The Legend of The Black Forest Cuckoo Clock

The beginnings of the Black Forest clock industry date back to the 17th century. The first Black Forest clock was made in 1640 at the Glashof, near Waldau which is now Germany.

However it was not until 1750 when the cuckoo clock was first designed and made. The idea to use the cuckoo's song originated from a yearning for springtime during the harsh Black Forest winter. Its inventor, Franz Anton Ketterer lived in the small village of Schonwald, near Triberg , in the depths of West Germany's Black Forest. Ketterer managed to reproduce the song by the clever use of bellows (originally Church organ bellows) producing two different notes.

Over the following years, the clock industry developed rapidly in the Black Forest. With their inventive genius, cleverness, and dexterity, the inhabitants of the region, who were usually farmers, employed the long winter months in making cuckoo clocks. They often used basswood for the clockmaker's ornate handcarved decorations because of its light, soft texture.

The cuckoo clocks made in winter in these snow-covered cottages, were sold in summer all over Europe. In 1808 already, there were 688 clockmakers and 582 clock peddler's in the districts of Triberg and Neustadt. Watch peddler's from the Black Forest, wearing their traditional smocks and carrying the clocks in large holders on their back, found a welcome as far away as London, Paris, Odessa, and Constantinople.

This ancient craft continued to develop, becoming soon a flourishing industry. The poorly lit “cabinets” on attic floors where watchmakers worked in the past have become light and well-equipped workshops where clock movements and cases are manufactured by up-to-date methods. But the woodcarvings are still handmade by skilled masters as they were 200 years ago. In fact, each Frankenmuth Clock Company Black Forest cuckoo clock decoration is handcarved in dry basswood, most from original models.

The Howard Miller Story

"Incomparable Workmanship. Unsurpassed quality. A quest for Perfection." It's what Howard C. Miller insisted on when he founded the company back in 1926, at the age of 21. Even then ,"Howard miller understood the need to create products that would be steeped in quality and value." He expected nothing less than the best. And it was only under those strict conditions that he allowed his name to grace every clock manufactured at there sprawling factuality in Zeeland ,Michigan."

"Howard miller was schooled in the fine art of clockmakingby his father, herman,in the black forest region of Germany. Howard developed into a visionary whose keen sense of innovation spawned a tradition of excellence that has been uncompromised thorough three generations."

"While the early years focused on the manufacturing of chiming wall and mantle clocks, Howard Miller also produced trend-setting avant garde clocks that stand today in collector's galleries. During WW2, Howard Miller joined forces with the Ford Motor Company to produce antiaircraft covers, In the 1960's,the company turned its attention to grandfather clocks. Eventually Earning the company title of "Worlds Largest Grandfather Clock Manufacturer."

"In 1989, Howard Miller began creating collectors cabinets with the same attention to detail and craftsmanship inherent in their clockmaking. Fashioned from glass and hardwoods, the cabinets are ideal for displaying heirlooms,plates,glassware and other collectibles."

Grandfather Clock Chimes

Westminster Chimes are arranged from Handel's Oratorio, "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth."Best known as the chimes of Big Ben, this four bell chime is the most widely used chime in a modern clock today.

Whittington Chimes were made famous by a person rather than ether location of St. Mary Le Bow in Cheapside, London. One day, the penniless boy Dick Whittington heard them as he ran away to escape his drudgery as an ill treated houseboy, chimes seemed to call him back to the promise of success. He then had turned back and persisted with what the homefront had offered him and later became Lord Mayor of London.

St. Michael Chimes are one of the few chimes with a history based in this country. Although the bells for the chime were cast in London, they were installed in St. Michael's Church in Charleston, SC, in 1764.During the revolutionary war the city was captured by the British and the bells returned to England. After the war, a London merchant returned the bells to Charleston. In 1823, cracks were discovered in the bells and they were again returned to England to be recast. During the Civil war, the bells were removed to Columbia for safe keeping , but were ruined in a fire set by Sherman's army. After the war the bells made a third trip to England for restoration, and were once again installed in the Charleston church steeple in 1867 where they remain to this day.

Ludwig Van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was first performed in Vienna in the year 1824. Beethoven, who was totally deaf since 1819, was not able to hear his own symphony or the applause that followed. The ninth was Beethoven's last major composition, and his use of vocal and instrumental music was revolutionary. A theme from the chorus of the forth movement was used by Henry Van Dyke in 1907 for his hymn "Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee." This new chime eight measures of this now famous hymn tune.

Ave Maria Chimes in 1825 Franz Schubert wrote seven songs based on the poem"The Lady of the Lake"by Sir Walter Scott. The poem is set in the woods of Scotland in the early 1500's, where Ellen Douglas lived in hiding. King James V had banished the entire Douglas Clan because Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, had imprisoned the child king during the early years of his reign. Ellen's song has become part of the standard repetoire for the sopranos under the title"Ave Maria." The song was Ellen's Prayer for the safety for herself and her father as they hid in the woods.