VR-108 - Beidermeier period month-running Viennese 3-lite Dachluhr timepiece by M. Herz in Wien
Claterbos indicates that Markus had a shop at Stefansplatz 6 (a rather prestigious address) in 1850, was a mastercraftsman in 1851, a burgher, and continued to make clocks through 1862.
This absolutely exquisite example of the complexity and exuberance of the late Biedermeier style reflects the demands the upper crust of Viennese society would have made of a maker who had a shop on Saint Stefans Square in Vienna. Or, as my buyer would say, “Oh my god, what I have found”. In an auction with several rather nice pieces, this clock still stands out, both for its extraordinary condition, its complexity, its style, and, on top of all that, it is a month runner.
This clock has been in my collection for several years now, running, keeping time, providing me and my lady with a lovely sight for starting our day. But, as many of you are aware, these auctions afford me the opportunity to upgrade my collection...
I believe this clock speaks for itself. It is in very nice to perfect condition, so I will not go through my usual litany of praise about the perfect bob, the weight with the knurled top, heavy hook washer... all those things are there. The things that I notice when I look at the clock, the things that stand out, are the very delicate, pierced woodwork to the top of the door and the top of the base. Interestingly, the door glass extends up behind the piercing to the top of the door. Then there are the lovely, miniature finials to the four corners of the base, the very unusual but very correct base treatment with its central large finial, the lovely roof (hence, this is a true Dachluhr, in that Dach in German means roof - which is the determining characteristic for this form of clock), the smaller than typical mechanism with curved tops to the plates, maintaining power, and that one extra gear that allows it to run for a month. I should point out that, while the case was in perfect condition when it came to me, the mechanism was on the dirty side. When I go through the finer mechanisms I just naturally make everything just a little bit nicer - the pivots a bit more perfect, the pallets mirror smooth, perfectly flat - initially I ran this clock on the correct weight (the weight that is in the pictures) but was amazed that I could hear it ticking across the room. You don’t normally hear month-runners ticking from far away, especially in a room full of clocks. I then hung a light week-runners weight (under 3 pounds) on the clock. It ran for many months. In fact, though it looks out of place, since it is narrower than the width of the pulley, that is the way I have run it in my collection. Of course, it is not surprising that a month runner runs on a week duration clocks weight: When one takes a perfectly-made mechanism and polishes every component to at least as good of finish as was originally intended, you have one very efficient, very nice mechanism.
Ask me about my three month runner that is happy with a 4.5 pound weight sometime.
OK. I like the clock. I love the mechanism. It’s just that there is this earlier Dachluhr...
And, because of my desire to own this other clock, you have the chance to buy this very rare, very nice, very unusual Vienna Regulator.
Read MoreThis absolutely exquisite example of the complexity and exuberance of the late Biedermeier style reflects the demands the upper crust of Viennese society would have made of a maker who had a shop on Saint Stefans Square in Vienna. Or, as my buyer would say, “Oh my god, what I have found”. In an auction with several rather nice pieces, this clock still stands out, both for its extraordinary condition, its complexity, its style, and, on top of all that, it is a month runner.
This clock has been in my collection for several years now, running, keeping time, providing me and my lady with a lovely sight for starting our day. But, as many of you are aware, these auctions afford me the opportunity to upgrade my collection...
I believe this clock speaks for itself. It is in very nice to perfect condition, so I will not go through my usual litany of praise about the perfect bob, the weight with the knurled top, heavy hook washer... all those things are there. The things that I notice when I look at the clock, the things that stand out, are the very delicate, pierced woodwork to the top of the door and the top of the base. Interestingly, the door glass extends up behind the piercing to the top of the door. Then there are the lovely, miniature finials to the four corners of the base, the very unusual but very correct base treatment with its central large finial, the lovely roof (hence, this is a true Dachluhr, in that Dach in German means roof - which is the determining characteristic for this form of clock), the smaller than typical mechanism with curved tops to the plates, maintaining power, and that one extra gear that allows it to run for a month. I should point out that, while the case was in perfect condition when it came to me, the mechanism was on the dirty side. When I go through the finer mechanisms I just naturally make everything just a little bit nicer - the pivots a bit more perfect, the pallets mirror smooth, perfectly flat - initially I ran this clock on the correct weight (the weight that is in the pictures) but was amazed that I could hear it ticking across the room. You don’t normally hear month-runners ticking from far away, especially in a room full of clocks. I then hung a light week-runners weight (under 3 pounds) on the clock. It ran for many months. In fact, though it looks out of place, since it is narrower than the width of the pulley, that is the way I have run it in my collection. Of course, it is not surprising that a month runner runs on a week duration clocks weight: When one takes a perfectly-made mechanism and polishes every component to at least as good of finish as was originally intended, you have one very efficient, very nice mechanism.
Ask me about my three month runner that is happy with a 4.5 pound weight sometime.
OK. I like the clock. I love the mechanism. It’s just that there is this earlier Dachluhr...
And, because of my desire to own this other clock, you have the chance to buy this very rare, very nice, very unusual Vienna Regulator.
