Eye rolling
Figure automatons that move the eyes or mouth to the rhythm of the pendulum appeared for the first time in tower clocks in the 15th century. The clock shown here was made in the mid-19th century.
Movement: Black Forest Schottenwerk with wooden plates, brass bushings and brass wheels, hook movement, half-hour and hour strike on a gong, the short pendulum is connected to the mechanics that move the figure's eyes.
Image: Probably Friedrich Hecker (see next pages) with beard and feather hat (Hecker hat) behind glass door, gold-colored wooden frame, oil on sheet metal.
Dial: Arched enamel dial with Roman numerals, black lacquered iron hands.
Friedrich Karl Franz Hecker
(* September 28, 1811 in Eichtersheim, Grand Duchy of Baden; † March 24, 1881 in Summerfield, Illinois, USA)
Friedrich Hecker was a German-American lawyer, politician and radical democratic revolutionary who played a central role in the initial phase of the Baden and German revolutions from 1848/49 to April/May 1848. In Baden he was one of the most popular speakers and agitators of the revolution at this time. After the defeat of the uprising named after him, he emigrated to the USA. There he fought during the Civil War (1861-1865) as an officer in a German volunteer regiment in the army of the northern states.
The SPD district association Konstanz awards the "Heckerhut" to people who have made a contribution to social democracy.
Next pages:
- Revolution of 1848 (1:45 minutes) Excerpt from the SWR program "The Industrial Age" on January 11th, 2022
- Das Heckerlied (4:13 minutes) YouTube video from the CD "Singt das Lied der Freiheit" by the Siebenpfeiffer group
