De Vick’s Clock of 1379

Henri de Vick's clock, built around 1379 for Charles V of France, is the textbook ancestor: the earliest well-documented mechanical clock in the modern line, verge escapement and foliot balance ticking above Paris four centuries before the pendulum. This plate from Rees's Cyclopaedia is how the nineteenth century learned that story — the primitive frame drawn with complete seriousness, because everything in every watch descends from exactly this arrangement of weight, rope, and restraint.

Maker

after Abraham Rees (ed.)

Date

c. 1810s

Medium of the original

Plate

Original held by

via Wikimedia Commons

Credit

via Wikimedia Commons · via Wikimedia Commons

Rights

Public domain, verified

Catalogue number

PA-00543