Antique American Clocks                      July 2020

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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.

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