Restoration Finished! A Rare Emilian Wehrle Musical Shelf Flute Clock

We just finished the muscial restoration on this rare Black Forest Clock. This piece was made by Emilian Wehrle in Furtwangen C. 1880. To find a musical shelf clock by Emilian Wehrle of this size and quality is nearly impossible.
This example is an 8-day, three-train (Time, Strike, and Music) timepiece. This is the largest movement that Emilian Wehrle made. The music train is a two-tune, 9-pipe example.... on the hour the clock stikes the hour on a large gong... followed by a tune on the wood pipes.


The case is fantastic, and one of Wehrle's best... lots of live, full-relief animals... the two deer flank the trumpeter doors. When the music is playing, the large doors open and two 4" flute players step forward.



To see more rare Antique Black Forest Clocks you can check out our online museum at http://www.blackforestclocks.org/




Contact me if you have one like it!

Justin J. Miller

A Special Musical Clock by Emilian Wehrle

Fall is here, and as the weather cools we start to spend more time indoors. During the cold months we really pick up steam focusing on our collection of Black Forest clocks.Today as I was doing some "house keeping" dusting the collection... I thought of sharing this wonderful clock we have with you.

This fantastic clock has been in our care for many years.

Made C. 1874 this Singing Bird Clock (Singvogeluhr) by Emilian Wehrle of Furtwangen... is as impressive today as the day it was made.

The fully feathered bird is 6.5 inches from beak to tail. It is fully automated with movements in his beak, head, and tail.

Perched on the top of the clock on a carved vase of fruit and leaves, it is clearly visible and looks alive.

The carvings on this clock are all done in walnut, and the style of the case is very unique.

This clock utilizes a robust brass plate movement, with large double pumping bellow system mounted above the clock works (very similar to Wehrle's Trumpeter and Flute Clocks.)

The clock movement generates it own air pressure and by opening and closing a valve, air is moved through a large flute with a plunger. A cam wheel on the back operates the valve and the plunger to reproduce the sound of the song bird while controlling the bird and the Automation.

The beak runs in perfect sequence with the large song and boy does this bird look and sound alive!

This clock is featured in Emilian Wehrle's 1874 Catalog as No. 1 (see illustration). Originally, it cost of 180 Gold Marks in 1874. Just to put this into perspective, a very nice Beha cuckoo could be had for 25 marks.

Very few of these Singing Bird Clocks were made, even fewer survived. Making them almost impossible to locate today.

I am not aware of a museum worldwide that has a example of a Em. Wehrle Singing Bird Clock, although there are a few in private collections.

This unique clock was also published in the 2008 edition of Schwarzwalduhren, by Berthold Schaaf (The authoritative text on Black Forest Clocks, see sidebar for a list of other recommended reading and resources.)


Best,

Justin J. Miller

blackforestclocks.org

For more information on Singing Bird or Whistling Automata:

Article, Whistling Clock Peddler, Singing Birds in a Cage

...and here's a video of a modern "slide whistle" mechanism Justin describes above:

How it works: Looking inside an Emilian Wehrle Trumpeter Clock

Our friends at blackforestclocks.org have put together this unique look into an 8 horn trumpeter clock made by Emilian Wehrle C. 1880


Emilian Wehrle made some fantastic musical clocks in Furtwangen, Germany in the mid to late 19th C.

We hope you will enjoy this opportunity to take a peek into a seldom seen clock, and leave with a better appreciation of Black Forest Horology.

Just Done! Another Wehrle Trumpeter

We finally got the time to bring this Wehrle back to life. After a complete musical restoration it plays as it should.

This is the sixth musical Wehrle clock in our collection, and the second that plays the "William Tell" but with this case we have no complaints.

We have one last Wehrle musical clock that needs restoration, we hope to have it done in the next week and will post the finished results.

Here is a short 1 minute video of the clock playing.



related posts:
Wall Trumpeter
Shelf Flute Clock
"Penny in the Slot."
Rooster Clock

Another Beauty from our Friend Justin

Another Musical Clock by Emilian Wehrle

This heavily carved musical wall trumpeter clock was made by Emilian Wehrle C1880.

It was located in the United States last year (2008), and a deal was struck this summer to bring it out West :) The clock is large over 44" in height. The carving is done extremely well. The clock has 7 full relief live animals, the most we have seen on a Wehrle...because of that reason we had to add it to the collection.The case is in mint condition, with no missing carvings.
This clock will need a musical restoration, which we will tackle this winter.

Check out this clocks and others just like it in our collection.

