Antique Cuckoo Clocks

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:44:23 +0000

Antique Cuckoo Clocks

Antique Cuckoo clocks are beautiful, check out more about them below!

Thank you so much for stopping by! I am assuming you are here because you are interested in either learning more about Antique Cuckoo Clocks or purchasing Antique Cuckoo Clocks. Either way, you are at the right place.

My name is Brooks and I have always had a real passion for Antique cuckoo clocks. My father used to collect them and he left me his entire collection when he passed away. I have always been interested in them, but when my father passed away I started to grow his pride collection.

Today I want to talk to you about a couple of different kinds of Antique Cuckoo Clocks and some more modern cuckoo clocks.

On my site I want to celebrate the Antique Cuckoo Clock and the modern cuckoo clock. Below is a list of pages where you can read about different brands and makes of cuckoo clocks. Each page will give you a lot of information to help you either further your learning on cuckoo clocks or to help you determine which you would most want to purchase. Please feel free to click on any of the pages below. To see some history, facts and a video of an Antique Cuckoo Clock in action read below!

Antique German Cuckoo Clocks

Dold Cuckoo Clock

Anton Schneider Cuckoo Clock

Hones Cuckoo Clocks

Regula Cuckoo Clock

River City Cuckoo Clock

Antique Cuckoo Clock FAQ

Are you a true cuckoo clock lover? If so, see some of my absolute favorite cuckoo clocks sold at Amazon below. You get free shipping and you will pay the lowest prices around! Just click either side arrow and click the clock you like for price and more information. Enjoy!

If you have never seen an Antique Cuckoo Clock in action, no problem. I have a video for you below so you can see what they have to offer. They are really special and can be found in a variety of designs and styles. Check out the cuckoo clock video below.

They are really special and can be found in a variety of designs and styles. Check out the cuckoo clock video below.

Now that you know why I am here and have a little idea of what a cuckoo clock is, lets talk about the history of the cuckoo clock.

Antique Cuckoo Clocks- History Of The Cuckoo Clock

The German Black Forest is very well known for the beautiful cuckoo clocks that are produced there. Although it is not known precisely when the very first Black Forest clock was created, historians believe that production of these world renowned clocks began as early as the 1600s. The Black Forest clocks began in this time, although the very popular Black Forest cuckoo clocks came later.

During the 18th century, the clock industry was becoming a very lucrative profession for inhabitants of the Black Forest. In the southern region, in Furtwangen, the German clock museum is now found. During the earlier years, the inhabitants of the Black Forest were highly skilled in woodworking. Using these skills, they were able to put together a very lucrative source of income, enlisting the help of clerical workers to ensure that the clocks that they created ran smoothly. The earlier clock versions had 12 hour movements and were made almost entirely of wood, including the moving parts. With the increasing popularity of clocks from this area, more clockmakers began replacing some of the wooden movement parts with metal and brass, which greatly increased the durability and the popularity of Black Forest clocks.

During the 18th and 19th centuries new tools and crafts were discovered that cut the production time of each clock drastically. By implementing newer and more effective methods, clockmakers were able to create more clocks at a more productive rate than ever before. The number of clocks by just one worker was increased by six times over the span of 100 years. By this time the most popular German Black Forest clock was the shield clock. The cuckoo clock had still not reached its full popularity. About half of the production of all clocks in the Black Forest during the 18th and 19th centuries was the beautiful and elegant shield clocks. During the first 40 years of the 1800s, more than 600 clocks per year were produced from Black Forest clockmakers. The customer base for these clocks had now reached a worldwide base. During that time having a worldwide customer base was quite an outstanding accomplishment; however logistical problems would soon slow down the production of clocks. Clockmakers were facing challenges during that time that were proving to be too much for a single woodworker to overcome. They were working very long hours to ensure that all their customers received their orders and there did not seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all that they needed to do. They soon found that by founding companionship’s with wholesale companies, they could overcome the long hours and needed time, and still ensure that their customers were provided with the highest quality Black Forest creations.

During 1870, the production of clocks from the Black Forest reached record proportions. During that year there were more than one million clocks produced. In 1905 the number hit almost six million. This number accounted for half of all large clocks in the world that were produced being done so in the Black Forest.

Now when people think of antique German cuckoo clocks, they automatically imagine a Black Forest Clock. Many believe that Black Forest clocks instantly means cuckoo clocks, although there are several other clocks that come from the area. Black Forest cuckoo clocks are definitely among the most popular of all clocks. For centuries, these elegant and sometimes whimsical antique cuckoo clocks have been one of the most popularly exported productions in Germany. The first antique cuckoo clock is believed to have been created in Schonwald around 1740. Although these early clocks did not look or function like the cuckoo clocks of today, they were hand carved and had the cuckoo technology integrated in them. The first cuckoo clock that was created to resemble those that we see today was designed in 1850 and named the Bahnhausleuhr. It was designed to resemble a railway house and was the direct result of a contest which was initiated by the world famous Clockmaker School in Furtwangen. The school saw the need for a new Black Forest clock creation and thus began the highly popular act of creating and collecting these beautiful German cuckoo clocks. During the 1860s, clockmakers began creating weights that resembled fir cones and started implementing hand carved, elegant designs into their clock creations. The cuckoo clock soon became the landmark of the Black Forest and an excellent representation of German craftsmanship. Over the years several manufacturers have joined in the cuckoo clock revolution. Of these, Anton Schneider, Rombach & Haas, Hones, Hubert Herr and Hekas have contributed significantly to the tradition and popularity of German cuckoo clocks.

