19c Gustav Becker Vienna Wall Clock

Description

PRESENTING A GORGEOUS 19C Gustav Becker Vienna Wall Clock.

Made by the famous clockmaker, Gustav Becker circa 1880 in Germany. … more PRESENTING A GORGEOUS 19C Gustav Becker Vienna Wall Clock.

Made by the famous clockmaker, Gustav Becker circa 1880 in Germany.

The Clock, is in good original and untouched condition.

The removeable pelmet has an eagle on top which is marked on the rear as being made by Gustav Steinert of Freiburg SCHL (Germany) as is marked ‘No 288’ Geschulzt.

From our research Gustav Steinert was a supplier of Clock moldings and carved adornments established in Germany in 1877.

Beneath the eagle is a pelmet/crown with central rosette and turned finials with a pair of turned acorn finials on either side.

The clock case has a large glassed door that opens sideways. It has a pair of turned and fluted side columns again with a rosette in the center.

The clock face is porcelain, encased in brass with roman numerals and hand painted red fleur de lis. It contains an inner dial for the second hand movement.

The clock face is properly marked for Gustav Becker having the “GB” under crown and anchor symbol.

It has 2 winding holes (with original keys) for time and chime/strike.

The clock does not have a chime but sounds off or strikes on the hour and half hour.

It has its original brass pendulum and porcelain insert at the bottom to indicate the movement of the pendulum.

It has its original lead (brass encased) weights.

There are 2 serial numbers on the rear of the clock movement (see attached pics).

The Clock also has 2 stamps/seals. The stamps/seals confirm: (1) the maker – “Gustav Becker” with, Anchor with crown and initials “GB”, “Freiburg In Seal” and (2) “Medaille D’Or with Celtic Cross symbol.

The 2 numbers are “P64/722836.

Each lead (encased in brass) weight is just over 3 lbs/1.4 Kg.

The clock appears to have all it’s working parts, but needs a professional servicing and we would also suggest professional installation, to have it fully working and operational. This will not be expensive and any time a clock like this is moved or shipped it always requires this.

Gustav Eduard Becker (May 2, 1819 in Oels, Silesia – September 17, 1885 in Berchtesgaden) was a German clockmaker and founder of the brand Gustav Becker.

Becker learned clockmaking in Silesia and enriched his skills by learning from many masters around Germany which, during that era, was the most important country in the clock industry. His great skills gave him the ability to fix clocks at the most intricate level. During his time in Vienna, he decided to start his own clock factory.

Becker came back to Silesia in 1845, and got married. In 1847, he settled in Freiburg, Lower Silesia (now Swiebodzice, Poland), and that April he opened a small clock shop with a few employees to whom he taught clockmaking. First, he created clocks in the Viennese model, and thanks to his success, in 1850 he moved his business to a better business centre.

His breakthrough came in 1852 at the Silesian Clock Fair. Crowds were drawn to his works because of the quality, and he was awarded the gold medal for the best clock in the fair. In 1854 he received large orders from the British Royal Mail, and the Silesian Telegraphy Centre. After the orders, he received a fortune from the Duke of Martibore, and with this money he could pay enough to make clock cases for train stations. In the 1860s, he began to create the Classical Gustav Becker clocks. Starting from fairly simple clocks, the clocks became complex and very ornamental, and sales rose to a peak in 1875, with over 300,000 clock orders. He won at clock fairs in London, Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, Berlin and Amsterdam.

During the 1880s, the Black Forest clockmakers began competing with Becker, with good quality, less-expensive models. A well-known type of Black Forest clock is the Cuckoo clock. With the decline of sales, Becker stopped selling complex clocks, and returned to making more simple designs.

Gustav Becker died on 14 September 1885 in Berchtesgaden during a stay in Bavaria. He was buried three days later in a municipal cemetery in Freiburg (now Swiebodzice) to much public mourning. less