The historical Schneiderhof-clock 1848. Commemorating 150 years of cuckoo clock making by the Schneider family.

8TMT 1080/9

54 x 51 cm

This original German Black Forest farm clock depicts an important part of Black Forest cuckoo clock history. Based on old public records, the Schneider family began making cuckoo clocks in their own farmhouse in 1848. Black Forest families carved cuckoo clocks during the hard and long winters when deep snow kept them inside. The clock peddler then carried the clocks to far away countries and sold them during the summer. Even with today's automated technology, Schneider clocks are still skillfully created by hand. This process has not changed in modern times. Typical of the 1850's are the water driven saw cutting large tree trunks, the wood cutter, and the clock peddler. This 8-day musical clock plays every full hour, alternating two melodies (Edelweiss and Happy Wanderer) by a Swiss made musical movement with 36 notes. As the music plays the dancers rotate, the water wheel turns, and the saw moves back and forth. Schneider's Automatic Night-Off feature turns the music and cuckoo off for restful sleeping. Dial, hands, numerals, and cuckoo bird are all made of wood, and indicate the quality of Schneider workmanship.