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Here's a nice article about our friend Justin and his NEW BOOK! From the article: Collectors Weekly : Was Johann Baptist Beha a well-known clockmaker? Miller : Yes, he’s definitely the most prominent cuckoo clockmaker in the Black Forest, and his clocks are collected aggressively. His clocks are usually regarded as the pinnacle of cuckoo clock making, whether deservedly or not. If you look at Black Forest clocks as a whole, a lot of them were very cheaply done. They were made for middle- or lower middle-class customers, and most manufacturers were competing with each other, racing to have the lowest price. And how do you lower price? Well, you cut quality and you cut costs. One of Miller's most exotic clocks is a cuckoo with a three-train movement and a life-size bird perched on top, designed by Johann Baptist Beha around 1880. But Beha basically said, “We’re not going to race to the bottom. We’re going to make clocks of high quality for people who can afford them...

This clock is a special order Beha shelf cuckoo. It is one of two known to have be made, and the only example known. The painting is called “Auferstehung Christi” and shows the Resurrection of Christ and his ascent to heaven. This clock was sold on April 2nd, 1860 to a Dealer in Paris France. The clock was sold for 45 Gulden, which was a extremely high price for a clock at that time. This clock has the traditional Beha 8 day double fusee movement. The paper on the pipes is a Beha pattern that was very seldom used. It has also been documented in Rick Ortenburgers book, Black Forest Clocks on pg 36. This clock is not in my personal collection but is a family piece, that has been in our family for many years....and I wanted to share it on the Blog.

In the late 19th century, an argument can be made that the most prominent clock makers were located in the U.K. (for example, J. J. Elliott of London). It can also be stated with relative certainty that these prominent U.K. clock makers manufactured the most expensive clocks produced during this period placing the clocks beyond the financial reach of all but the most affluent. This focus of the U.K. clock makers on the top-tier of the domestic clock market created an opportunity for the Black Forest clock markers to manufacture clocks that could be exported to, and marketed in, the U.K. to address the market for quality, but yet more affordable clocks. Naturally, this would mean that the German clock makers would have to adapt their clocks to suit the English market in terms of both function and style. This would necessitate the German makers to produce clocks powered with eight day fusee movements as opposed to the weight powered or 30-hour or 50-hour movements typically produced ...

The case style of this Beha is done in a very traditional “Postman’s Alarm” style. But clearly it is not your normal Black Forest Clock. A life size 12” cuckoo bird is perched on top of a oak branch that extends out of the top of the dial. This cuckoo is fully automated on the Full and ½ hours. This cuckoo strikes on a large grapefruit size bronze bell with a silvered hammer, a very unique touch to the cuckoo call that sounds more like a English tall case strike than anything out of the Black Forest. The highly polished pendulum, has alternating steel and brass rods, giving it a look of a compensation pendulum used on fine precision pieces. The movement in this clock is a large wood plate cuckoo movement, two train. The strike and the cuckoo are on the same train like most cuckoo clocks. (see an earlier post for our other “Maxi” Beha cuckoo with a unique striking system). Obviously this movement does not have the cuckoo perch mechanics as a cuckoo os not pushed out of a door… but has a...

This Beha cuckoo was made C. 1870 in Eisenbach, Schwarzwald. The typical wood plate 8 day double fusee movement is housed in a beautiful round top elongated walnut case. The case is intricately done with fruit wood inlays of oak leaves and acorns both on the base and well at the top. The cuckoo door is also inlaid with flowers and leaves. What makes this Beha special is the full oil painting on zinc or tin. While Beha frequently used paintings on his cuckoo clocks, this was rarely done on the shelf or table examples. These Beha shelf clocks with large oil paintings are prized by collectors worldwide. The painting on the clock is well done. It shows a mother and child on the ground...quietly looking up into the tree at the cuckoo up in the branches. The mother pointing to the cuckoo. This painting was painted by the well known Black Forest painter Carl Heine, of Neustadt (1842-1882). Carl Heine's work almost always includes the tree with the bending trunk, and cuckoo up in the branc...

The conventional reading of a title "Another Beha Cuckoo Clock" would be that the adjective "Another" would modify the phrase " Beha Cuckoo Clock" with the implication that the topic of the post would be discussion of a Beha cuckoo clock created either personally by Johann Baptist Beha or, in later years, in collaboration with his sons Lorenz and Engelbert. In the case of this particular post, however, the topic is a bit more unique and thus the "'Another Beha ' Cuckoo Clock" title. Approximately a year ago I acquired a " Beha " cuckoo clock that became the topic of some debate amongst experienced Black Forest clock collectors as it's wooden plate movement, movement access door knobs/latches and maker's mark did not fully conform to the characteristics typical of a Johann Baptist Beha clock. In fact, the middle initial of Johann Beha maker referenced on the maker's mark on this clock did not appear to ...

