# Who made this Vintage "German" Wall Clock? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262 "2021-02-18T22:55:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/1 "2021-02-18T22:55:04Z")
I purchased a supposed “German” 8-day pendulum wall clock from an antique store in 1980. I was told it was made around 1900, but there’s no manufacture date or clockmakers label on it. I’ve never seen another one like it except on the HBO series Deadwood in Al Swearengen’s office. Any idea who might have made it, and when? It runs great and keeps perfect time as long as I remember to wind it once a week. The link below should work. > **[Shutterfly Photos. Finally, the perfect solution for all your photos.](https://photos.shutterfly.com/story_invite/4bbf0b17-ea65-4ce5-ab7e-6118b9cfac1e?cid=SHARPICLI&_branch_match_id=1150744152604881656&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXz8nMy9YrzigtKUktSsup1EvOz9X3MM%2BJTC9yzopKSQIAFZWQlScAAAA%3D)** > > Shutterfly Photos helps you gather and organize your photos and videos so you can easily find, share and enjoy them anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/2 "2021-02-18T23:57:26Z")
I’m betting Gustav Becker or Friedrich Mauthe; google around for pendulum wall clock wooden case for either of those makers. You should be able to find a maker’s mark somewhere in the works but you might not be able to get to them in ordinary operation? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/3 "2021-02-19T04:05:49Z")
Thanks Kimstu. I looked through scores of pictures of clocks made by Becker and Mauthe, and while I didn’t find an exact match, I found some fairly close ones made by Becker. I then did a reverse Google image and it brought up lots of clocks being sold in Germany made by Becker. I was hoping to find an exact match since I thought this was a very common wall clock from the turn of the previous century. I plan to take it down and remove the works to see if I can find a name or marking somewhere that will confirm the maker. I guess not all makers put there name on the clock face like they do today. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/4 "2021-02-19T04:27:41Z")
Cool, let us know what you find! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/5 "2021-02-19T04:29:19Z")
The closing of the loop on the number “2”-is that uncommon? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/6 "2021-02-19T04:33:31Z")
Not so very, [here’s a Mauthe with a very similar clock face](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/724657396261945028/). ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/7 "2021-02-19T17:27:14Z")
And the works (and face) are often from a different person then the one who made the case. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/8 "2021-02-19T21:58:23Z")
Can I assume that the case maker is the one credited with manufacturing the clock and not the maker of the clockwork, assuming they are two different people? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/9 "2021-02-19T23:01:26Z")
I’m no expert, but AIUI it’s the clock mechanism that is the chief part of the clockmaker’s manufacture. The wooden clock case may be more of an artistic achievement, or more valuable as an antique, but the case is not the clock. A major clockmaker like Gustav Becker or Junghans would have lots of different people carving the cases and machining the works, but the “maker” of all the clocks would be the company as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/10 "2021-02-19T23:21:56Z")
That makes sense. It’s a lot harder to make the clock works than the wooden container it goes into. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/11 "2021-02-19T23:29:05Z")
Yup. Now could somebody kindly advise how to flush out my persistent earworm of the Mary Poppins Returns song “A Cover Is Not the Book” generated by my unwise choice of the phrase “the case is not the clock”? ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-made-this-vintage-german-wall-clock/933262/12 "2021-02-20T17:50:00Z")
Sing it. Out Loud. In public. Problem solved. 😁