While the antique cuckoo clock remains the most sought after creation from the Black Forest, there are other clocks that clockmakers in this area take pride in designing. The Wooden Wheel Clock, for example, is a fine representation of craftsmanship and beauty, as is the Shield clock, the Jockele Clock and the smallest of the Black Forest clocks, the Sorg clock which was created around the early 1800s. The Black Forest has been very important in the production and creation of clocks of all types for many centuries. The German Clock Museum, which is located in Furtwangen, Germany, is an excellent place to view the many clocks made in this area over history. It is the largest museums dedicated to clocks and has on hand approximately 8000 Black Forest creations. Along with the many historical cuckoo clocks, there are several other versions of ancient German clocks which provide a great look into the traditional methods of creating these beautifully designed timepieces.

As you can see Antique Cuckoo Clocks have a very rich and dramatic history. It has always intrigued me and it seems that historians are always learning new things about the origins of cuckoo clocks.

Keep reading below for some interesting and fun Antique Cuckoo Clocks facts.

Antique Cuckoo Clocks: Fun And Interesting Cuckoo Clock Facts

A cuckoo clock is usually a pendulum clock (see Pendulum Clock page), that is made to copy the song or call of the Common Cuckoo bird. This clock often has a striking gong as well. The mechanism to produce the cuckoo call was installed in almost every kind of cuckoo clock since the middle of the eighteenth century and has remained almost without variation until the present.

(Quartz battery powered cuckoo clocks do not have bellows. On some quartz clocks the cuckoo bird flaps its wings as it sings. The call is a digital recording of a cuckoo bird calling from the wild. The cuckoo bird call may be come with the sound of a water fall and other bird calls in the surroundings.

In musical quartz clocks, the hourly chime is followed by a replay of one of twelve melodies, one for each hour. Some musical quartz clocks also have the animated figures. A unique option of some quartz cuckoo clocks is that they include a light sensor. When the lights are off at night, the hourly chime is turned off. The weights in the shape of pine cones are made of plastic, as well as many other parts being made of plastic. The weights and pendulum are for show only. The quartz cuckoo clock is driven by battery power. As in the mechanical cuckoo clocks, the dial is usually small, and typically marked with Roman numerals.)

The design of a traditional cuckoo clock is now pretty much standard. Most are made in a traditional or carved style for hanging on the wall. The wooden case is ornamented with carved leaves and animals. Some depict hunting scenes. The cuckoo bird appears through a small trap door, when the clock strikes. A small arm lifts or moves the back of the small door behind part of the carving and the cuckoo bird emerges.

There are different types of movements. Traditionally the one-day (30-hour) and eight-day movements were most common. Today there are 30 day cuckoo clocks and quartz cuckoo clocks as well, though these are not considered traditional. Today most cuckoo clocks are weight driven; some are spring driven. The weights on weight driven cuckoo clocks are made of cast iron in a pine cone shape. The pendulum ‘bob’ is most often a carved leaf. the dial is usually small, and typically marked with Roman numerals.

The sound of the cuckoo bird is produced by two tiny pipes (similar to a pipe organ) in the clock. Bellows are attached to the tops of these two tiny pipes. Inside the clock, the mechanical movement triggers the bellows to send a puff of air into each pipe one at a time. This is the simplest translation of the technicality of this mechanism I could word in a short paragraph. I trust that it is clear.

Some have musical movements that play a tune or song. Musical cuckoo clocks commonly have other animated characters or features that move when the music box feature sounds, such as beer drinkers, wood choppers, jumping deer, and… angry wives beating lazy husbands. Oh, my gosh! I have never seen one of these.

Antique Cuckoo Clocks- Cuckoo Misspellings

I am amazed at what people are able to come up with when trying to spell cuckoo. I have liste4d just for fun some of the crazy misspellings below. Be honest, did you think any of these were accurate before you knew better???

Koo Koo Clock

Cockoo Clock

KooKoo Clock

Cukoo Clock

Coocoo Clock

CooKoo Clock

Cuku Clock

Kuku Clock

Cucu Clock

Its pretty crazy what people will come up with. If you have ever seen it any other way, leave a comment below!

I think I have filled you with enough Antique Cuckoo Clocks information for now. Bookmark this site, there may be more to come! Please feel free to scroll up and check out any other site on this page. Thank you for your time and I hope that you can understand and share my love for these beautiful Antique Cuckoo Clocks! Have a great day!