What are Gingerbread Clocks?
Being on time was important to the Victorians. As more people were working outside the home, they had to keep more precise schedules. To be on time, people needed a way to tell the time. And with an increase in the availability of affordable, factory-made clocks, timepieces found their way into just about every home.
“Gingerbread Clocks” were decorated with intricately carved wood that resembled a gingerbread-style house. It might seem like these clocks would have been costly treasures, but inventions like the scroll saw in the 1880s meant that these clocks could be easily and cheaply made. These clocks are also called “Kitchen Clocks” because having a well-managed household started in the kitchen.
Tasty Trim
The wooden decoration along the roof line of Akeley Hall (seen in this photograph) is called “Gingerbread” because it looks like a gingerbread house.
Gingerbread Clocks used similar carved designs to imitate this style of architecture.
Akeley Hall
c. 1920
Photograph
99.94.1
What Makes
a Clock a Clock?
The word “clock” comes from the French word for bell, “cloche.” That means, a true clock not only displays the time, it also chimes on the hour.
A clock that only gives the time is called a “timepiece.”
Clock
Waterbury Clock Company, Connecticut
C. 1883
Walnut
H 23" x W 14.75"
“This clock, along with most others in my collection also has an alarm feature. The alarm is set by turning the small brass wheel-shaped dial in the center of the face.
The times are in Roman numerals, and to set the alarm, you turn the ‘wheel’ so that the time you want to awaken is lined up with the hour hand. Then, you wind the alarm inside the case, located toward the bottom of the clock.”
"All these have 'faux front' tops adding height to the clock.
This was popular in commercial buildings during the last quarter of the 19th century, as seen on the front of the Akeley Building as well as others in downtown Grand Haven."
"It has been refinished because I'm the one who refinished it! I bought this many years ago when I was in college, and it was painted light blue."
Clock
Ingraham Clock Company, Bristol, Connecticut
C. 1880
Walnut
H 24" x W 15.5"
"The case has two unusual added features seldom seen on clocks: A thermometer (toward the top of the case), and a level (in the base)."
Who Decides
the Time?
Did you know that time wasn't standardized in the United States until 1883? Before that, people might set their clocks by referencing a sundial.
Who was it that got everyone on the same schedule? Train companies, of course! They wanted to make sure the trains ran on time.
"It's one of the most ornate clocks I've seen"
Clock
Ingraham Clock Company, Bristol, Connecticut
C. 1880
H 24" x W 16"
"What sets this walnut clock apart from the others is that this is designed to hang on the wall, instead of the more common style case intended to be set on a shelf, piano, or another surface"
Why an 8-Day
Clock?
Mechanical clocks like these had to be wound regularly to continue working. Some clocks had to be wound every day.
But 8-day clocks like these became popular because they only had to be wound once a week.
Why 8 days when there are 7 days in a week? Clockmakers gave people an extra day in case they forgot to wind the time.
Clock
Seth Thomas Clock Company, Thomaston, CT
C. 1880
H 26.5" x W 15"
"It's referred to as a 'Mirror Side' clock, and this style was made by several American clock companies. This features the mirrored sides set at angles to reflect the cast metal cherub figures. In the top pediment is a cast metal figurehead of "Columbia" referring to Columbus ("Columbia, Gem of the Ocean" was a popular song.)"
Clock
Ansonia Clock Co. New York
C. 1880
Walnut
H 24" x W 16"
Clock
Sessions Clock Company, Forestville, CT
C. 1903
Maple
"By the late 1890s, the cases for these clocks were being surface pressed, a technique used on the backs of oak chairs from this period as well. The wood often used was oak, but this case is made of pressed maple , stained to look like walnut."