 1900–1999 (German Clock Museum Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_59468__technical_number_)
German Clock Museum
Clocks · 1900–1999
Clock by Friedrich Mauthe, Germany, 1900–1999 (German Clock Museum Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_59469__technical_number_)
German Clock Museum
Clocks · 1900–1999
Clock by G. H. Lantman, Netherlands, 1900–1999
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage
Clocks · 1900–1999
Clock by J. Winkelman, Belgium, 1900–1999
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage
Clocks · 1900–1999
Clock by Kienzle - Uhrenfabrik, Switzerland, 1900–1999
German Clock Museum