Lot 585

Matthäus Hipp, Neuchatel, Suisse / Officina Galileo, Firenze, Height 830 mm, circa 1870
An ornamental table clock with electromagnetic drive and a rare type of anchor escapement
Case: wood. Dial: enamel. Movm.: rectangular-shaped brass movement, pendulum spring suspension, steel pendulum, brass pendulum bob.
The clock is marvelously decorated with intricate carving and surmounted by the coat of arms of the house of Savoy. It is fitted with a movement by Matthäus Hipp and was delivered by Officina Galileo in Florence - a company founded in 1866 that existed until 2001 as manufacturers and suppliers of scientific instruments. Hipp’s signature is still visible under the bobbin; on the movement plate, however, it was replaced by that of Officina Galileo.
Dr. Matthäus Hipp (1813-1893)
A brilliant theoretician, was born in Blaubeuren, (Wuerttemberg), Germany. Hipp became famous for mechanical horological improvements. When he was only 21, while in St. Gallen in 1834, he devised the Hipp toggle as part of an escapement for electric clocks. It was also called Hipp's "butterfly switch"... It was used to maintain a pendulum's oscillation electrically. The pendulum was impulsed only when the arc narrowed to a certain width. Hipp did not construct a clock on this principle until after it was used for pendulum clocks in Wurtemburg in 1842, and thus lost the honor of being the first to do so. In 1842 Hipp established himself in Reutlingen where he principally worked on constructing a clock after his own design...Hipp's own clock appeared in 1843 with a movement at the base of the pendulum achieving a precision of +/- 0.025 seconds.
Source: Swiss Timepiece Makers by Kathleen H. Pritchard, 1997, p. 36-39.

Sold