The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-09-14
OLD TOWER CLOCKS.
FIRST INTRODUCED BY ARAxr.
ANS IN GERMANY.
First One in Europe Named After
Great Swedish Chemist - SPEC
cimens of Early Horolog-
ical Art.

cimens of Early Horolog-
ical Art.
cat what time may tower clocks for
the use of the public at large have been
introduced?'
This is a question which has often been
asked by many horologists, among them
Hainaut, of Rouen, in France. but has
never been satisfactorily answered, says
the Revue lnternationale d 'Horlogerie.
This much, however, seems to be adj
mitted, that public clocks were first in
troduced by the Arabs in Germany. And
the first clock of this kind was set up
in Paris, in the town hail. or court of
Justice, at the instance of Charles ",
who had ordered it to be made by a Ger
man artist named Henri de Vic, who
completed it in the year 1870.
But it was only a fewyears later when
Norman, Jehan de Felains, made an
other clock of this kind, which was set
up at Rouen, and this one was remark
able, owing to the fact that it struck
quarters. 1t may be mentioned in this
connection that the clock made by Jehan
de Felains must have been superior one,
because it continued to render service
tor century after the one made by Henri
do Vic had disappeared. Still we have
an accurate and a detailed description
of the latter furnished by Moinet in the
first chapter Of his neurological treatise,
as stated by Julien Leroy in his men,
oranda
From this description we learn that
from the earliest time this style of clock
has hardly undergone any radical change
in its elementary construction, except
in so far as the trains, both going and
striking, were placed in their frames
vertically, i. e., one wheel above the
other, while at the present time the
placing of the trains is done on hori-
zontal frame, which means side by side.
The escapement, which was placed
above the frame, is said to have been a
foliot; hence one may infer that it was
the former verge escapement which was
later superseded by the pin escapement.
which was more simple and handy and
more adapted to a good timekeeper. All
the parts of these early clocks were made
of iron, instead of which modern clock
makers use bronze, brass, steel and cast
ings, when such can be employed with
advantage. From the standpoint of the
employment of general mechanical prin-
ciples very few innovations are no.
tced.
The question has often been mooted
whether this specimen of the horo.
logical art is the original clock Of
Sorbonne of Richelieu's time, or, as
has been claimed by many, the one
put in its place by Lepante, who
might have been the maker of more
modern substitute. The clock frame
and the parts composing the clock of
the polytechnic school, obsolete, was
christened Berzelius. This great
Swedish chemist, who taught at the
school, had the habit of repeating
each year the classic demonstration
of asphyxiating some live bird under
the globe Of the pneumatic machine.
During the appointed day sparrow
condemned to, show the effects of an
air vacuum had been placed on the
fatal disk Of the instrument, when a
cry of pity was raised by the scholars
in the birds favor. At their solicita-
tons Berzelius suspended the experi-
ment and restored the bird to liberty,
and it soon revived and took flight.
The next day after this memorable
one the sparrow, or more likely ono
of it's kind, perched upon one of the
hands of the clock and remained
there. This occurrence happened
during recess, which was prolonged
until some one noticed the stoppage
of the clock.
1t was universally asserted by cred
ulous persons that this extraordinary
phenomenon was positive manifesto
ton of the gratitude of the little SPAR
row. But as he neither left his card
nor his name. it was decided that the
professor should lend his for the oc.
casion, and It was appropriated with.
out his consent. 1t was in this man.
ner that the illustrious Swede was
compelled, without knowing it, to
lend his name for commemorating q
tower clock