Date: Fri 10-Oct-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

clocks-Historical-Society

Full Text:

Historical Society Program Monday Night-

Time-Honored Machines: Clocks & Timepieces Through History

(with photo)

Whether it be Robinson Crusoe notching his sticks or an atomic clock with

nanosecond accuracy, man has always been concerned with measuring his place in

the fourth dimension of time. The Newtown Historical Society will offer a look

at the history of clocks, watches and other time-telling devices on Tuesday,

October 14, at 8 pm.

A program will be presented by Dana Blackwell at the Newtown Meeting House. Mr

Blackwell is a curator and consultant to the American Clock and Watch Museum

in Bristol. His program will begin with the different concepts of time and

their influence on the evolution of the 24-hour day and its subdivisions.

A clock is a machine used to record or indicate the time of day. All clocks,

of whatever form, are based on the principle of creating a device which

performs regular movements in equal intervals of time. The device is linked to

a counting mechanism which records the number of such movements. Such

mechanisms are actually timekeepers; the term clock is popularly attached to

machines which strike the hours with bells or gongs.

The earliest known timekeepers were the sundials and water clocks of ancient

Egypt. Devices of the same type were used throughout the periods of the Greek

and Roman empires, after which they passed to medieval Europe. A parallel

development of water clocks took place in China about 100 to 1100 AD.

The origin of the all-mechanical escapement clock remains unknown, although

there are references to public striking clocks in Europe from about 1290

onward.

Mr Blackwell's slide lecture will examine early methods of measuring the

passage of time, from the common sundial to more esoteric instruments such as

obelisks. The program will continue into the mechanical age of clocks, watches

and chronometers, and finish with a peek at modern systems of quartz-crystal

oscillators and the ubiquitous digital.

Mr Blackwell restored approximately 400 clocks during his ten years with a

close association to the Bristol museum. He continues to serve the

organization as a trustee.

Dana Blackwell has been vice president of the National Association of Watch

and Clock Collectors. He is a member of several horological organizations, and

has written extensively in the field.

Also interested in local history, Mr Blackwell was founding president of the

Naugatuck Historical Society, is Borough historian, and has served as an

officer of the Connecticut League of Historical Societies. He has lectured

extensively in both areas of his interest.

The program Monday night is being sponsored by the Newtown Historical Society.

It is open to the public, free of charge. Following his presentation, Mr

Blackwell will open the floor to questions from the audience. Refreshments

will be served at the end of the program.

The Newtown Meeting House is at 31 Main Street/Route 25 in Newtown, opposite

the flagpole. For additional information concerning the program, call

426-0864.