Sainte-Foy Comtoise Style Grandfather Clock - AS IS. Clock face reads "Berbineau a Ste Foy," indicating it was made in the Sainte-Foy arrondissement of Quebec City, Canada. 

Condition: Cracks and chips throughout. 

Size: 18 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 78 in. 

#3733 . 

A grandfather clock (also known as a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather’s clock, hall clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock, with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are commonly six to eight feet tall, with an enclosed pendulum and weights suspended by either cables or chains, which have to be occasionally calibrated to keep the proper time. The case often features elaborately carved ornamentation on the hood (or bonnet), which surrounds and frames the dial, or clock face. The English clockmaker William Clement is credited with developing the form in 1670. Pendulum clocks were the world’s most accurate timekeeping technology until the early 20th Century, and longcase clocks, due to their superior accuracy, served as time standards for households and businesses. Today, they are kept mainly for their decorative and antique value, having been superseded by analog and digital timekeepers. 

A particular type of intricately designed grandfather clock was made in the villages of Comtoise, Morbier, and Morez in the mountainous Jura region on the French-Swiss border. Production of these clocks began in 1680 and continued in the area for roughly 230 years. During the peak production years (1850-1890) over 60,000 of these clocks were made each year. Numerous families specialized in creating specific components for these clocks all around the region, and when all parts were made and brought together the “engreneur” (meaning “gear-man of the clockwork”) assembled the product. The “rhabilleur” (literally “the repairer”) then put the clock into motion. After 1860 the village workers saw their cottage industry collapse as factories took their place, and the style of clock continues to be produced today, although often collectors refer to these new versions with the phrase “style” affixed to the town name to differentiate them from the originals.

Cracks and chips throughout.