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The History of Cuckoo Clocks
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 The
history of cuckoo clocks is very rich. Few clocks are as beloved
as the cuckoo clock. Even as clock technology as changed and improved,
people still can not get enough of the ever-popular cuckoo clocks.
The history of cuckoo clocks began in the Black Forest area of
Germany. Nobody is sure of the exact date the first cuckoo clock
was made, but it was around the late 1730s. The invention of the
cuckoo clock is generally attributed to Franz Anton Ketterer. It
was Ketterer who designed the system of small bellow and whistles
that give the cuckoo clock its unique imitation of a cuckoo’s
call.
The very first cuckoo clocks were made entirely of wood, including
the internal gears and plates. Also, it was only after a few refinements
of the design that the cuckoo clock began to have its familiar birdhouse
or chalet shape. Also, as time went on, cuckoo clocks became more
ornate. The bird that comes out ever hour and half hour earned animated
beaks and wings and some even received feathers. The wooden cases
were decorated with animals like dear and also carved leaves. The
inner workings of the clocks were also improved with metal gears
and metal plates.
Early cuckoo clocks were all handmade, even the inner timing mechanisms
and the ornate decorations. Farmers of the Black Forest would spend
the long winter months making cuckoo clocks which they could then
sell during the warmer months.
Of course, the world became industrialized in the later 1800’s,
and so did the history of cuckoo clocks. No longer were all cuckoo
clocks completely handmade. Now cuckoo clocks were made in manufacturing
houses, although they were still made in homes and barns. With factories
making cuckoo clocks, more and more people had access to them and
they became more and more popular. Now people all over the world
have heard of cuckoo clocks and many people own them, as well.
More recently, fake quartz battery-powered cuckoo clocks have been
introduced - these cuckoo clocks do not have the genuine cuckoo
bellows and whistles. They make the cuckoo’s call electronically.
Alas, this is the history of the cuckoo clocks, for better or for
worse.
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