That's when upon walking through the door I spied a rather shabby box outside the door, out in the elements of the mist filled afternoon, just barely under the overhang of the building.
O'rly? It can't be a Cuckoo clock in that box.. Well being the clock lover that I am I back tracked a couple of steps and flipped open the lid of the box. There it was.. a very sad yet all intact Cuckoo. The chains, the weights, the crowning piece. All there. Ahh most likely WAY too much. They are never cheap, even in a junk store.
Wait... $5 bucks?
No way! I picked it up and wandered inside, setting it on the counter. "Is this really 5 dollars?" the lady replied that it was and that they had no clue if it was all there or even worked. (My inner child was squealing with delight!!!!) I'll take it. As it happened I have a 5 spot suddenly burning a HUGE hole in my pocket so to speak.
When I showed Aaron I was braced for the next barrage of "what a piece of shit" but I thought his inner little girl was having a heart attack. Come to find out my hubby likes cuckoos. Nothing like a ho hum day turning into a great cheap find and learning something new along the way with it. :) I spent a few hours gawking the net, eBay and other vintage hubs to see what I might find out about it. So far I am "guessing" it's from the 30's-40's and "might" be a Black Forest clock. I do like to know what my things are but I really don't care if it's from 2 years ago and is nothing special by maker. I like it a lot and to me that matters the most.
You most likely can't truly tell how grubby it was as I took the photo sitting on my desk in terrible lighting last night. It was grubby. It would have made an excellent Halloween piece, just add cobwebs. Out came the trusty ol' clean everything tidy toothbrush, a soft cloth and my favorite.. Howard's Feed-N-Wax.
A bit later I had it hanging up on the wall, the chains restrung, all tidy'd up and it was singing to me it's little Cuckoo Cuckoo as I turned the hands. I am still working to get the pendulum in the correct position to have it keep tick tocking away but for now....
Here's my lovely new baby for $5 big ones. Sometimes.. just wanting to look can pay off. ;)
Of course this COULD be a Copy... but it is the exact Spitting Image of a Black Forest Clock that hung in my aunt and uncle's home for 40 years or so.
ReplyDeleteMy uncle had it sent to my aunt for her birthday. It was sent by a Soldier who was stationed in Germany.. and had been a student of both of them.
The color is right and the Cuckoo at the top faced the same way. IDENTICAL to My Eye.
Good Find!!! Congratulations
What a score (again). You ALWAYS seem to find the best stuff. My Mommy said that they always had a coo-coo clock while growing up. Come to think of it, she is wondering now where it went! Daddy had them too bcuz he's from Germany and they make a lot of them over there.
ReplyDeleteYour's is BEAUTIFUL!!!! I'm sure with your TLC it will be running perfectly in no time flat.
Hugs,
Lily Belle