Mechanical Watches - An Annotated Bibliography of Publications

678 Pages·2011·3.33 MB·English

Mechanical
Watches
An Annotated
Bibliography
of publications since 1800
by
Richard Watkins
Second Edition
Part 1 - Bibliography
© Copyright, 2004, 2011, Richard Watkins
Published in 2011 by Richard Watkins, Tasmania, Australia.
Other translations, transcripts and books by Richard Watkins:
Berner, G.A. and E. Audetat: Pierre Frederic Ingold 1787-1878, (1962) 2008
Berthoud, Ferdinand and Jacob Auch: How to make a verge watch, (1763 and 1827) 2005 (ISBN
0-9581369-6-3) (with E.J. Tyler)
Borsendorff, L.: The history of a watch followed by a conversation on the horology industry between Mr
Trottevite and Mr Vabien, (1869) 2007 (ISBN 978-0-9581369-9-0)
Buffat, Eugene: History and design of the Roskopf watch, (1914) 2007
Camus, C.E.L. and J.I. Hawkins: A treatise on the Teeth of Wheels, (1837) 2007 (corrected version of the
Google Book copy)
Crespe, François: Essay on repeater watches, (1804) 2006 (ISBN 978-0-9581369-8-3)
David, Jacques: American and swiss watchmaking in 1876, reports to the International Committee of Jura
Industries on the manufacture of watches in the United States, (1877) 2003 (ISBN 0-9581369-2-0)
Favre-Perret, E.: Philadelphia Exhibition 1876, report presented to the Federal High Council on the
Horology Industry, (1877) 2004
Francillon, André: History of Longines preceded by an essay on the Agassiz comptoir, (1947) 2005 (ISBN
0-9581369-7-1)
Graupmann, Emile: The finishing of the watch case, (1910) 2004
Grossmann, Moritz: Prize essay on the construction of a simple and mechanically perfect watch, (1880)
2002 (ISBN 0-9581369-0-4)
Hillmann, Bruno: The keyless mechanism, a practical treatise on its design and repair, (ca1920) 2004
Japy, Frederic: Patent for 5 years for various horological machines, (1799) 2006
Lalande, Jerome: Jerome Lalande, diary of a trip to England 1763, (1763) 2002 (ISBN 0-9581369-1-2)
Marsh, E.A.: History of Early Watchmaking in America, (1890) 2006
Marsh, E.A.: History, (1921) 2006
Osterwald, F.S.: Description of the mountains and valleys of Neuchatel and Valangin, (1766) 2008
Societe Suisse de Chronometrie: Some notes on Pierre-Frederic Ingold and the work of E. Haudenschild,
(1932), 2004
Saturday Magazine: Manufacture of Watches in Switzerland, (1842) 2008
Waterbury Watch Company: Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves, (1889) 2005
Watkins, Richard: Mainspring Gauges and the Dennison Combined Gauge, 2009
Watkins, Richard: The Repeater, 2011
Watkins, Richard: Watchmaking and the American System of Manufacture, 2009
These are available from www.watkinsr.id.au
Articles by Richard Watkins:
Berthoud, Harrison, and Lalande: A Near Myth, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 359 (December 2005): pp. 773-743.
Confabulations - A Humorous Look at Complications, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 367 (April 2007): pp. 163-172.
Jacques David—and a Summary of “American and Swiss Watchmaking in 1876” with Emphasis on
Interchangeability in Manufacturing, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 350 (June 2004): pp. 294-302.
The above are also available from www.watkinsr.id.au
Practical Watch Collecting, a Manual for the Beginner: Part 1, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 375 (August 2008):
pp. 429-447; Part 2, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 376 (October 2008): pp. 569-577; Part 3, NAWCC Bulletin,
No. 377 (December 2008): pp. 679-690; Part 4, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 378 (February 2009): pp. 35-44;
Part 5, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 379 (April 2009): pp. 194-207; Part 6, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 380 (June
2009): pp. 313-325; Part 7, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 381 (August 2009): pp. 455-463; Part 8, NAWCC
Bulletin, No. 382 (October 2009): pp. 547-550; Part 9, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 383 (December 2009):
pp. 665-671; Part 10, NAWCC Bulletin, No. 384 (February 2010): pp. 39-48.
