Collecting The clock that gives the gift of time is one of the most popular of all collector's items. The sundial, man's earliest timepiece, seems to have been first made by the Chaldean astronomer, Berosus, about 300 B.C., although there is some uncertain evidence that the Egyptians employed them as early as 1500 B.C. The sundial was followed by the clepsydra, or water clock, which measured time by the flow of water through a small aperture. Water was soon discarded for sand, and the product was the early ancestor of the hourglass that some people still use today to time boiling eggs.

The first instrument that even vaguely resembles our contemporary clocks was invented by Christian Huygens (a Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and physicist) in 1656. There were earlier mechanical clocks, but Huygens' was the first that employed a pendulum.

When the first settlers came to North America, they brought European clocks with them. By the early 1700's, however, there were a number of clockmakers operating in the colonies. The works of these early clocks were usually made of brass or wood.

As in any other hobby, the type and size of the clocks you want to collect must be governed by the space you have available for displaying them. A couple of grandfather clocks can create havoc in a small room. Some collectors prize any type of clock as long as it is old. Other collectors are far more exacting in their choosing.




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March 11, 2010