Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-08-27
THE FIRST WATCH MADE
n WAS ABOUT As LARGE As ~
ORDINARY DINNER PLATE.

- ux.~ .oo.- a. aoee A. 40
ORDINARY DINNER PLATe
aaker's Ass-aagsaisss Ghss - Afes~
n. v,~s~s ffmSpSsss WHIST NAsy
49,
NursmDurg. Bavaria. ths European cradle
Il invention, claims shs digui6si hoooe ef
bstnr The birrhpaace II the Individual N
vhoss fertils brain tins .larum," or pocket
clock, /" rssoived - thing Of fancy long b.
fore it became . material odject Of beauty
and utility
The d.xt watch vas . curiosity that -outd
ue yiewet In al least two dineseur hghta
Ii wiiderue.s Of wheels was an everlasting
source Of uooda And amusement. while il
Slze was souethinx awful 70 contemplate.
some Of the hrst measures - much a. nins
tnchss IN diameter, or about The sise Of q com
snou dinner plate
Think Of carrying such thing in pocket
which the old Suremburgers surely did, for
they called them pocket cioebA"
Great sizs YVES absolutely necesary, both
On account Of the makers inability 70 con-
strucr anything Of intricate or dsitcate work
ulansnip and from the Tact that weighs
we're used instead Of springA
II was In i477 that the old cioeknAker OF
Nuremberg finished the first Of bis wonder
full pocket clocks. after twenty-five months
Of almost ceaseless labor
Within seventy or eighty years afssr the in
ven.ion Of the pocket clock" it, use had spread
70 England; but. Of course, the carrying Of
such oddities had not become general In the
q uarHt nf No..
mention Of the pocket timepiece. and also
the first rec~dsi instance Of the USE OF the
word watch" The account, which bears
date Of 1859. says that he had one larum
or watch of iron. the case being hkewise OF
iron git, with two plummets Of lead"
The writer Of the account goes on TO say
that IL was Of the finest possible WORKMAN
ship: that It had an arm" which pointed to
figures on bras dial; that one winding
every i've hours was all that II required 10
keep it going finely" and lastly that II was
only six inches In diameter, being on that
account quite neat and handy" The arm
mentioned was, without doubt, the little
pointer known nowadays a. the hand but
note the fact that II had but one, and that It
had to be wound five times in t~enty-four
hours 10 order TO keep II going finely"
RARE IExuRrKs.
For more than two hundred years after
watches had become part and parcel OF the
royal paraphernalia they were such rarities
and the prices were 70 fabulous that few
could afford sdch luxurieA Before the watch
making art had passed the first century
mile post designers and constructors Of oddly
shaped timepieces had become quite numer-
Gus. In 1910, when the Widow Diana, Of
Poictiers, was the mistress OF Henry II, of
France, she was presented by the courtiers
with A remarkable collection Of curously
shapes, and strangely designed watches. One
of these in sbape of a coffin. would only run
when standing on the small end or foot
NJ its chastity looking case. The crys-
raj which corresponded with the face
Mate of a coffin. opeued directly over a
cbox.lv death head which face. upon the
honv cbeekx forehead and chin Of which
vsr. naint1., the numerals indicating the
hours ~ the dav
Into the emptv evesocketx one could eaze
liza into the we'll. of dssrair and 80, the
twisting writing motion Of the wheels A
NOS. protruded from the deshless nos, To
which WA, attached AR arm or hand. ASH
To add To the general horror of the whole
machine the grinniny ,aeth SLOWLY or..ned
five minutes before the end of each hour and
clos.d with the o,eninp of the hour following.
Lueubrious STYLES seem to have been the
fashion Of the dav her entire collection he
inc comnrise.I Of watches in such shanes as
sknlls coffins etc Resides being fashioned
into various uncanuy shapes. MANY of the
collection were provided with panoramic
views Of hell. a Ia Dante's Inferno Col
le,tino watches was NOT confined tn ROYALTY
Of continental Europe alone. but was also a
great fad among the aristocracy of the Brit.
ish isles.
LIKE SKULL
In 1857 Mary Queen Of Scots presented her
maid, Mary Letoun, with the famous Me
mento Mort" silver watch Of rare work
manship shaped like skull. This famous
relic is still in existence and was on exhibi-
bition at the Peterborough England exhi-
bition, which was held in memory of the
three bundredth anniversary of the execu-
ton and burial OF Mary A description OF
the relic can best pe given In the language
OF one OF the many letter writers who SAT it
upon the occasion mentioned
The WATCH says the writer, has silver
casing IN form OF skull, which separates at
the jaws so as to expose the dial, which is
also OF silver. occupying about the position OF
the palate, ana Is hxed III golden circle With
the hours In roman letters Inc movement
appropriately occupies the place Of the brains,
ou' Is naciosta IN oeii' hiiins the mono" OF
the skull, which oeii Is struck oy the hammer
to sound the hours The case Is highly orna-
mented with hne engravings' showing on the
front of the skull, Death, standing between
cottage and palace In the rear Is Time, de
vodrmg ali things on one side OF the upper
part OF the skull are Adam and Eve In the
Gar'ien of Eden, with the serpent tempting
Eve; on the opposite side the scenes OF the
tho infant .Jes,,s in the manper and angels all