Lot 339

André Romain Guilmet

A remarkable "Pendule Industrial" lighthouse clock with 8 day-movement, half hour / hour strike and helical spring torsion pendulum

The lantern of the lighthouse holds the coiled spring, which is about 8 cm high and suspended from the top; the coil acts on the movement fork via a 5 cm strong brass tube. The thick, convex-shaped inner glazing revolves with the coil, thus creating a most interesting effect that enhances the impressive appearance of this fine clock.
André Romain (Philéas) Guilmet was a French inventor, best known for his mystery clocks in which a female holds her hand outstretched; pivoted on the hand is a clock pendulum which appears to have no impulse. He took out a number of patents between 1853 and 1887, some horological, others not. Some were in conjunction with other inventors, such as the bicycle chain (developed with Edouard Myer in 1868).
He also produced a series of clocks of an industrial nature between 1875 and the 1910s. This lighthouse is one, others include the steam hammer clock, beam engine automaton, mortar clocks.
A nearly identical lighthouse clock is illustrated and described in Derek Roberts, "Mystery, Novelty and Fantasy Clocks", Atglen 1999, p. 257.