- Sep 23, 2001
- 0
- 2
- 0
Bookreview
A Brief History of Horology in 5 small Volumes
By Eduard C. Saluz [Series Editor]
Published 2004 to 2007 by the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Furtwangen (Germany); saddlestapled, five separately published titles of 40 pages each, many color illustrations, (each volume published in three separate, concurrent editions in German, French and English), available from the DUM giftshop ( http://www.deutsches-uhrenmuseum.de/ ), approx. $7 per volume plus postage, or borrow from the Library & Research Center at the National Watch & Clock Museum.
Over the last five years the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum (German National Clock Museum) in Furtwangen has set new standards for publishing concise horological museum guides: In 2004, they reissued the classic text by Kahlert/Muehe “ A History of the Blackforest Clock” (ISBN 3-922673-11-2) in a compact format, on 40 pages, richly illustrated with examples from their collection. In 2005, the same format was used to present an overview of their recently expanded wristwatch exhibit under the title “A Brief History of the Wristwatch” (ISBN 3-922673-) by Katrin Hundorf, and in 2006 –under the title “Modern Times” (ISBN -922673-19-8) - a booklet by Johannes Graf, dealing with standard time, electrical horology and time-systems followed. In 2007 “A Brief History of Clock and Time” (ISBN -922673-23-6) by Carmen Haas, dealing with broader time and timekeeping issues in history and society, became the fourth in the series. The fifth and final volume, “A Brief History of the Pocket Watch” (ISBN 3-922673-25-2) by Eduard Saluz has just been released in May 2008, again in three different language versions- to complete the series.
The newest title follows the common scheme: Each of the five big themes of the series has been broken down into 18 episodes, with a double page spread dedicated to each of these “chapters”: The right left page always is one -or several- images, the right page has a small image, the image captions, and a short text of a few sentences. While this format may appear to be a concession to the current generation of readers raised on comic books it is unquestionably effective – and surprisingly captivating. By presenting 18 small, self contained episodes rather than a drawn out narrative, each booklet nevertheless tells the coherent history of its subject area. In the new pocket watch volume the “chapters” include such themes as: the first pocket watches, form watches, decimal time (during the French revolution), Breguet, American watches, the Proletarian (Roskopf) watch, to name just a few. Many timepieces are illustrated, mostly ones that can be seen in the permanent exhibit at the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. The booklets thus are also powerful souvenirs of a museum visit. This booklet, like its brethren in the series, does double duty as both a museum guide and an introductory text in its area for a budding collector.
This reviewer is not aware of any other recent horological publications, in any of the three languages covered, in any of the five subjects, that so skillfully address the information needs of the casual museum visitor, while also providing important and accurate facts of interest to a more inquisitive student of horology.
Admittedly, these are not scholarly treatises on their subjects, but they are thoughtful collections of important and accurate nuggets of horological information, presented in a manner that is accessible to a broad readership, but without succumbing to the temptation to dumb-down” the content in any way.
Taken together these series of five booklets form a significant addition to the horological literature, and this reviewer believes there could well be buyers for a combined edition of the five texts, creating a more substantial volume, maybe calling it “A Brief History of Horology”. The Deutsches Uhrenmuseum showed vision – and perseverance – in creating the series, and we can only hope that other leading horological museums around the world will be inspired to do their part to also better share their horological treasures with a broader audience.
Bookreview by Fortunat Mueller-Maerki, Sussex NJ - May 13, 2008
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Brief History of Horology in 5 small Volumes
By Eduard C. Saluz [Series Editor]
Published 2004 to 2007 by the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Furtwangen (Germany); saddlestapled, five separately published titles of 40 pages each, many color illustrations, (each volume published in three separate, concurrent editions in German, French and English), available from the DUM giftshop ( http://www.deutsches-uhrenmuseum.de/ ), approx. $7 per volume plus postage, or borrow from the Library & Research Center at the National Watch & Clock Museum.
Over the last five years the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum (German National Clock Museum) in Furtwangen has set new standards for publishing concise horological museum guides: In 2004, they reissued the classic text by Kahlert/Muehe “ A History of the Blackforest Clock” (ISBN 3-922673-11-2) in a compact format, on 40 pages, richly illustrated with examples from their collection. In 2005, the same format was used to present an overview of their recently expanded wristwatch exhibit under the title “A Brief History of the Wristwatch” (ISBN 3-922673-) by Katrin Hundorf, and in 2006 –under the title “Modern Times” (ISBN -922673-19-8) - a booklet by Johannes Graf, dealing with standard time, electrical horology and time-systems followed. In 2007 “A Brief History of Clock and Time” (ISBN -922673-23-6) by Carmen Haas, dealing with broader time and timekeeping issues in history and society, became the fourth in the series. The fifth and final volume, “A Brief History of the Pocket Watch” (ISBN 3-922673-25-2) by Eduard Saluz has just been released in May 2008, again in three different language versions- to complete the series.
The newest title follows the common scheme: Each of the five big themes of the series has been broken down into 18 episodes, with a double page spread dedicated to each of these “chapters”: The right left page always is one -or several- images, the right page has a small image, the image captions, and a short text of a few sentences. While this format may appear to be a concession to the current generation of readers raised on comic books it is unquestionably effective – and surprisingly captivating. By presenting 18 small, self contained episodes rather than a drawn out narrative, each booklet nevertheless tells the coherent history of its subject area. In the new pocket watch volume the “chapters” include such themes as: the first pocket watches, form watches, decimal time (during the French revolution), Breguet, American watches, the Proletarian (Roskopf) watch, to name just a few. Many timepieces are illustrated, mostly ones that can be seen in the permanent exhibit at the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. The booklets thus are also powerful souvenirs of a museum visit. This booklet, like its brethren in the series, does double duty as both a museum guide and an introductory text in its area for a budding collector.
This reviewer is not aware of any other recent horological publications, in any of the three languages covered, in any of the five subjects, that so skillfully address the information needs of the casual museum visitor, while also providing important and accurate facts of interest to a more inquisitive student of horology.
Admittedly, these are not scholarly treatises on their subjects, but they are thoughtful collections of important and accurate nuggets of horological information, presented in a manner that is accessible to a broad readership, but without succumbing to the temptation to dumb-down” the content in any way.
Taken together these series of five booklets form a significant addition to the horological literature, and this reviewer believes there could well be buyers for a combined edition of the five texts, creating a more substantial volume, maybe calling it “A Brief History of Horology”. The Deutsches Uhrenmuseum showed vision – and perseverance – in creating the series, and we can only hope that other leading horological museums around the world will be inspired to do their part to also better share their horological treasures with a broader audience.
Bookreview by Fortunat Mueller-Maerki, Sussex NJ - May 13, 2008
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
