North Coast Imports, Inc.

Justin just contributed a great post on his new antique clock peddler figurine. I particularly like the porcelain dial on his piece, and the fact that the man is carrying extra pendulums. The clock peddler is a character that has all but disappeared from our lexicon of memories. Clock peddlers in the Black Forest used to carry their wares on a large backpack. After toiling the winter months away in a crowded workshop over his wares, a clock peddler greeted warmer months by wandering over the hills and through storybook forests hundreds of years ago, matching painted dials and interesting animated scenes to the customers' choice of mechanisms. This is a particularly unique example. The figurine above is a new hand-made piece that's still available. Housed inside the hand-carved body is a tiny mechanical mechanism with bellows and a multi-pitch whistle that plays a tune on demand. The mechanism is made by hand in Germany and is completely mechanical without any use of speak...

There are still a few master clockmakers in the USA. This fine piece with gravity escapement was made for the collector at Orchestrion Hall (mentioned in my last post ) by the Balzer Family Clockworks in Freeport, Maine. Take a look at their website... there is a dizzying display of one-of-a-kind restoration and craftsmanship.

We just recently added this early Black Forest clock to our collection . This is a Period piece made C. 1850. The peddler has become a symbol for the Black Forest and these clock have been made from 1850 up until present day (with major differences). Our peddler is made from tin on a fantastic burl wood base and stands 15" tall. The paint on the figure is original and untouched, with very minor loss. In his hands he holds a miniature functioning timepiece that is 3" tall. The clock works is a thick brass plate miniature clock work. This clock has its original "mock" weights... pendulums in hand and "mock" time piece on his back. The dial of the clock on his back lifts up to revel a compartment to hold the key... he even has its original miniature key. This is the second period peddler timepiece we have owned, we traded our last one off as it had too much repaint for our liking, and he was missing his clock on his back. This example was purchased by the pre...

A few days ago, my Twitter followers may be been slightly mystified by my Tweets about finding hidden treasures in Baltimore. I had the inestimable pleasure of seeing a private collection of clocks, mechanical musical instruments, old fans, lamps, and more... all very rare and very interesting. The tower clock collection was particularly impressive. The house was fitted with several tower clock dials on the outside. I've gone down that street many years and never looked up to notice them. There is even a dragon outside that strikes a bell with his tail. On the inside, there were some large tower clock movements (like the one pictured above) with slots cut in the floor below them so that the pendulum could swing in the room below. I did a reblog post a few weeks ago from a Steampunk site about old tower clock towers being converted into apartments - but those places didn't have clocks in them. There were several tower clocks, most with 3-legged gravity escapements . The wh...

Here's something I found. I don't quite understand how to read this clock, but it has something to do with the speed that grass grows. If you grow Wheat Grass you can even eat the clippings! Read more at the DesignCrave Blog . Based on the notion of the inherent benefits of growing grass, the Hour///Gras Living Wall Clock designed by J Yu puts a spin on the typical potted plant using a glass-and-stainless-steel-bodied clock to house your grass or other greenery. The hour and minute hand double as blades that cut the grass to a preset length. You can water through an opening on top. If you decide to grow wheat grass, you can eat the shavings that fall into a bin on the bottom of the clock. If not, you’ll have to clean up after your grass clock while cursing whatever relative purchased it for you. On the plus side, you can finally combine the two thrilling pasttimes of watching grass grow and fixating on the slowly-moving minute hand of your clock. Click Here for more interes...

Here's a great video of the moving platform escapement on a carriage clock - the same one used in our Sternreiter carriage clocks!

Here's something one of our bloggers found on the interwebs... "Black Forest automaton, cuckoo, trumpet player, cylinder music player, circa 1890. Each quarter the cuckoo sings the quarters, every hour the trumpet player tells the time and a melody is played. HxWxD 83x64x37.50 cm / circa 33x25x15 inches." Be sure to check out our castle-style cuckoos: