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Table clock by Lenzkirch, A. G. für Uhrenfabrikation, Germany, 1890–1895 — view 1 of 5
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Clocks · Table clock

Table clock by Lenzkirch, A. G. für Uhrenfabrikation, Germany, 1890–1895

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Lenzkirch, A. G. für Uhrenfabrikation (Maker); Josef Pallweber (Maker)
Date
1890–1895
Country of origin
Germany
Object type
Table clock
Dimensions
Höhe: 55.00 cm, Breite: 33.00 cm, Tiefe: 22.50 cm
Holding institution
German Clock Museum
Accession / object no.
2014-091 (inventory number) 58216 (technical number)
Credit line
German Clock Museum
Catalogue title (original)
Tischuhr mit Digitalanzeige, A.G. für Uhrenfabrikation, Lenzkirch, um 1895 (German)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by German Clock Museum (object number 2014-091 (inventory number) 58216 (technical number)), this is a table clock by Lenzkirch, A. G. für Uhrenfabrikation, made in Germany, dated 1890–1895. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Höhe: 55.00 cm, Breite: 33.00 cm, Tiefe: 22.50 cm. The record is illustrated with 5 photographs.

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 German Clock Museum

Tischuhr mit Digitalanzeige nach DRP 54093 von Josef Pallweber (27. Oktober 1890), A.G. für Uhrenfabrikation Lenzkirch, um 1895. (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum Furtwangen)

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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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

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

Bracket, table and spring-driven clocks

Spring-driven clocks freed timekeeping from the hanging weight. The coiled mainspring, documented from the fifteenth century, made portable table clocks possible; to even out its declining force, makers used the fusee, a conical pulley connected to the barrel by a gut line or chain. Renaissance table clocks from Augsburg and Nuremberg — drum-shaped, square or tower-shaped in gilt brass — were luxury scientific objects, often with astronomical dials and alarms.

After the pendulum, English makers developed the bracket clock: a wooden case with a carrying handle, a short pendulum with a verge escapement, and often repeating work to sound the hours on demand at night. Later examples use the anchor escapement. In the nineteenth century, 'table clock' became a broad term for spring clocks of every nationality.

What to look for

  • A fusee in the movement (cone-shaped pulley) and the type of line — gut or chain.
  • Verge escapement with a short bob pendulum, often with a decoratively engraved backplate.
  • Repeat cords or buttons that make the clock strike again on demand.
  • Gilt-brass engraved cases and horizontal dials on Renaissance pieces.
  • Case shapes: inverted bell, bell top, break-arch, lancet or balloon.

Dating clues

  • Drum and tower table clocks: c. 1520–1650.
  • Ebony veneered English bracket clocks with verge escapements: c. 1670–1800.
  • Engraved backplates were usual on English clocks until c. 1800, then generally plain.

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:FuseeVerge escapementAnchor (recoil) escapement

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