Antique American Clocks July 2020
94. $500
Black Forest double-fusee shelf cuckoo, ca. 1880? An 18.5-inch highly polished mahogany
case with burled insets in front bearing painted leaf and fruit decorations. The arched top is grain-painted. The door
glass is old, the dial porcelain, the fancy hands likely original. Each side has a small door to view the brass fusee
movement mounted on a wooden frame. At the top back are the whistle openings for the cuckoo; the bird is original and is calling
on the hours. The movement will run for a minute or two before stopping, and the strike is missing the wire gong on the backboard. Looks like it could use a serious cleaning. The cuckoo is also very slow. This style of shelf cuckoo is not common; I
found one example on LiveAuctioneers that sold at Fontaine’s last year for $600. $500-$1000.