93rd Auction
2016/5/14
Lot 543
Theodor Knoblich, Altona, Movement No. 1849, Height 1350 mm, circa 1890
A fine precision regulator with zinc/steel-compensation pendulum
Case: mahogany, removeable. Dial: silvered. Movm.: brass plate movement, Graham escapement with adjustable jewelled pallets.
An unostentatious but beautiful precision pendulum clock in perfect condition, by Theodor Knoblich; clocks like this one were commonly used in most observatories. The clock does, however, need to be cleaned and lubricated.
Theodor Knoblich was born on November 28, 1827 in Friedland in Silesia. Even when he was still a child, he began supporting his parents by making pins and repairing musical instruments. Later Knoblich worked with Moritz Krille in Altona; he went on to become head-workman with Schneider in Hamburg and eventually took over Krille’s business in 1863. The company now traded as "Theodor Knoblich, Krilles Nachfolger". Knoblich produced many timekeepers with stop watch function and marine chronometers and delivered chronographs and electric clocks to national and international observatories. He kept in close contact with the observatory in Kiel (which had been moved there from Altona) and used this connection to improve his knowledge of scientific instruments. He built an electric escapement similar to that by Tiede for the Repsold Equatorial and from 1871 on he produced pendulum clocks with and without barometric compensation for observatories like Hamburg and Strasbourg. In 1877 Knoblich moved his business to Hamburg and worked with Ferdinand Dencker on the production of chronometers – this cooperation only lasted a short while, however. Knoblich received awards in Stettin in 1865, in Altona in 1869 and in Vienna in 1873. He produced fine clocks, pendulum clocks and chronometers, for which he usually created the balances and escapements himself; he only had the mainsprings for his chronometers delivered from England. In 1891 Knoblich sold his company due to health reasons and retired. He died on July 1, 1892.
Source: https://watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Knoblich,_Theodor, as of 02/09/2016
A fine precision regulator with zinc/steel-compensation pendulum
Case: mahogany, removeable. Dial: silvered. Movm.: brass plate movement, Graham escapement with adjustable jewelled pallets.
An unostentatious but beautiful precision pendulum clock in perfect condition, by Theodor Knoblich; clocks like this one were commonly used in most observatories. The clock does, however, need to be cleaned and lubricated.
Theodor Knoblich was born on November 28, 1827 in Friedland in Silesia. Even when he was still a child, he began supporting his parents by making pins and repairing musical instruments. Later Knoblich worked with Moritz Krille in Altona; he went on to become head-workman with Schneider in Hamburg and eventually took over Krille’s business in 1863. The company now traded as "Theodor Knoblich, Krilles Nachfolger". Knoblich produced many timekeepers with stop watch function and marine chronometers and delivered chronographs and electric clocks to national and international observatories. He kept in close contact with the observatory in Kiel (which had been moved there from Altona) and used this connection to improve his knowledge of scientific instruments. He built an electric escapement similar to that by Tiede for the Repsold Equatorial and from 1871 on he produced pendulum clocks with and without barometric compensation for observatories like Hamburg and Strasbourg. In 1877 Knoblich moved his business to Hamburg and worked with Ferdinand Dencker on the production of chronometers – this cooperation only lasted a short while, however. Knoblich received awards in Stettin in 1865, in Altona in 1869 and in Vienna in 1873. He produced fine clocks, pendulum clocks and chronometers, for which he usually created the balances and escapements himself; he only had the mainsprings for his chronometers delivered from England. In 1891 Knoblich sold his company due to health reasons and retired. He died on July 1, 1892.
Source: https://watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Knoblich,_Theodor, as of 02/09/2016
Sold
estimated
19.000—29.000 €
Price realized
22.400 €