Clocks · Mantel clock
Mantel Clock - Steam Boiler & Engine, Switzerland, c. 1888
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- c. 1888
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Mantel clock
- Dimensions
- 36 cm (Length), 18 cm (Width), 45 cm (Height)
- Holding institution
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne
- Accession / object no.
- ST 22078
- Catalogue title (original)
- Mantel Clock - Steam Boiler & Engine, Switzerland, circa 1888 (English)
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Museums Victoria, Melbourne (object number ST 22078), this is a mantel clock, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1888. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: 36 cm (Length), 18 cm (Width), 45 cm (Height). 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
Summary — Museums Victoria
Mantel clock mounted in a model steam boiler and engine. Made in Switzerland, circa 1888. Presented to Rees Davies, Superintending Engineer of the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition, 1888-1889, by his staff 24 January 1889.
Physical description — Museums Victoria
Clock with silvered chapter mounted in left boiler of stationary steam engine. Aneroid barometer mounted in right boiler and curved thermometer mounted between boilers. A separate spring drives large wheel, engine governors and vertical piston. Spring wound.
Inscriptions & marks
Inscribed silver plate reads: 'Presented to Rees Davies, Esq., Superintending Engineer Centennial International Exhibition, by the Members of his Staff as a Mark of Respect and Esteem, Melbourne, Jany 24th 1889.'
Provenance
Bequest from (Estate of) Miss Mary J. Davies, 27 Sep 1944
Historical context
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.
Factory production transformed the clock into an everyday object. American makers (Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Waterbury) and German factories (Junghans, Gustav Becker, Lenzkirch) sold millions of shelf, wall and alarm clocks worldwide; France produced standardised Paris movements and carriage clocks; electric time distribution began.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology
Atlas type guide
Mantel and French pendule clocks
The mantel clock — the French pendule de cheminée — is as much decorative art as timekeeper. From the late seventeenth century Parisian clockmakers worked with cabinet-makers, bronze founders and gilders (ciseleurs-doreurs) to create cases in Boulle marquetry, gilt bronze and marble, while the movements were often supplied by specialist makers. Clocks of the Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI periods, and Empire clocks with allegorical figures, set fashions copied across Europe.
The nineteenth century industrialised the type. The 'Paris movement', a standardised round movement with silk-thread or Brocot suspension and count-wheel striking, was made in huge numbers by firms such as Japy and Vincenti, and fitted into cases of every style and material.
What to look for
- Round 'Paris' movements with makers' stamps (e.g. Japy Frères, Vincenti, S. Marti) and medal marks from exhibitions.
- Suspension type: silk thread (earlier) or Brocot adjustable suspension (after c. 1840).
- Visible Brocot escapement on the dial in later clocks.
- Fire-gilt (mercury) gilding on bronzes versus later electro-gilding.
- Signed dials naming a retailer rather than the movement maker.
Dating clues
- Silk-suspension Paris movements: c. 1800–1850.
- Brocot suspension and visible escapements: after c. 1840.
- Exhibition medal stamps on movements give dates after the medal year.
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:Anchor (recoil) escapement
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