Dan's Papers - July 13, 2007 - Crazy For Clocks

The first record of the existence of the cuckoo clock dates all the way back to 1629, supposedly owned by Prince Elector August von Sachsen. Today, the cuckoo clock is a quirky relic of an older decor, often associated with Eastern Europe or the mid-1900s American suburbs, where the clocks gained popularity. The cuckoo clock in its basic and rarely fussed with form includes a hanging pendulum that strikes the hour using small bells and whistles which resemble the sounds of the Common Cuckoo Bird, often striking a wire bell as well. The clocks are usually wooden and baroque, with birds or leaves carved into a geometrically interesting shape. Despite its waning popularity, everyone still recognizes a cuckoo clock. You may wonder why I'm writing an entire story on this dated piece of machinery that makes noises that most now consider annoying. But with the cuckoo clock, there is more than meets the ears.

The cuckoo clock is thought to be invented in the Black Forest - a wooded and snow-capped, mysterious mountain range in modern day southwestern Germany. According to myth, a bohemian and nomadic salesman spread the clocks in the 1700s, selling them to more prominent Germans who he met along his travels in the forest. The original clocks are said to have been adorned with a beautiful little bird that moved as it announced the hour with a sound said to imitate that of a church organ. However, many clock historians have given vehement oppositions to this tale - they claim that the clock existed as early as the 1600s in modern day Czech Republic.

Regardless, by the 19th century, German clock-peddlers had perfected and popularized the geometrically shaped frame and carried the clocks and pendulums on their backs, selling them by the dozen to Germans who were oddly eager for the exotic clocks. The design is credited to Friedrich Eisenlohr, a German architect, and it was titled "Baunhausle." At the 1850 competition at the Furtwangen Clock Maker School, Eisenlohr's Baunhausle won first place and gained critical acclaim. It was around this time that a slight spin on the clock came about and a German clockmaker added the three dimensional pop-out bird to the cuckoo clock. But ultimately, the Swiss perfected the clock with the "chalet" style design, which is the common look of today's cuckoo clocks.

Spreading from Eastern Europe to the United States in the 1900s, the cuckoo clock found a place for itself inside millions of American households. The authenticity of the clocks, the beauty of the birds and the novelty of the whistles, chimes and bells made the clocks an admirable staple in the well-decorated home. Eventually, of course, people got tired of the constant blaring noises on the hour every hour - hence, the cuckoo clock was more flash-in-the-pan when it comes to American popularity, but even today it is not quite obsolete. It's now considered sort of exotic - a favorite collector's item, which, in some ways, makes it kind of cool again. That is, if you can handle the blaring bells at 8 a.m.

I predict a comeback for the cuckoo clock. Unlike many mechanical clocks of today, the cuckoo has history. Additionally, the homage to the birds - the original alarm clocks - is a tribute to nature, acknowledging that the animals kept time before our clocks did. The noises may seem irksome, but a clock owner gets used to them. With the cuckoo clock, you can have a little piece of nature and a little piece of history, all the way from the Black Forests, hanging in your Hamptons home, right on the wall, keeping you up to date with the time every hour.