West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-04-27
History OF Clocks and Watches

ihe CLOCK, winch at the present daV is
considered an almost Indispensable arti.
Gle in nearly every household in the
land, and the watch, which is generally
required 10 complete the wardrobe ali
nearly every man and woman, compared
to the history of the world, arc but GO
recent origin or invention.
The "ancients used to mark the PRO
gress of time by the moving of the
heavenly bodies, and for moro brief
space 10y the shadow of the sun east ON
sun dial, certain marks on the dial
noting the length of time The dial is
used to-day, and the sun at it's true
meridian is found through This system
at the present time. The North Ameri.
can Indians fixed their time and age. or
any event, by SO many moons, and no
many winters, and leaves falling from
trees. Less time was SO many suns or
days in certain moons. BY this way of
computing time, an old Indian could
tell how many months and years he had
lived.
In the absence of the SUM- the ancients
used cOntrivanCe called clepsydra n
vessel containing water escaping slowly
through small orificc in equal quanti-
ties at equal times. A floating body in
vessel which received the water de.
noted the time 10y it's rise to certain
numbers on the side of the vessel. The
Romans introduced this instrument in
the days of Pompey from Greece, seventy
years before the Ch tristan era. They
employed it TO denote the length of
speeches in the Roman Senate.
The sand or hour glass was an ancient
invention, and used in Egypt before the
days of Christ. This cheap and CON
venient instrument has been handed
down TO the present day, and is still en-
ployed for some purposes which require
the frequent measurement of short time
a. hall minute, running out the horo-
loge, or three minutes to boil eggs.
In the early times of Archimedcs
the great mathematician, two hundred
and fifty years before Christ, wheel work
was made To move by springs and
weights TO impel equal motion nj equal
times From this motive power frat
sprung the clock for keeping time.
which was used in Europe az early ms
the eleventh century, and the invention
of which was due TO the Saracans.
A clock that would strike the hours
was known as early as 1921. There was
n clock at Dover Castle, England. in
l34S. From the large public clocks
sprung the small family clocks Of all
kinds and sizes. Clocks Of different
movements were constructed with quite
as much ingenuity and intricacy two
hundred years ago as at the present time.
IL ia stated that watches were made i'm
Nuremburg as early as l477 yet there
IL no accurate authority for the state.
ment. There was n watch i'm Sir Ashton
Levers museum bearing date l64l
Henry VIII, who died in 1547, owned
watch. The hair spring was applied to
the watch 10 regulate the time by DR..
Hook in 1868. Glass at one time was
used for hair springs, but it soon grew
out Of use for reason Of it's breaking 40
easily by a jar, but they were acknowl-
edged TO keep watch in more accurate
time. From those days improvements
baye been constantly going on till the
watch if nearly perfect as 10 time.
For many years all the improvements
were made in England and imported to
this country, but machinery has been
made to do many parts of the work,
and nearly all the watches brought into
this country at the present time are
American movements. In 1867 the
value Of watch movements imported TO
this country was 1928, 900; in 1875 il
was 2,50l 900, the duty of which was
1866 600.