Rare Books and Collectibles

Antique Alarm Clocks

Alarm clocks are ancient devices, their history stretching back to ancient Greece. Plato (428 - 348 BC) was said to own a water clock with an alarm signal similar to the sound of a water organ. Ctesibius (285 - 222BC) fitted elaborate alarm systems to his water clock would sound at pre-set times, including pebbles dropping on a gong and trumpets blowing.

Mechanical alarm clocks that could be set by users data back to at least 15th century Europe, although they were developed in other regions as well, including the Ottoman Empire. Traditionally, alarm clocks would have one or two bells that ring when the designated time was reached. Early clocks would be displayed in public to notify residents of the time, with chimes sounding every hour. Household alarm clocks became popular in the early 1600s. These early clocks are still in existence today and highly sought after as very rare and valuable items.

Old Atmos Clocks

Cornelis Drebbel invented the first atmospheric powered clock in the early seventeenth century. Increases in atmospheric pressure and temperature causes the ethyl chloride hermetically sealed in a capsule to expand, compressing a spiral spring. Decreases in pressure and temperature allows the gas to condense and the spring to slacken. These changes create motion that constantly winds the mainspring, meaning it can be powered for long periods of time without being wound by human intervention.

Atmospheric clocks continued to be experimented with during the Enlightenment. The Beverly Clock, developed in 1864, is still running today!  These antique clocks are highly sought after as limited numbers were produced, making them quite rare. Drebbel  built only around 18 clocks, one being for King James VI of Britain and another for Rudolf II of Bohemia. Then there is the fact that these unusual clocks do not need to be wound and so can run for years.

History of Clocks

The earliest type of ‘clock’ or timepiece was the sundial. Devised around 3500 BC, it was reasonably accurate although it required sunlight to operate. The sundial uses a centred stick to cast shadows on a circular disk as the Earth turned on its axis.

Other ancient devices used to estimate the passing of time included candle clocks and hourglasses. However the waterclock was a more accurate timepiece, calibrated using a sundial, used since around the 16th century. The main advantage being it could be used after dark or in cloudy or rainy conditions. Various mechanical clocks were developed throughout the middle ages, with spring-driven clocks invented in the 1400s.

Antique Clock Collections

Antique clocks are one of the most popular collectible items of this era. Old clocks are much more elaborate and intricate than today’s technological timepieces since the art of clock making took skill and were handcrafted. Collectible antique clocks come in a wide range of styles and types, from the big grandfather clocks to highly decorative mantel clocks, rectangular bracket clocks, the traveller’s carriage clock, remarkable cuckoo clocks, banjo clocks, promotional advertising clocks, mission clocks of the 1900s, anniversary clocks, unusual art deco and retro clocks, and many, many more.

The longcase clock is the best known of all antique clocks, also called grandfather, grandmother and granddaughter clocks depending on their size. They are tall (6 - 8 ft), freestanding, elegant clocks that were usually passed down from generation to generation as treasured heirlooms. They are well known for their swinging pendulums and hourly chimes. Typically crafted of various woods (walnut, oak, mahogany, etc), they mostly run for 30 hours or 8 days before needing to be rewound. The intricate inlays and unique lacquering, the beautiful chimes, the sentimental value as an heirloom, and its remarkable size are some of many reasons for the value placed on the grandfather clock, making it a sought after collectible item.

History of Newspapers

The first forerunners of newspapers were produced in Renaissance Europe with privately circulated newsletters that passed along information to merchants concerning politics, economics, and ‘human interest’ features. In the late 1400s Germany produced the first printed news pamphlets or broadsides, usually with highly sensationalised content. The first successfully published news pamphlets in the English-speaking world was The Weekly Newes in 1622. The first of these pamphlets were actually only produced when a significant event occurred.

The 1640s and 1650s produced a variety of news reports in a newsbook format, leading up to the first true newspaper in 1666 - the London Gazette. This was the only officially sanctioned newspaper for almost a generation, although there were many periodical titles in print by the end of the century.

Today newspapers publish a wide variety of material from news to politics, economics and business, sport, art and entertainment, opinion articles and letters, advertising, weather forecast, classified ads, reviews, comics and puzzles. There are also many different types of newspapers, from those geographically defined (such as The Australian) to those targeted at a specific audience, whether business or sports or a specific language.

Newspaper Collections

Newspapers are collected for many different reasons. Some people collect newspapers that were printed on the day of their child’s birth to give to them on the day they become adults. It is a nostalgic practice that shows the son or daughter what was going on in the world on the day they were born.

Another form of newspaper collecting is when a newspaper is kept for it report on a very significant event, whether a huge earthquake, a royal wedding or a stock market crash. By collecting newspapers reporting events of significant historical impact, collectors are essentially compiling a record of history as it happens. As an anonymous author wrote: “Journalists write the first draft of history”. A significant collector of newspapers are libraries, where every issue of the region’s main newspapers is collected and often stored on microfilm for historical and research purposes.