Dutch Musical Clock

Every so often, a person stumbles upon the opportunity of a lifetime. It's often accompanied by risk and little time to respond. We choose and are either left hoping the reward was worth the risk or that it wasn't. This is a story of a spectacular clock forgotten for decades in extreme temperatures. And how one extraordinary lucky fellow found it. This is a Dutch musical clock. It was built in the 1800s. The case is beautifully carved walnut. Topping the clock are two angelic heralds and in the center, the atlas figure. And when you look at the dial, you see what looks like a clock hand in the wrong place. Folks, this is not a common clock. It is a Dutch musical long case that plays six different songs on 15 bells with 29 hammers. Yes, two hammers for most of the bells to play some beautiful melodies you'll get to hear in a little bit. At the top of the hour, the movement strikes a single large bell. At the bottom of the hour, it will strike a smaller bell. This clock also displays the calendar month, date, and day of the week. This is an incredible clock. It's 110 inches tall, 24 inches wide, 14 and a half inches deep. The dial is large too at 20 inches tall and 14 inches wide with a chapter ring of 12 inches. The strike weight is 28 pounds, time weight 22 pounds, and the music weight is a whopping 60 pounds. It's huge. The current owner who wishes to remain anonymous has had it for about four years. And it's come a long ways. He found it at an auction up north. The prior owner stored it in an attic for 30 years. This is not something you do with any clock, let alone one of this quality. Starting at the bottom, the paw feet had separated and needed glued back together. This clock was glued together with hide glue. It's an all natural glue made from animal hide. However, in extreme heat, like in an attic, the glue softens. The paw feet had separated into six pieces. A trim piece was also missing from the front and never found. Possibly fell off in that hot attic. The owner had to carefully replicate it and match the stain. The top also had to be reattached. A prior owner had pried off the top with the movement still attached. It was actually never supposed to come apart this way. It was glued on with six wooden dowels. And the movement itself comes out the front of the clock. There's no sliding hood. And it is heavy. The current owner painstakingly cleaned and renewed this clock to the condition you see it in now. Double-aught steel wool with cotton cleaner was used to remove dirt and a layer of shellac or varnish. And then two coats of shellac were applied. Folks, the pictures and video cannot do it justice. This clock is breathtaking. However, as good as this looks, it is not finished. There is a carved piece missing here. And what's interesting is when you compare the carved pieces, there is a left side and a right side. They're not the same. They are different depending on which side they are placed. The owner is going to replicate this piece here as well as do probably a few more things to the case of this clock. He's really done a great job. Now, the movement itself had a tooth missing from the second wheel on the music tray. The movement was sent off for a professional restoration and repair. Joe Lord did the repair work on this clock. And he has provided some terrific pictures of the process. Folks, I really hope you enjoyed seeing this spectacular clock. And I want to thank the owner for allowing me to do this video. It was definitely a privilege. And if you like videos about clocks, please hit the like button and subscribe. And thank you for watching.