The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-08-31
PECULIAR TIN1EPIECES.
Watches in This Unique Collection
Have Interesting Histories.

The person of average experience
is more or less familiar with watches
which strike the hour, watches with
Illuminated dials, stop watches,
watches with elaborately ornamented
faces and cases and other watches
which differ ffom the ordinary watch;
but a watch collector, Willard H.
Wheeler, has lent to the Central mu-
scum of the Brooklyn Institute of
Arts and Sciences collection of 81
watches, any one of which is suf-
ficiently peculiar to deserve a place
among historic watches. The idea
of the collector in limiting the num-
ber was to outline the history OF
matchmaking rather than to exhibit
freaks, but among the specimens are
some with unique qualities and ro-
mantle histories. The watch develop
ed naturally from the large encased
clock which stood in cabinet.
Clocks became smaller so that they
could be hung on the wall, and final
ly small enough to occupy only lit
tie space on the mantlepiece. Then
some punctual soul carried one on a
string about his neck, and with these
came a demand for further reduc-
tion in size. These personal clocks
were elaborately iewelled. The Eng
lish Puritans wished watches, but
they coud not wear the conspicuous
timepieces common to their age.
Thereupon Tompion, the foremost
clockmaker of England, devised the
pocket timepiece, now known as the
watch.
Tompion was the official watch
maker to all the royal families OF
Europe, and since each king demand
ed something different and was able
to pay for it, there are a large num-
Der of freak Tompion watches, Tom
pion became so famous that upon
his death England honored him with
a slab in Westminster Abbey along
with her noted men. But Tompion
knew nothing of the stem winding
watch; that came in the eighteenth
century, as did also the repeater
made to strike the hours automatical-
ly.
One of the most admired watches
in the collection was made by the
English matchmaker, Thomas Nudge
for Ferdinand vi, of Spain. 1t has
three cases-the outer being of leath'
er for hunting and other outdoor
pastimes, the second of plain gold
for wear about the palace, and the
inner of gold incrusted with jewels
On state occasions the two outer
cases were removed and the inner ex.
hibited for the qualification of Ferdi'
nand's love for display.
Another was made in Switzerland
in 1890, richly enameled and inlaid
with pearl, and inherited in 1900 by
the Manchu Emperor, Kea-king. The
story goes that it remained in the
imperial palace in Peking, on the
queens dressing table, until during
the Boxer rebellion when the palace
was sacked. The chief feature of the
watch is a fountain which by the
movement of small bits of glass on
delicate wires is made to appear to
flow. This is thought to have caught
the eye Of looter. who took the
watch from the palace and sold it to
an employee of the German embassy
in Peking. He sold it to Wheeler.
One watch with an almost tragic
history was made by Henry Louis
Drosz, the French matchmaker, who
went to Spain about the time of the
Spanish Inquisition. This watch is
wound by shaking, and when he ex-
hibited it to the Spaniards, who had
seen nothing but key-winding watches
and few of them, he was accused of
practicing black magic. In vain did
he declare that when he shook the
watch he was merely winding it.
They contended that he was shaking
up the evil spirits. He was tried,
convicted and sentenced to death.
But the Bishop of Toledo pointed out
to the court that if the watch was
really operated by evil spirits it
would never need cleaning, and it
was shown that Drosz's watch would
stop if not occasionally cleaned. He
was thereupon released.
In the collection are watches of
many shapes-fowers, mandolins,
skulls, crosses, rings and butterflies.
One Of Swiss make contains 1,741