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Rare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial Clock

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Rare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial ClockRare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial ClockRare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial ClockRare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial ClockRare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial ClockRare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial ClockRare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial ClockRare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial ClockRare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial Clock
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Track Item
Lot #: 525
Rare Gilt Bronze Gravity Ball Waterwheel Industrial Clock

Compound congreve waterwheel clock. Circa 1900, gilt bronze on an onyx base. With thermometer and barometer.
As the clock runs and the large wheel slowly rotates it allows a ball to escape once per minute down the three tier track into the conveyor belt. When activated by the movement the belt lifts and another ball is allowed to roll into the track above and then drop into the wheel. The piece should be fairly accurate since the power comes from the constant weight of the balls instead of a spring with varying degrees of power.

Literature: See Roberts, Derek, “Mystery, Novelty & Fantasy Clocks.” Pg. 72, Fig. 6-14AB for a similar example.
Ht. 22 in. W. 18 1/2 in.
Provenance
A Mid-West collection.
Condition
In running order. Some repairs.
Auction Date
May 31, 2024
Estimate: $15,000-$25,000

Details:

Catalog Note: Roberts, Pg. 72, Fig. 6-14AB. This clock is virtually identical with that shown in the Exposition Universelle of 1900 and is described and illustrated by Mathieu Planchon in La Revue Chronometrique for October of that year, the drawing from which is shown here.
It has a glass dial, Brocot escapement and a three wheel train driven by the steel balls in the right hand side of the paddle-wheel (some are missing in the picture) which is connected to the centre wheel. The balls, after leaving the paddle-wheel, are guided to the base of an elevator consisting of a series of buckets which lift the balls so that they may once again be placed on the top of the paddle-wheel. The buckets are driven by two concealed springs in the base acting in tandem.
In the centre of the elevator is a thermometer and above 12 o'clock an aneroid barometer. Although the basic design of this type of clock remains the same the material used for the base may alter, for instance rosewood may be employed.


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