Contents
Part 1 ...........................................................................................................................4
Preface to the First Edition................................................................................4
Preface to the Second Edition ............................................................................4
Why have bibliographies? ..................................................................................5
Purpose .......................................................................................................5
Scope ...........................................................................................................5
Sources ........................................................................................................6
The bibliography .................................................................................................7
Bibliographic data ......................................................................................7
Printing information ..................................................................................7
Contents .....................................................................................................7
Review, remarks and quality .....................................................................8
The indexes .........................................................................................................9
Full title index ............................................................................................9
Title key word index...................................................................................9
Author index ...............................................................................................9
Publication date index ...............................................................................9
Subject top level index ...............................................................................9
Subject index ..............................................................................................9
Buying books .....................................................................................................10
A short list ................................................................................................10
Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................12
Bibliography......................................................................................................13
Part 2 .......................................................................................................................679
Full Title Index ...............................................................................................683
Title Key-word Index ......................................................................................745
Author Index ...................................................................................................821
Date of Publication Index ...............................................................................869
Subject Top Level Index .................................................................................909
Subject Index ..................................................................................................915
Preface
Preface to the First Edition
... the author’s excuse for what is to follow
“Repairing Old Clocks and Watches”, Anthony Whiten
Perhaps the 18th and 19th century watchmakers with the same surname are my forebears? Or perhaps it
was simply chance.
I was born in 1944 in Australia and, as far as I can remember, I displayed no mechanical talent at all. My
parents, believing in “education”, educated me, but neglected to inform me that some sort of employment was
a normal consequence of growing up. Being unaware of much other than learning, I wandered from school to
university, studying mathematics and science; and then in 1963 I fortunately failed my second year at university.
Fortunately, because the time spent repeating subjects opened up other opportunities, and I switched to the
new-fangled area of computer science. Eight years later I emerged with a BSc in mathematics and PhD in
computer science, but still with no realisation that “work” is the normal result of completing schooling; and so
I became a university lecturer. I was a fair academic who did only a little useful research, but I was fascinated
by the problems of teaching and spent most of my time trying to understand the learning process and better
ways of passing on my knowledge. And away from work necessity made me learn how to lay bricks, build
fences, repair small engines and do my own electrical house wiring, all of which I did adequately if not quite
professionally. So life went on for some years until personal circumstances forced me to retire early and I found
myself unemployable and bored.
I don’t know what led a “thinker” to buy a silver pocket watch at a market stall, except that it shows a
remarkable lack of self-awareness! An unknown, perhaps inherited urge awakened my curiosity and soon made
me buy more watches and a few clocks. Unfortunately, those that I could afford did not work, and so I branched
out into buying repair books and tools. Looking back on that time, I realise it would have been far cheaper to
have paid someone to repair them, but it wouldn’t have been as interesting, instructive or enjoyable.
For some strange reason I dislike clocks and I surrounded myself with delicate lathes, tiny screwdrivers
and the wisdom of the past. I still hadn’t come to grips with the fact that a clumsy academic with astigmatism
and poor hand-eye coordination is unlikely to be a successful watch repairer! But even though my practical
abilities were limited, I successfully repaired some watches, butchered others, and gained considerable insight
into horology in the small. And slowly, subconsciously, I moved from collecting watches and tools to collecting
books about them.
At this time I was getting over the initial flush of excitement that leads collectors to swap all their worldly
goods for dubious items, and I was finding it difficult to make reasonable choices about what book to buy
next. Part of the problem was the lack of coherent, accurate information, so that as my library grew I became
increasingly frustrated. Also, faced with a question and a bookcase filled with volumes, it was a daunting and
slow task to track down an answer. Indeed, often the answer was never found; either the information was not
there or I had missed it. Sometimes it was found unexpectedly in a book with a totally unrelated title.
After spending a whole day trying to find an article about making tin polishing laps, only to eventually
discover it in a book on staking tools, I resolved to create a single index to all the books in my library. Not long
into the project I discovered my computer data base was both extremely useful and hopelessly flawed. After all,
the real problem facing the collector is to evaluate the worth of something before it is purchased; and what I
actually needed was a data base of what I didn’t own.
Unfortunately, being an impractical academic, I didn’t fully appreciate the inherent contradiction: I could not
assess a book unless I owned it (the local libraries are useless for horology). So I continued buying books blindly
so that I could read them, index them and decide if I should buy them! Then it dawned on me that, although
my creation had not helped me much, it might be of some value to other people. So I expanded my data base to
encompass all printed matter of interest, and added comments. From which point I found myself referring to it
weekly and I began to appreciate its value. And I had a wonderful excuse for my obsessive collecting behaviour.
The result is this bibliography listing (mainly) books related to mechanical watches which were published
between 1800 and the present. The aim, as I will explain in the introduction, is not merely to list books, but to
provide guidance to people who have not yet read them, to assist their learning experience. Consequently my
assessments of contents and the separate indexes (of titles in date order, authors, full titles, title key words and
subject) are central to this work.
