Clocks · Clock
Hewlett Packard 113BR Frequency Divider and Clock, early 1960s
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- early 1960s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Clock
- Dimensions
- Height 7 in (18 cm)
- Auction house
- Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham
- Lot
- Sale 43, lot 1440
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 1440, Affordable Clocks, Miscellaneous Horology, Books & Tools, Gardiner Houlgate (23rd October 2026)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Hewlett Packard 113BR Frequency Divider and Clock, 7" high, 18" wide, depth 18" ** A precision 19” rack mounted electronic timing instrument manufactured by Hewlett Packard in the early 1960s as part (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham (lot Sale 43, lot 1440), this is a clock, dated early 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 7 in (18 cm). 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
Lot description — Gardiner Houlgate
Hewlett Packard 113BR Frequency Divider and Clock, 7" high, 18" wide, depth 18" ** A precision 19” rack mounted electronic timing instrument manufactured by Hewlett Packard in the early 1960s as part of professional frequency and time standard systems The unit accepts a highly stable reference frequency, typically derived from a precision oscillator, and divides this signal down to provide accurately timed outputs including one-second pulses for synchronisation and measurement applications. A precision analogue clock display provides a visual indication of the derived time reference, allowing comparison and adjustment of frequency standards Designed for use in laboratories, communications facilities and scientific establishments, the 113BR represents the high-precision electronic timekeeping technology developed during the transition from quartz standards to atomic frequency references ** From the David Read Collection
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
Quartz, atomic and electronic time standards
In 1927 Warren Marrison and J. W. Horton at Bell Telephone Laboratories built the first quartz clock, which used the piezoelectric vibration of a quartz crystal as its oscillator. Quartz clocks replaced pendulum regulators in observatories in the 1930s and 1940s and revealed irregularities in the Earth's rotation. In 1955 Louis Essen and Jack Parry at the National Physical Laboratory in Britain operated the first practical caesium atomic clock; in 1967 the SI second was redefined in terms of the caesium-133 transition.
Atomic and quartz standards are distributed by radio time signals, telephone 'speaking clocks', and today by satellite navigation and network time protocols. Objects in this group — oscillators, frequency dividers, receivers, master clocks — document the transition from mechanical to electronic timekeeping.
What to look for
- Laboratory racks, oscillator ovens and frequency counters rather than dials.
- Makers' labels from national laboratories, observatories or telecom companies.
- Indications of frequency (e.g. 100 kHz, 9,192,631,770 Hz for caesium).
Dating clues
- Quartz observatory clocks: from about 1930.
- Caesium standards: from 1955.
- Radio-controlled consumer clocks: from the 1980s.
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.
Read next:The Quartz Revolution era
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