North Coast Imports, Inc.

Here's a really interesting piece, again from Dug North's inestimable blog . The monkey is shaving!  It's really a complicated movement, similar to a Black Forest dumpling eater ( or rat eater ) but more colorful.  I wish there were pictures of the clock too!

With the help of a good friend, we were able to track down a clock that has been on our want list for many years. Christmas has came early to our private museum Sorry Santa! This clock had been in the same collection in the UK for over 50 years, until making its way to Black Forest USA. This Black Forest Automaton is one of the hardest of all the complex BF automa clocks to find, with only a small handful in existance. He was made C.1870 in Schwarzwald, it was made for the English market. This post will focus on our conservation efforts to bring him back to its original beauty. When he arrived to us, he came with nearly 140 years of grime, wax and smoke build up. The figure was very dark, much of the original color seemed to be lost. We brought him to a renound art conservator, who very carfuly cleaned years of grime from the figure. The original finish was in fantastic condition, we opted to do NO TOUCH UP, but to leave him 100% original. After the cleaning was done, a new clear va...

There is a long tradition of Beer Drinking automata in the Black Forest clock world. Certainly, there is some cultural significance to beer in Southern Germany. It may come as no surprise that beer is featured heavily in art and crafts from that region. I recently found this great automaton on YouTube. This one is interesting because it actually features a tube and pump of liquid being poured and swallowed by the mechanical figure. There are also several new clocks, available today that feature a drinking figure, both in cuckoo clocks , and large mechanical figurines . Stay tuned for a forthcoming post from Justin and his new prize: an Antique Black Forest King Beer Drinking Automaton. Related Posts: Automata , Beer Drinkers and Dumpling Eaters

I thought I would do a quick follow-up post on the delicious Rat Eater owned by our friend and collector J. Miller.  This information and material is copied from the previously-mentioned discussion at the NAWCC forums ... Apparantly it was quite common, during time of war, for soldiers and citizens to be driven to eating rats - especially during sieges.  There are some accounts (during the Franco-Prussian war) of rat-sellers and one American journalist even writes about the best rat recepits and the comparisons between dog, cat, and rat meat. Here is a painting by  of a "Rat Seller"(c.1870) Here is an account from 1871 by an American journalist, shut in in Paris during the Franco-Prussian war ...and another account of eating rats in Metz c. 1814

We are always happy to hear from our friend J. Miller. He's got quite a collection of rare and unusual antique Black Forest Clocks. He most recently acquired an exteremly rare piece from the 19th Century, and there is only ONE of these known to exist in the world. This "Rat-Eater" is a very rare example of a set of German automata known as "Dumpling Eaters." For whatever reason, the clockmaker here decided to make the figure eat rats instead of dumplings or sausages. (see more pictures on our Flickr photostream here ) There is also a very fascinating discussion about the clock here . Apparantly there are several interesting accounts of eating rats during wartime. The rat eater isn't a clock you can run out and buy, but North Coast Imports is pleased to offer automata that eat dumplings and drink beer. Rombach und Haas has the only original Black Forest clock that eats dumplings or drink sips of beer, counting the hour and half hour.

Here are a few words on unpacking your new Black Forest clock. The pictures below are of a Rombach und Haas "Dumpling Eater," but the instructions can also be applied to unpacking almost any Black Forest clock - including Cuckoo Clocks! North Coast Imports, Inc. is proud to use recycled and/or renewable materials in packaging. Enjoy the old-world charm as you unpack your new clock. These cherished pieces are lovingly packed by the careful clock makers in the Black Forest in Germany. After carefully cutting the tape and opening the top of the box (find the top by paying attention to which way the lettering is facing on the ends of the box) lift the cardboard flap to reveal your exciting new timepiece. Using two hands, carefully lift the top of the clock out first and sliding the clock upward and out of the cardboard surrounding the bottom of the clock. The Dumpling Eater figure may have a plastic bag rubber-banded around. Carefully remove the rubber band and bag being carefu...