Preface to the Second Edition
This second edition sees some important changes.
First, the number of items has increased by 600, from 2,223 to 2,823 and the subject index by 9,605, from
26,658 to 36,263 entries, with other indexes increasing accordingly.
Second, the Price Index has been omitted. This is because I have not kept it up-to-date and so it is no longer
of any use.
Third, where possible I have included my estimates of quality, grading books from poor to excellent.
And fourth, and most important, the bibliography now includes 137 book reviews by other people, providing
much additional information for books I have not personally read.
4
Introduction
Why have bibliographies?
The man who prides himself on the fact that he can learn nothing from others has a perfectly
just estimate of his own abilities, and he can learn nothing, simply from a deficiency of brains.
“A Practical Treatise on Watch Repairing”, N.B. Sherwood
Purpose
People read non-fiction books to learn. People refer to bibliographies to find answers to questions about books.
And the usefulness of bibliographies can be measured by how well they satisfy that need. A trite statements
perhaps, but I am not sure many bibliographers have gone on to ask: what questions do people want answered?
The obvious question is, does a book exist? But this is far too superficial. We look for publications for a reason,
and mere existance is only the nececessary, preliminary question. It is far more important to ask: what do we
want to learn having located a book? And this question seems to have been largely ignored.
We may have many reasons for wanting know about a book: it is old, it has a wonderful binding, it is very
rare, the author has the same name as oneself, and so on. We might even want it for the information it contains.
A few of many possible questions are:
• Editions. When and by whom was it published? Are there modern reprints?
• General content. What is in it? Is it written for beginners or advanced readers? How good is it? Are
different editions merely reprints or do they have markedly different content?
• Detailed content. Where can I find information about a specific topic? If there are several works, how can
I choose between them?
• Price. How much might I expect to pay for it? How common is it?
Most bibliographies go little further than indicating the existance of a book and telling us something about
its history. And often they do both inadequately, giving limited publishing data and few cross-references. For
example, authors and titles are sometimes specified incorrectly; simply reversing the order of multiple authors
will hide a book in a totally different part of the bibliography where it may not be found. To locate a publication
requires the provision of extensive indexing of authors and titles, a feature which is uncommon.
But even if we are given the tools to find a book we still need to know if it is worth reading or buying; to
merely know a book exists gives no idea of its value. For example, it seemed to me worthwhile to add Kemlo’s
book to my library on the basis of the meagre information I had about it. But after paying too much money I
discovered it was trite, and later found out it was largely copied from another book.
This bibliography aims to answer five questions about publications: existance, publishing history, general
content, quality and (too selectively) detailed content.
Scope
Because of the size of the task some arbitrary restrictions have been imposed.
First, the subject area is restricted to mechanical watches. This has led me to omit items which deal exclusively
with sundials, clocks, electronic watches and time. But if a book has some, albeit quite minor, mechanical watch
content I have often included it.
I have never seriously asked myself “what is a watch?”. Is my minute repeater in an oversized pocket watch
case a bedside clock, even though I might just be able to carry it on my person? Is an american back-wind clock
movement with lantern pinions a watch? The point at which we divide the continuum is arbitrary and I have
simply followed my feelings.
Second, the bibliography is restricted to books and pamphlets (a jigsaw puzzle, a pack of cards, a few videos
and a dinner set). To attempt to list and index everything published would be impractical. Most importantly I
have omitted journals and other periodicals except for some separate offprints. A few journal articles have crept
in, some by accident and some deliberately, as a result of being sold and available as separate items.
And third, with a few exceptions, the bibliography is restricted to items printed from 1800 to the present.
This is because Baillie’s superb book “Clocks and watches, an historical bibliography”, although quite different
in purpose, covers most of the earlier books.
Such statements are fanciful ideals and there are several grey areas which have been resolved by arbitrary
decisions:
I have deliberately excluded two borderline areas. These are modern mechanical watches with electronic
escapements (most notably Swatch and other “collectable” watches) and ornamental turning (despite being
relevant to watch cases).
Otherwise everything to do with mechanical watches is regarded as pertinent; history, construction, repair,
collecting, decoration, novels; an endless list.
Importantly, many non-horological texts are very definitely relevant. For example, repair involves the use
of tools which are often described in general metal-working texts; to omit Holtzappfel would be ridiculous.
Similarly, the social and historical circumstances of watchmaking is not ignored, even if the work (as in the case
of Dane’s book on Stubs) makes but a passing reference to horology.
