The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-02-13
A REMARKABLE CLOCK.
Result Of Five Years Work of a Black
Forest Mechanic.


has been constructed, says the Jewel
ers' Circular Weekly, after FIVE years
Of hard labor by August Noll. 4 skill
ed mechanic of Villingen, one Of tie
old and picturesque cities of the Ier-
man Schwarzwald and the former cap
ital Of the province Of Baar, which
came into the possession Of Baden IN
1906. The people Of this region are
diligent and talented, and the making
Of clocks has been for 200 years ma
tive industry among them.
Those first made were wooden
clocks with a sort of balance. and
were very simple in construction.
Gradually the work grew III perfec-
ton and the pendulum took the place
of the balance: in still later times
came the metallic clocks with main
springs: until now the most elaborate
and artistically designed timepieces
of every kind are sent all over the
world. into the humble dwellings Of
the middle classes and the palaces of
the wealthy.
The astronomical clock finished by
August .Noll almost surpasses IN In
genuity Of construction; variety. Of
mechanism and number Of figures not
only the famous clocks Of Prague and
Goslar but even the renowned MASTER
piece of Isaac Habrecht, the wonder
of: the Strasburg Cathedral. It is at
present on exhibition in Munich, and
it is unlikely that it will ever be per
mitted to leave that city.
The case. Of walnut wood, about
II feet high, II feet wide and feet
deep. is fashioned in the form Of
church of the early Renaissance style,
Of harmonious design and pleasing to
the aesthetic sense. The calendar me-
chanism. rollers. chimes, striking
works, are arranged to work for 100
years. During a whole century the
clock will show not only the seconds,
minutes, quarter hours ana hours, the
days, weeks, but also the movable
festivals. Of the Christian year. The
different days and seasons are intro
duced by professions Of appropriate
figures skillfully carved, accompanied
by music, with bugle solos and watch
mems horns, or with cock crow and
cuckoo calls.
The center is occupied by al artis
tically decorated and illuminated
chapel. whose doors open every morn
ing at 9 o'clock and bring to view a
congregation of worshippers, in the
Schwarzwald costume, who file past
the altar amid the strains Of a cho
raj. Once every hour the figure of
Death appears at the left side wing,
and figures representing the four ages
of man pass by him, at the same time
the twelve Apostles are seen passing
before the figure Of Christ in an at
titude Of blessing. At the right Of the
portal, above, is an idealized repre-
sentatiou Of the four seasons, and be-
meath, morning and evening, SIX Ca.
puchin monks march slowly to the ac-
compartment Of chimes and the chords
Of a choral. from their picturesque
forest hermitage to the church.
The time is marked on the clock
face in the upper part Of the central
space. not by ordinary hands. but by
figures which spring out at the prop
er moment, and two angels strike the
changes on melodious bells. Below,
as II IN the SlQe alSleS u tue cAuACn
the strong and carefully constructed
mechanism is visible in action: at the
foot is an astronomical teIlurium: and
at the gables of the side wings two
large faces show the time in Calcutta
and New York, as compared with the
central European time.
The whole structure weighs 300
pounds and is valued at $4,000 marks.
Most interesting and original it e1-
hibits the great intelligence and in
ventiye gifts and the wonderful per-
severance Of its maker.