North Coast Imports, Inc.

Robot Birds

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:30:35 PDT

Our followers who appreciate clocks are also often lovers of automata and early robots. There is a great article at The Smithsonian Magazine on a short history of robot birds. There's also a great preceding post on the history of the cuckoo clock. We at North Coast Imports have often pointed out the importance of the development of the cuckoo clock and it's eventual ancestral relation to the

A Network of Websites and a Network of Dealers

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:11:54 PDT

We have a lot of attractive items on our network of websites. In addition to our standard line of clocks at www.NorthCoastImports.com we also have a special website featuring our /design series of clocks at www.NorthCoastImports.com/design PLUS there is a growing collection of collectible and antique clocks at www.NorthCoastImports.com/museum. That website also provides a host of educational

Troubleshoot Your Cuckoo Clock Hands

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:49:10 PDT

Here's a great video from the VdS (Black Forest Clock Association) on how to troubleshoot your cuckoo clock hands. You can also find more information on this topic on our page here.

Cuckoo Bird rescued in Britain

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:30:07 PDT

An endangered cuckoo bird was nursed back to health and then shipped back to Turin Italy.

Water-Powered Cuckoo Clock

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:18:42 PDT

Here's a very interesting mechanism - especially the singing bird device. You can see a better video below and can hear the birds chirping. The clock was recently built by a retired hydrogeologist Richard Pim, who spent his long career bringing water to arid farmlands in Saudi Arabia and Nepal. [via Daily Mail]

CLOCKtoberfest

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:37:18 PST

We have just set the date to celebrate our 60th anniversary! Be sure to join us for the fun this summer at CLOCKtoberfest! Saturday, August 10 2013 It will be fun for all ages. We're planning food, drink, live music, and lots of other surprises. Be sure to watch this space as details develop!

A New Type of Escapement??

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:20:23 PDT

Here's a nice find on YouTube... from the description: Implementation and early development of a fully detached, gravity impulsed, mechanical escapement inspired by the designs of James Arnfield. Prototype built for kinematic amusement with the possibility of satisfactory timekeeping. The pendulum should at no time be connected directly to the going train and only impulsed by a falling

How Tower Clocks Work

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:16:16 PDT

Here's a great video. Beautiful clock! A description of an E. Howard and Co. Clock Tower Clock (anchor escapement) and how it functions by breaking down the mechanism into 4 categories and explaining each section. The clock is at the First Congregational Church in Williamstown, MA.

NEW MODEL - Brettluhr Castle Clock

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:58:07 PDT

We, at North Coast Imports are very pleased to introduce the NEW Brettluhr! A Brettluhr is a "Little Board Clock." It was a clock that mostly existed in Vienna in the first half of the Nineteenth Century. (Here and here are original Brettluhr clocks.) It appeared in many styles and configurations, but Brettluhren commonly consisted of a board with a movement mounted to it. Usually the board

More Reposted Mechanical Curiosities from Dug North

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:48:09 PDT

I love Dug North's Blog. In case you don't already follow it, here are some noteworthy recent posts - for lovers of clocks and mechanical automata. Here's a beautiful and artistic piece from Levi van Veluw An analog clock in a digital world: This eye-boggling piece was recently featured in Clocks Magazine. Another book for your library... The mechanical clock, at least in

Musical Mystery House

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 08:08:33 PDT

Dug North has a writeup on the Musical Mystery House in Wiscasset, Maine It's an old video, but it features some whistling automata like the bird cage, bird box and whistling man that are available through North Coast Imports! Address for the Musical Mystery House: Musical Wonder House 16-18 High Street Wiscasset, ME 04578 Hours: Memorial Day Weekend through Halloween Monday through

Monkey Automaton On a Black Forest Clock

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 06:29:08 PDT

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!

Brettluhr!

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:10:07 PDT

We're about to introduce an exciting NEW model. Stay tuned for more info. AND HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! SOLID walnut board, made in the U.S.A. with German mechanism. We're really excited to introduce this new model from Sternreiter.

Strasburg Astronomical Clock

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:20:16 PDT

It turns out there is an antique replica (PDF) in Sydney! Made in 1887. [via Kugelbahn]

Puccini Opera Came From a Music Box?

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 06:58:44 PDT

There's a fantastic article in the New York Times about the Morris Museum in New Jersey. A musicologist draws connections between an 1877 Swiss music box there with Puccini's Madam Butterfly. Even now few visitors spend much time in the room where the Swiss music boxes are displayed. Yet, being a musicologist, I lingered there alone last January as my children ran ahead. I kept listening to

Cuckoo Bird

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 12:56:44 PDT

Have a great weekend!!

Don't forget to hold back your clocks this month!

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:23:04 PDT

We'll have a leap second at the end of this month. The last minute will have 61 seconds. But, not without controversy: From Cosmos Magazine: The leap second has long caused debate among member countries of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), with some arguing for it to be abolished in favour of the exclusive use of atomic time. Every time a second is added, the world's

New Black Forest Book

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 12:58:31 PDT

Here's a nice article about our friend Justin and his NEW BOOK! From the article: Collectors Weekly: Was Johann Baptist Beha a well-known clockmaker? Miller: Yes, he’s definitely the most prominent cuckoo clockmaker in the Black Forest, and his clocks are collected aggressively. His clocks are usually regarded as the pinnacle of cuckoo clock making, whether deservedly or not. If you look

How It's Made

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:18:15 PDT

Finally! She's running again.

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:29:20 PDT

We've been watching the restoration and re-installation of our founder Karl Schleutermann's giant cuckoo clock in Sugarcreek, Ohio. Sugarcreek Mayor Clayton Wellery, left, and Freeman Mullet line up the clock house of the large cuckoo clock that is being set in the intersection of Main and Broadway Streets in Sugarcreek on Wednesday, May 30, 3012. The wooden clock measures more than 23 feet

EST Comic Strip

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:55:02 PDT

Here's a bit of fun, a joke on time standards ...

Automata

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:05:39 PDT

Regular followers of this blog know that I like to repost movies and descriptions of old mechanical automata. There's a nice little collection of reposted videos over at io9 that's worth checking out.

Lowe's Commercial

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:11:00 PDT

We have no interests in Lowe's, but how can I not re-post this commercial?

Clock Cleaners

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:23:24 PDT

Cuckoo Clocks in the News

clocks@northcoastimports.com — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:20:12 PDT

Our supplier Ingolf Haas of Rombach und Haas has a nice interview about the current state of the Cuckoo Clock industry here.