Many of the myriad pamphlets and catalogues have been overlooked (particularly those produced by
5
Introduction
museums, auction and material houses, and watch manufacturers). Although some of this material is referenced,
mainly if a modern facsimile reprint exists, its volume and generally inconsequential nature makes its inclusion
of doubtful value.
I have also omitted many books, such as general antique guides, that mention watches incidentally.
I feel somewhat uneasy about this selection and a few important items may have been omitted inadvertently.
Some non-watch items have crept in, by accident or deliberate choice. Haliburton, for example, appears so
that others might not suffer from the ambiguity of the title as I did. Similarly Smit is included because it is not
obvious that it contains no watch content. The main problem is with German books which use the ambiguous
word “uhr” and so can be about clocks or watches, the distinction being only possible on reading the books.
Other horological books appear which may be devoid of information relevant to watches due to my ignorance;
I must admit I haven’t personally examined all 2,200 titles, but then I doubt if anyone has.
Although a general bibliography, there is a strong English bias because the information about English items
is generally more detailed.
Sources
The information has been extracted from a large number of disparate sources, the primary ones being:
Auctions.
Horological booksellers’ catalogues from America, Australia, England and Germany.
Internet bookseller listings.
My own library.
Public library catalogues.
Published bibliographies.
These sources vary significantly in accuracy and detail; one can be reasonably confident of library catalogues,
but the others often contain careless and incomplete descriptions. It is quite clear that the compilers of some lists
have not actually handled many of the publications and there are many incomplete, dubious and even grossly
incorrect entries. Some of these entries appear in several lists, indicating compilers have copied somewhat
uncritically. Unfortunately they do not give their sources and it is not possible to authoritatively check them.
A major problem is that a number of entries in Tardy’s bibliography do not appear anywhere else and it is
likely that these are incorrect. However I have been unable to confirm this and so I have included them in this
bibliography.
Being in the same position and having handled only about 30% of the publications, I have used extensive
cross checking to try to eliminate errors. I have relied mainly on lists where the compiler must have actually
seen the works and filled out details from other sources. Where significant discrepancies occur I have noted the
alternative author names, titles and descriptions and their sources; either directly in bibliographic entries or in
the indexes.
6
Introduction
The bibliography
Generally each item has a single entry for all editions, including translations.
There are a few exceptions, where editions have different titles or authors (Borer or Bowman or Swiss Expert)
or when doubt exists about the relationship between two items (Janvier and Magnier). Also there are a small
number of entries that are purely cross references.
Compressing everything into a single entry simplifies the bibliography at the cost of losing some information
about printing history. Generally the entries show the last known printing and, in parentheses, the first known
printing (which may not be the first edition). In some instances further details are given in the review, especially
when editions have markedly different content.
Each entry consists of bibliographic data followed (as required) by printing information, contents, a review
and remarks.
Bibliographic data
I have not provided formal bibliographic descriptions. I regret this as I have since come across several books
where such precision would have been invaluable; but it was too late to rebuild the data base.
The format of each entry is:
Reference Number:
Used to cross reference index entries to the bibliography.
Author:
Where no author is given other key words are used. Sales catalogues sometimes fail to list a book by
author, preferring the publisher or key words. Where an author is known I have always used it and
included cross referencing in the bibliography or the indexes.
Titles:
Being primarily an English bibliography the English title is usually given first, even when this is not the
original language, followed by titles in other languages.
For clarity, only the first word and some proper names are capitalised.
Subtitles:
Subtitles, perhaps for several languages, are given immediately below the titles. For example, the
first edition of this book has the title “Mechanical watches” and the separate subtitle “an annotated
bibliography of publications since 1800”.
The distinction between title and subtitle is sometimes dubious and I have tended to make the split in a
way to keep the title short.
Publishers:
Where known, the publisher of the latest edition or reprint is given with the publishers of earlier editions
in parentheses.
Dates:
Where known, the date of the latest edition or reprint is given with the date of the earliest known
edition in parentheses. When no date is given circa is used, but in some instances the date is regarded as
authoritative and circa is omitted.
In a few cases, multiple dates may not mean multiple editions. Different sources sometimes give different
dates for the one printing. Occasionally, where I am sure, I have used the correct date, but often I have
given all dates when they may be referring to multiple printings.
Formats:
Where known, the format of the latest edition or reprint is given with the format of earlier editions in
parentheses.
Format information consists of number of pages, illustrations, plates and size (where possible as height x
width). The binding is not given. Pagination usually only includes the main body of the work but may be
misleading; most of the time it includes illustrations but sometimes these are are paginated separately.
