V.Bittner in Komotau: A fine Viennese walnut year-going longcase regulator, the dial signed on the silvered Roman chapter ring with well cast gilt bezel, finely pierced blued moon hands with counter balanced minute hand, engine-turned gilt centre, subsidiary silvered seconds ring above VI with gilt-metal and steel counter-poised arrow-head seconds hand, the visible centre showing the pin-wheel escapement the scape-wheel with gold pins, the pallets of polished steel, spring suspended gridiron pendulum with calibrated rating nut and engraved silvered scale above the bob, fine worm-and-wheel beat adjustment on the crutch-piece, the movement comprising two four pillar sections, the rear housing the barrel extending to the front assembly with maintaining power and high-count going train, with four crossings, the movement secured to steel brackets screwed into the backboard, the case with chamfered angles, the plinth with removeable front panel with a release button located inside the case on the base-board, rectangular beaded glazed trunk door with bone handle, glazed sides, foliate carved wood to the stepped top, circa 1850/606ft.4in. (194cm.) high

V.Bittner in Komotau: A fine Viennese walnut year-going longcase regulator, the dial signed on the silvered Roman chapter ring with well cast gilt bezel, finely pierced blued moon hands with counter balanced minute hand, engine-turned gilt centre, subsidiary silvered seconds ring above VI with gilt-metal and steel counter-poised arrow-head seconds hand, the visible centre showing the pin-wheel escapement the scape-wheel with gold pins, the pallets of polished steel, spring suspended gridiron pendulum with calibrated rating nut and engraved silvered scale above the bob, fine worm-and-wheel beat adjustment on the crutch-piece, the movement comprising two four pillar sections, the rear housing the barrel extending to the front assembly with maintaining power and high-count going train, with four crossings, the movement secured to steel brackets screwed into the backboard, the case with chamfered angles, the plinth with removeable front panel with a release button located inside the case on the base-board, rectangular beaded glazed trunk door with bone handle, glazed sides, foliate carved wood to the stepped top, circa 1850/60 6ft.4in. (194cm.) high

Details

V.Bittner in Komotau: A fine Viennese walnut year-going longcase regulator, the dial signed on the silvered Roman chapter ring with well cast gilt bezel, finely pierced blued moon hands with counter balanced minute hand, engine-turned gilt centre, subsidiary silvered seconds ring above VI with gilt-metal and steel counter-poised arrow-head seconds hand, the visible centre showing the pin-wheel escapement the scape-wheel with gold pins, the pallets of polished steel, spring suspended gridiron pendulum with calibrated rating nut and engraved silvered scale above the bob, fine worm-and-wheel beat adjustment on the crutch-piece, the movement comprising two four pillar sections, the rear housing the barrel extending to the front assembly with maintaining power and high-count going train, with four crossings, the movement secured to steel brackets screwed into the backboard, the case with chamfered angles, the plinth with removeable front panel with a release button located inside the case on the base-board, rectangular beaded glazed trunk door with bone handle, glazed sides, foliate carved wood to the stepped top, circa 1850/60
6ft.4in. (194cm.) high

Lot Essay

Very little information can be traced on V. Bittner but he must have apprenticed to an accomplished clockmaker to have produced a regulator as fine as this example. Komotau is a town approximately 13 kilometers from Prague and at that part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The movement has very high quality features such as gold 'scape wheel pins visible through the dial centre. The pendulum is based on the design originated by Urban Jurgensen (1776-1830) the details of which were published in the Nouvelles Asrtonomique, 1823-24, Vol.3, p.4, under the title La description d'une amelioration par le moyen du pendule compensateur. The same pendulum is also illustrated in Klaus Erbrich, Prazisionspendeluhren, p.33, fig.58 where the juxtaposition of the zinc, steel and brass rods are described in detail.
There were a number of Austrian regulators made with long duration movements however in the main they were month-going and occasionally made to run for six months, very rarely does an example appear that is year duration and of such high quality.

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