"Put a Penny in the slot" Em. Wehrle & Cie

This muscial clock is one of the rarest in my collection. First I will describe the clock and its functions, then speak of its history. This special order Musical Flute Clock was made by Emilian Wehrle during the last quarter of the 19th C. The architectural case is a style # 28 in the 1898 Em. Wehrle and Co. Catalog. This case was available in both Oak or Walnut. This example was made in Walnut.

The dial is silvered with a brass high polish locking bezel with glass. The hands on this piece are fantastic silvered hands with cherubs spreading their wings. These hands are the identical hands Wehrle also used on the #33 “Scheffel-Uhr”… Wehrle most elaborate and expensive clock.

The Clock movement is a large robust brass movement that will run for 8 days on a single winding. The musical function of the clock is a two tune 8 pipe organ. As the organ plays the large double doors open...and a flute player steps forward. After the Organ is finished playing..the dors close, and large 6 tune music box is activated in the base… this musci box plays one of 6 airs, that change with every activation. The music box fills the whole base of this large flute clock.

A note worth mentioning, the model # 33 is the only other known Wehrle clock to have a music box. The #33 has a music box that only plays 4 airs and is smaller.

The last feature of this clock is Coin-Operation. On the top of the pediment is a brass plaque in a wood frame that reads “Put A Penny In The Slot Em. Wehrle & Cie.”

When a English Penny is deposited into the brass slot on the upper Right of the case.. The coin activates the organ where one of two tunes is played, followed by one of Six Airs on the music box.

After the music box is finished the Penny is deposited into a locking coin box, that is accessed with a key on the bottom Right of the case.

The side doors on this piece are also locking to keep people out of the mechanism.

This is the only known Wehrle in existence to have a coin operated feature, and it is 100% factory.

Now onto the history:

Camerer Kuss & Co (Later Camerer Cuss & Co.) Were one of the largest Retailers for Emilian Wehrle, Johann Baptist Beha and many other fine clock makers during the 19th C in the UK.

In each of the Camerer Cuss retail outlets, a different coin-operated clock was displayed on the counter. This Wehrle coin operated flute clock with music box was displayed in their Edinburgh, Scotland store.

Out of the three locations two of these clocks have been located. (Edinburgh & London)
The Glasgow clock is still missing…

The London retail outlet had a Beha #932 (Large gothic shelf cuckoo with Angelus striking and Monk automation, this clock also had a large music box in the base and of course coin operation.)

Beha records show this Beha was sold to Camerer and Cuss with coin operation in 1882 for 152 Gold Mark (98 for the clock, 52 for the musical movement and 2 for the coin-op mechanism) This was a very large price for a Beha. It should also be noted that although this clock looks like a #932 in everyway, Beha did not assign it this model # because it was not a normal production clock with the coin mechanism. Unfortunately the Wehrle records were either not recorded or preserved, so information on the price and details of the Kuss flute clock will remain unknown. What we do know is the clock was very expensive, and clearly a special made piece… and very well may be the only coin-operated Wehrle in ever produced.

It is quite amazing to think of the thousands of people who “Put A Penny In The Slot” while visiting the shop when these clocks were sold as new. We welcome comments on this clock, and are happy to be able to share this piece with you.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mark Singleton and Dr. Wilhelm Schneider for their assistance with these Coin-operated Cuss Clocks.

A Wehrle Timepiece: "Rare As Rooster's Teeth"

This next clock in the collection is a Emilian Wehrle Rooster clock. Also known as a "Hahnen-Uhr".
The Wehrle Rooster awakes on the hour, or on demand...with three loud distinct calls.

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!!!

While Emilian Wehrle was not the inventor of the Rooster clock... he was the first to perfect it. He invented an apparatus that mimics the call of the Rooster without the use of air or horns. Instead Wehrle used a serrated wheel that rides a small metal reed...

This friction at variable pressures and speeds creates a correct Rooster call. Emilian Wehrle was issued a patent in 1884 for his design (Apparat Fur Schallerzeugung #32141). Production started shortly after this date. Because of their high cost, and the loud and obnoxious call of the Rooster every hour they were never a success. By Emilian Wehrles death in 1896 very few were made, and even fewer have survived. The Rooster clock is one of the Rarest clocks ever produced by Wehrle...and are almost impossible to find today. We are honored to have one in our collection.
The example shown here is one of the nicest known. The only other example known in the States, is a small 30 hour wall clock, in a simple case.

This Rooster is a fancy cased shelf clock, with a matching bracket. This clock will run for 8 days. This clock was retailed by Camerer, Kuss & Co. in England, and has there lable on the back board.


Best,

Justin