Arizona weekly citizen., 1882-04-23
CnsiI, ClnrLs

George W. Childs, of the Philadelphia
 Ledger, according 10 the Record of thaf
 city, Is the pOssessOr Of clocks to tho
 value of S3nDO0 Among them is Gen
 eral Grants present, sometimes known
 as tue Grant clock and often named tho
 klingenburg clock (after its make T.
 John kliugenburg, Of Amsterdam,l of great value. But 1t Is commonplace
 compared with the Rittenhouse clock,
 which occupies an hOnored corner iR the
 magnificent office. For ingenuity and
 accuracy and beauty of workmanship il
 Is believed tO exceed any clock in Amer lea, David Rittenhouse, q famous
 Phlladelphian, after whom Rittenhouse Square was named, made the clock in l167, for Joseph Potts, who paid S640 ! tO KIttenhOuse. This timepieee was
 much sought after in the early days of l the Republic, l25 guineas having been
 offered for 1t by Lord Howe, when he
 was holding Philadelphia under occupa-
 tlOn. Later on the Spanish Minister to the United States wanted to make a | substantial present to his sovereign, and
 offered SSOO for this clock. It however
 fell into tue possession of the Barton
 family, who retained 1t until 1t was
 bought by Mr. Childs in October, 1879.
 The intricacy of its mechanism Is won
 lerful. IL contains seventy-two wheels,
 with 5,6S2 'eeth. It Is operated by three
 weights, aggregatrng 100 pounds in
 weight In addition to the tlmepiece. it has musical attachment and limited
 planetariUm In miniature. On its face are six dials. The main dial in the ecu ter has four hands indicating seconds. minutes, hours and days, the last being so set as tO run perpetually, with due pro vision for leap-year and all the other vagaries of the calendar. The phases of the moon are also shown. The second dial accurately represent the movements of Venus. Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and the earth around the sun, each of the planets being represented by a small gold ball, that makes its orbital Tevulu- tions around the central sun with won derful precision. I bus far the gold ball marked JupIter has made only nlne and hall revolutions since the clock was made-ll4 years ago. The rim of the dial Is marked with the signs of the l Zodiac, thus showing tine location of l each plauet. These clocks in Mir. Childs' | office cost over SlO,0J0, while S3O.OOO | will hardly cover the cost of all his | ,4'fNtAf'f AAtaAAAfN HIS AAAh AAAt OllttIH divided among his summer house at | WoOtten. his Long Brarch residence, | and his mansion at rwenty-second and | Walnut streets. Every room in each of these domiciles has it's clock, and each clock has its peculiar merit. In the library at the corner of Twenty second and Walnut streets, is heavy clock rich m design and finish, that was once owned by Prince Napoleon, while in the parlor stands what Is perhaps the most costly parlor clock to be found in the world. It weighs two tons and stands nine feet high, onyx and verde antiaue base two feet square and four 'eet high. On this pedestal poses life 'ize figure in silver of woman, her -aised ann poising a circular pendulum. which operates the machinery in the )ase. The clock won universal admira
 ion, as well as the grand prize, at the Paris exhibition of 1867.