Mantel Clock
Patent/design registration not found
Needle Case (photographs from eBay)
Design Details
Needle Case Type: |
Figural |
Patent/Registered to: |
Unknown |
Patent/Design Representation #: |
Unknown |
Patent/Design Registration Date: |
Unknown |
Location of Patent/Design Registration: |
Unknown |
Reference #: |
Unknown |
Dimensions: |
Unknown |
Material: |
Brass |
Name Variations: |
Unmarked |
Other Variations: |
Unknown |
Additional Photographs
Side and back views
Top and back interior views
Clock face detail and back interior detail
Bottom views
Facts
A mantle clock is a small clock or timepiece traditionally placed on the mantel or shelf above a fireplace. They are also known as shelf
clocks. These clocks were invented in the 1750s by the French and can be distinguished from earlier clocks by their size and decorative or
ornate designs. They became very popular during the Victorian period when many different varieties were manufactured in wood, porcelain or
ormolu, a fine gold-mercury amalgam applied to bronze giving an item the appearance of gold.
History
A clock is a mechanical device used to
measure time with hands placed around a circular dial to indicate the hours and minutes. Prior to the invention of the clock sundials were used
to determine the approximate time of day and an hourglass measured the passage of time in a few minutes or an hour. Around 1300 AD the
Europeans created a way to keep time by using balanced weights. This lead to the development of spring driven clocks in the 15th and 16th
centuries which were often produced in the German metal working centers of Nuremburg and Augsburg. The pendulum clock was invented in 1656 by
a Dutch mathematician and a Scottish clockmaker patented the first electric clock in 1840. Modern clocks use electricity or battery power and
often include hours, minutes and seconds, with many displaying the time digitally.
Miscellaneous
The most famous clock in the UK is the one on Big Ben, the tower on the north end of the British Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of
Westminster. Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower. With a height
of 315 feet, the building was designed in the Gothic Revival style and construction was completed in 1859. The clock's dial, made of iron
with 312 pieces of opal glass reminiscent of a stained-glass window, is 23 feet in diameter with the hour hand 9 feet long and the minute hand 14
feet. Big Ben has become the iconic symbol of the United Kingdom and is often photographed with a red double-decker bus.
