This book, of some 280 pages, mostly illustrated in colour, describes all those clocks which have been produced, with great skill, ingenuity and artistry, to fascinate, delight, intrigue and mystify us over the last 700 years.

It commences with the early astronomical clocks and those incorporating Jacks and automata. It then goes on to deal with the often highly complex and fascinating early German clocks and discusses the work of Grollier de Servierè. Clocks driven by their own weight or by rolling balls are then considered and unusual ways of indicating time, including at night.

The dream of perpetual motion and attempts by clocks to achieve this are shown and also swinging clocks and those with conical and torsion pendulums. The ingenuity of the Black Forest workers is discussed and the creations of brilliant clockmakers such as James Cox and Jaquet-Droz.

Many English and Continental clocks of the 18^th and 19^th centuries which incorporate automata are included and the book concludes with the mystery clocks of Robert-Houdin and Guilmet and finally the industrial clocks.

This is a book which should give great pleasure to all who are fascinated by the skill and ingenuity of the clockmaker.

Price £115.00.

CONTENTS.

Introduction...................................................................................................7

Chapter 1. Public Clocks with Automata & Astronomical Dials.......9

Chapter 2. Jacks & Jacquemarts............................................................25

Chapter 3. Early German Clocks.............................................................31

Chapter 4. Nicolas Grollier de Servierè.................................................43

Chapter 5. Clocks Driven by their own Weight...................................53

Chapter 6. Clocks Driven or Regulated by Rolling Balls..................63

Chapter 7. Telling Time at Night..............................................................75

Chapter 8. The Diverse Ways of Indicating time.................................81

Chapter 9. Perpetual Motion, Unusual Forms of Motive Power &
Long Duration Clocks.............................................................................103

Chapter 10. The Conical Pendulum.....................................................123

Chapter 11. The Torsion Pendulum.....................................................131

Chapter 12. Swinging Clocks................................................................137

Chapter 13. Mysterious Circulators......................................................149

Chapter 14. Black Forest Clocks...........................................................153

Chapter 15. James Cox & the Chinese Export Market.....................165

Chapter 16. Jacquet Droz........................................................................191

Chapter 17. English Longcase & Bracket Clocks Incorporating
Automata......................................................................................................203

Chapter 18. Late Eighteenth & Nineteenth Century Clocks with
Automata......................................................................................................209

Chapter 19. Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin............................................219

Chapter 20. Cartier & Asprey...................................................................233

Chapter 21. A.R.Guilmet, his Mystery Clocks......................................241

Chapter 22. Industrial Clocks..................................................................253

Appendices..................................................................................................271

Makers Index...............................................................................................285

General Index..............................................................................................287