German Black Forest. Carved calendar wall clock. 213165.

This carved oak wall calendar clock was most likely made in the Black Forest region of Germany circa 1890. 

The case is in excellent condition. Turned wooden finials, nicely shaped moldings, carved florals, and ornately carved winged griffins decorate the case. The dial is also decorated with carvings. The numerals, Roman style, and the hour and minute hands appear to be bone. 

The German-made brass constructed movement is a work of art and a marvel of functionality. It is a time-and-strike design, capable of running eight days on a full wind. It strikes the hour on a wire gong mounted inside the case behind the movement. The solid brass plates support steel pinions and brass gearing, ensuring excellent timekeeping. The calendar mechanism, an ingenious design, displays the day of the week, the month, and the day of the month in three separate windows. The day and month are printed in German on large paper-covered wooden rolls. The day of the month is printed on silk tape, which is attached to a drum. This displays change around midnight, and this mechanism compensates automatically for the variation in the lengths of months and leap year. It also rewinds itself automatically at the end of each month. These movements are historical artifacts and functional timepieces, a living testament to the mechanical genius of the 19th-century Black Forest clockmakers. 

This clock has the following approximate dimensions. The case is 36 inches long, 17 inches wide, and 7.25 inches deep.

Inventory number 213165.