In a previous post we spoke about curious innovations made by Johann Baptist Beha , which never made it "main stream"...resulting in unique and unusual clocks left for us today. This next post I would like to share a clock, and an innovation that did make it main stream. This piece is a very early, and special shelf clock with automation made by Johann Baptist Beha in 1849. First off we would like to thank Dr. Wilhelm Schneider of Germany for his assistance in researching this piece. Dr. Schneider ,besides being the authority on the Beha factory… is also a accomplished author and a good friend. This early Beha was made in late 1849, and sold January 1850 to Mr. Spiengelhalder a dealer from Neukirch for 19 Gulden along with one other identical piece. This is the only know surviving piece of the two. The Spiengelhalder family operated a retail store out of London during that time. (As a side note worth mentioning...Johann Baptist set up his shop in Eisenbach in 1845, thi...

Probably not, but he would have probably been pretty good at clock restoration because oftentimes, restoring an antique clock in a historically correct manner not only requires a mandatory high level of technical skills and knowledge but also the intellectual curiosity, deductive reasoning and persistent "detective" work to understand, and faithfully recreate, the original clockmaker's design given the typical situation of incomplete information and more than a few missing parts. Recently, I had the opportunity to acquire a rare, and very early ( ca. 1876), Johann Baptist Beha Number 932 cuckoo and monk clock. This clock is rather unusual for a Beha clock in that it not only has time, strike and cuckoo complications but also an animation complication in which a monk comes out of the lower door three times a day to ring the Angelus (the monk's arm goes up and down while clock's two gongs are struck to simulate the ringing of a bell in the church's steeple). ...

John in a previous post gave us a wonderful introduction to the Beha factory. He spoke of the quality of the clocks Beha made...despite the pressure to compete in a price driven market. Johann Baptist was also a pioneer in Black Forest Horology, and was responsible for many of the modern improvements used in cuckoo clocks for years to come. Some of these improvements never took flight or became mainstream... and has left us with clocks that are unique or different. This philosophy for improvement was also passed on to his Sons,who would later run the factory. Because of this philosoph, we can find Beha clocks with unique characteristics from the Early years to the turn of the century. I would like to share a special piece out of my collection, that echoes many of these things. This piece is a very special Beha cuckoo, and one of only a small handful known like it worldwide. The quality and detail of the carving on this piece is nothing but the best, typical of Beha factory. The vin...

The Beha hotel... While you are planning your travels to Cuckoo Country, consider this... Books on automata, and an automata blog... ...and here are some more book selections to check out, consider it your North Coast Imports' Book Club reading list: The Turk by Tom Standage Black Forest Clockmaker and the Cuckoo Clock by Karl Kochmann Black Forest Clocks by Rick Ortenburger The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick Connections by James Burke

Perhaps the most celebrated of the Black Forest cuckoo clock makers in the mid- to late-nineteenth century was Johann Baptist Beha of Eisenbach, Germany. The life and many horological accomplishments of Beha have been diligently researched and very professionally documented (see, for example, the excellent articles authored by Dr. Wilhelm Schneider and Monika Schneider in the NAWCC Bulletin , April 1988, pages 116-132 and Dr. Wilhelm Schneider in Antiquarian Horology , Autumn 1988, pages 455-462). Thus, the objective of this post is not to recount factual information that is readily available elsewhere. Rather, the purpose of this post is to try to convey what makes these clocks special to me 150 years after they were made in a small factory located within a town in the Black Forest (which was so tiny that the Beha label sometimes affixed to the clock would not only include city of manufacture (Eisenbach) but the larger neighboring city of Neustadt as a reference locality!). In my ex...

Hello everyone, Dolf and I have been sharing our mutual passion for Black Forest clocks over the last year and when Dolf recently invited me to join North Coast Import's blog I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet new collectors and share information and enthusiasm for these wonderful clocks. My wife and I have for many years shared an interest in clocks and antique folk wood carvings. These interests have naturally evolved into an interest in the intersection of these hobbies-carved antique clocks. And of course once we were hooked on carved wooden clocks the temptation to start collecting finely carved Black Forest clocks was much too tempting to resist! Because the scope and variety of Black Forest clocks available is very broad and diversified, we quickly found ourselves trying to restrict our active collecting of these clocks to a manageable scope. Based upon our natural gravitation toward fine wood carvings and some initial research and discussion with experien...

We at North Coast Imports and GermanClocks.org are very pleased to welcome a new member to our blogging community.  John is an expert on antique Black Forest clocks and has a wealth of information to share. He also has a beautiful collection of rare and unusual timepieces. Remember, these antiques are very rare and not for sale... but North Coast Imports is pleased to offer a line of new clocks built in this grand tradition of craftsmanship.  Just take a look at this modern Black Forest clock that preserves the Black Forest tradition of incredible carving:   Ask your favorite clock dealer, or send us an email, to find out  about North Coast Imports and our wonderful timepieces.