Grandfather clock collection - Mauthe

I call this as a granpa clock. It is a gift from my late grandfather to me due to I'm his eldest grandson. So I plan to keep this as a gift to my first grandson as well. This clock is made in Germany. Brand Mauthe, the original one that keep from generation to generation not the clone one from Thailand. It will chime every quarters and very accurate keeping the time. The design is very rare since it has a design made from sea shells

A Brief History Of The Grandfather Clock

Wooden clocks add elegance and character to any home, and a clock you make yourself is certain to become a family heirloom that will last for generations. For over 30 years, Klockit has been dedicated to providing clock kits, plans and components to talented and creative individuals who handcraft these beautiful heirloom clocks to give as gifts, for resale and for their own use. We would like to share with you a bit of the history of the "Tall Case" or "Grandfather" clock so you also will appreciate why these beautiful clocks continue to be one of the most sought after and cherished home furnishings.


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Throughout the ages humankind has always searched for ways to keep track of time and has tried to improve on techniques for accurately marking its passing. Clock making has over 5000 years of history behind it and up until the advent of mechanical clocks in medieval Europe, the noteworthy links in the chain of timepieces were the shadow clocks, also called sundials, water powered devices named clepsydra, the hourglass and indexed candles. The very first mechanical clocks were developed during the second half of the 13th century, probably by central European monks. These early medieval clocks had no dials or arms and were massive devices made of heavy iron frames and gears. They were usually placed in the church tower and only struck bells on the hour by making use of the existing church bell. Eventually, an hour hand was added to the mechanical clocks and further enhancements enabled them to strike even the quarter-hour. By the first half of the 15th century, small domestic clocks started to appear and after the 1630s, a weight-driven timepiece, called the lantern clock, became popular in the homes of the upper classes.


The concept for the breakthrough in clock making is credited to Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who discovered in 1582 that a pendulum could be used to keep time. Capitalizing on this discovery, in 1656 the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629-93) developed the first pendulum clock, which became the prototype for the grandfather clock. The first pendulum clocks, referred to as "wags-on-the-wall" at that time, had short pendulums and were hung on a wall with dangling cast-iron components that were encased in wood before long. Huygens‚ invention allowed clocks to run accurately to the point of three minutes loss or gain per day. Already by 1660, English clockmakers took over Huygens‚ design and introduced the approximately 6 feet long case with a 10-inch pendulum. In 1670, with the use of a longer pendulum of 39.1 inches, also called the Royal Pendulum and credited to Robert Hook, and the introduction of the anchor escapement by William Clement, the grandfather clock was born and mounted up to a height of just over 7 feet from the floor. As these improvements had increased precision up to only a few seconds per week variance, a minute handle was also added to the clocks for the first time. These clocks were later also encased with glass to display the pendulum and weights. However, the grandfather clocks as these pendulum clocks are known today, would be referred to as long case clocks or floor clocks until the 1880s.

In a manner of speaking, the period between 1630 and 1730 was the golden age of long case clocks. They were first made for royal families and nobles, but in time their production costs were cut down and the ownership of a long case clock became possible for some well-to-do households. Around 1685, long case clocks were imported into American colonies for the first time and roughly 10 years later their construction in the New World began. New York, New England, Pennsylvania and Virginia became long case clock making centers, however, until the 19th century American introduction of inexpensive brass movements, English clockmakers reigned supreme. Due to costs of craftsmanship and parts, in America too, they were only affordable for the well off families and became a symbol of socio-economic status and wealth.



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The term grandfather clock for long case or floor clocks became widespread in England and America by the 1880s thanks to a song composed by the American songwriter Henry Work in 1875, namely "the Grandfather's Clock". He was inspired by the story of an old floor clock that stood in the lobby of a country lodge named George Hotel in Piercebridge, North Yorkshire, England. While staying there, Henry Work was told that the clock had started losing time after the death of one of the two brothers Jenkins, who managed The George Hotel. No clocksmith had been able to fix the old timepiece and it had completely stopped when the surviving brother passed away at the age of ninety. The new hotel manager had never attempted to have it repaired and had left it standing in the lobby with the clock's arms in the position they had stopped. The song "Grandfather's Clock" shared this story and became very popular. Shortly after that, the long case or floor clocks, which were referred to by a variety of other names as well, came to be known as the grandfather clocks.

Since then, there have been innumerable improvements on time keeping devices. In the present day, pendulums have left their place to atomic vibrations for the purpose of accuracy. But, as an object of beauty and as an impressive symbol of the passage of time, nothing seems likely to replace the stately appearance of a grandfather‚s clock that stands about 6½ to 8 feet tall today. Smaller versions of the grandfather clock have assumed the name of grandmother clock (6 feet) and granddaughter clock (5 feet). Each of them is one of the best choices for starting a family heirloom, which will witness and share the good and bad times of many generations to come. Just listen to the lyrics of the "Grandfather Clock".

"In watching its pendulum swing to and fro
Many hours he spent when a boy
And through childhood and manhood, the clock seemed to know
And to share both his grief and his joy."


History of The Grandfather Clock

How The Grandfather Clock Got Its Name

Over 100 years ago in Piercebridge, North Yorkshire, England, there was a quaint country lodge known as the George Hotel.

The George hotel was managed by two bachelor brothers named Jenkins also from England.

In the lobby stood a floor clock, as they were called back in those days, that had been there for many years. One unusual characteristic on the old clock was that it kept very good time. This was uncommon, since in those days clocks were generally not noted for their accuracy.

One day, one of the brothers died and suddenly the old clock started losing time. At first it lost 15 minutes per day but when several clocksmiths gave up trying to repair the ailing timepiece, it was losing more than an hour each day.

The clocks incurable problem became as talked about as its precision had been. Some said it was no surprise that, though fully wound, the old clock stopped when the surviving brother died at the age of ninety.

The new manager of the hotel never attempted to have it repaired. He just left it standing in a sunlit corner of the lobby, its hands resting in the position they assumed the moment the last Jenkins brother died.

About 1875, an American songwriter named Henry Work happened to be staying at the George Hotel during a trip to England. He was told the story of the old clock and after seeing the clock for himself, decided to compose a song about the fascinating coincidence that the clock stopped forever the moment its elder owner passed away. Henry came back to America and published the lyrics that sold over a million copies of sheet music about the clock grandfather clock song. These are the opening words of the first stanza:

"Oh my grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf so it stood ninety years on the floor. It was taller by half than the old man himself, though it weighed no a pennyweight more..."

Until that time, clocks such as the one in the old George Hotel were referred to by a variety of names, but not before Henry Work wrote his song, over a hundred years ago, were they referred to as grandfather clocks. The grandfather clock song is below.