Identify case and movement of long case clock

[philliplederer]

I wondered if anyone could help me with this task?

See photos that are attached.

Can anyone give me a lead on the probable origin and age of the case and movement of this long case clock?

Is this a marrage?

Many thanks!

Phil in Rochester NY

 

[JTD]

The writing on the back of your clock is in the old German handwriting alphabet, sometimes called Kurrent or Suetterlin. It is not very well written but as far as I can see it says:

Joseph Birkle, Uhrmacher in Temesberg.

which means Joseph Birkle, Clockmaker in Temesberg.

Temesberg is the German name of the town which is now in Romania and is called Timisoara in Romanian and Temesvar in Hungarian. At the time your clock was made the town was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and German (and Hungarian) were widely spoken. (The name of the town is really very sloppily written on your clock, and it could be something else. However, I think it is probably Temesberg).

As for the clock being a marriage, I think it was probably brought to USA as a Schilduhr and put into a long case there. Others may well be able to give you more details about this.

Hope this may help a little.
JTD

 

[laprade]

we do, well, at least, I do, need to see some good pictures of the case front.

The movement is a fairly basic Black Forest one, but the case could be very interesting.

laprade

 

[philliplederer]

Here is a better photo of the case of the clock. I have the following data on the case:

It’s 92”tall. The bonnet is 17 ¼” wide, and the base 16 ¼” at the widest point. It is 10 1/8 “ deep.

 

[laprade]

Phillip,

Picture's a bit on the small side, but from what I can see, it looks to be a well designed case from early 20th c.

It has nice proportions, and the "gothic mould" on the trunk sides is a nice touch.

Some of these movements often found their way into early cases, so it was best to check.

Some board people who have cataogues, and might be able to identify the case model and maker.

 

[philliplederer]

Here are some photos of the backside. Do you not think it looks older than early 20th century?

I should say that I do not have the clock in my possession. It belongs to a friend in Michigan.

I will try to get a better photo of the case and dial.

Thanks to all!

 

[laprade]

early 20th, isn't far off being 100 years!

Good pictures of the front wood work, will tell more.

Pine back boards soon start to show age, as they aren't coated against oxidation, dust etc.

 

[JTD]

Further to my message above about the inscription on your clock, a friend has kindly drawn my attention to an illustration in Schaaf's Schwarzwalduhren (2008) page 164 in which the same clockmaker's signature is shown, this time much more tidily written. It is the handwriting of Joseph Burkle (two dots on the u, which I cannot do on this machine). He signs himself in German

Joseph Burkle Uhrmacher in Lewisburg.

and in the illustration the name Lewisburg (=Lewisburgh, Pa.) is written clearly, albeit without the h.

So I was wrong about Temesberg. I had not thought of a town in Pennsylvania, but of course there were so many German speakers there at that time that he didn't need to worry about signing his clocks in German.

Sorry for the confusion and glad to set the matter straight.

JTD

 

[burkleancestor]

This was made by my great, great, great grandfather!!! I am teary getting to see it! He was a very late immigrant to the US from Germany...most German immigrants came to PA in the 1600s and by the 1800s people speaking German were really not common outside the Amish and Mennonite communities. He is my most recent immigrant to this country. He was born in 1801 and married a woman whose family was not German and had lived here for quite a while. His daughter had the last name Berkley, the Americanized form of Burkle (with an umlaut on the u). He was just a german...not one in a movement that came here to PA. And Lewisburg does not have an "h" at the end of it, by the way. LOVE SEEING THIS! My family doesn't have any of his clocks. He died in 1850.
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Definitely not older than early 20th century, based on when he was born.

 

[laprade]

burkleancestor, I think you mean early 19th c. if he died in 1850.

Since this thread was started, I have been able to brush up on these american cases, and other types as well. What threw me was the presence of the gesso dial BF movement, which I thought to be late. However Zepernick has cleared up a lot on this subject, and might be able to add some comments here. I don't think the original thread got his attention, but hopefully he and soaringjoy can enlighten us more.

I somehow doubt if the original poster is still keeping an eye on this, so we may never get any more good clear pictures of the case front. It looks to be from some sort of PDF file. My picture management skills have improved somewhat, since the thread started, so I'll have a go and see if I can get the image clearer.

 

[burkleancestor]

hahaha, yeah, 19th...I wrote that quite late at night
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Oh, also, his brother-in-law who was PA born and not German was a cabinet maker. He was very close with the family and his sister lived with him after Joseph died. It may be possible they were in business together. Joseph made the clock, William Longbay did the case.