Similarly there are instances where a number of illustrations and plates are given separately but the
illustrations are actually contained within the plates.
General subjects covered:
A few key words indicating the content and languages of the work.
Printing information
Printing information is indented to distinguish it from the bibliographic data and contents. This note gives
additional information on editions.
Contents
A description of the content. This varies from nothing (if I haven’t seen the book or if the content is obvious)
to a chapter-by-chapter summary.
7
Introduction
Review, remarks and quality
All the above information is just a statement of facts. In contrast, the reviews are opinions.
My reviews were written over a period of about eighteen years, during which time, as I indicate in the
preface, my aims for this book evolved. Initially they were simply personal notes and then expanded into more
thoughtful critiques. But it wasn’t until quite late that I stipulated aims and criteria for this book in general
and the reviews in particular. Consequently, although I have revised some of the early ones some variations in
style will be found.
My primary goal has been to base each assessment on the stated or implied aims of the authors. For example,
a picture book should have excellent pictures in it, a student text should cover knowledge and skills in step
with the pupil’s educational needs and abilities, and an advertisement should arouse the desire to buy. By
concentrating on what the author intended I have an impartial basis upon which to examine the book and
to justify criticism or praise. Whether a book is hopelessly out-of-date, is limited to some miniscule aspect of
horology, or is generally regarded as a great work is simply irrelevant. It is good or bad mainly by how well the
authors achieved or did not achieve their aims. It’s usefulness is of little consequence. Fortunately most authors
stipulate their purpose, but sometimes the aims are not clear and then I have had to deduce them.
My second aim has been to focus on the watch related information and avoid discussing anything to do with
time, clocks or other aspects of horology. If a book includes other areas of horology my review should ignore them;
and if a reader wants to know about these parts he should ignore my review.
So a review ought to be a rather matter-of-fact analysis; perhaps excepting the cases where I haven’t the
faintest idea of what the authors wanted to do.
Being human I haven’t actually done this! Several books delighted or irritated me so much that, even though
I have stayed within my criteria, I have expressed myself in other than neutral terms. It is, in fact, impossible to
be neutral, if only because a review is necessarily qualitative; any form of grading must be a matter of opinion,
even if expressed with mathematical precision. But anyway, I think it is inevitable, perhaps even desirable, that
the reviewer’s feeling are exposed.
My biggest problem was with books which bore little relationship to their apparent aims. Almost inevitably
an ill-planned or mis-planned book is ill-written; it is extremely difficult to write well if you do not know what
you are writing about.
Another problem was with books which I felt were aimless. In particular, I found the plethora of pretty picure
books (including many old and very expensive tomes) illustrating cases and dials were increasingly dissatisfying
and I do not consider them good unless they contain at least something educational or unusual.
Finally, I am interested in author responsibility. I believe everyone who writes on horology (and, of couse,
most other matters) is a teacher and should be responsible for the effect they have on the education of their
readers. Authors have many aims, but a sincere effort to ensure the correctness of their words within those aims
ought to be fundamental. Some “technical” books use words and mathematical symbols to dress up meaningless
irrationality. Some “history” books mindlessly repeat half-truths. Some “collectors” books contain statements
which are simply false. When I am sure that an author has failed in his or her duty to the reader I see no point
in being polite.
At the beginning of each review I provide a grading which summarises my opinion of the book. The grades
I use are poor, mediocre, fair, good, very good and excellent. (There is a single exception, one book which I was
forced to describe as bad.) Generally these grades indicate my opinion of quality, but occasionally they reflect
my opinion of importance; these are generally books which I have graded as excellent because, even though they
contain significant faults, they are seminal works.
The grading is useful for another reason. Some times my reviews may give the impression that I do not like
a book, because I tend to focus on problems rather than virtues. Consequently I might give the impression that
a book is only fair when, actually, I consider it, overall, to be very good. So the reviews must be considered in
conjunction with the grade.
In some places I have gone well beyond the functions of a reviewer and added remarks.
On a few occasions I have been unable to review a book without discussing my beliefs, usually about education
and science. I could not isolate these remarks, they being integral with the review, but I hope the reader has no
difficulty in distinguishing them.
A few books have stimulated my interest to the point where I needed to express my ideas on some subject;
for example, after reading many accounts of Thomas Earnshaw I could not resist adding my own assessment.
Such an observation is incidental, usually contains controversial ideas and is clearly delineated from the review
which it follows.
My comments on author responsibility apply equally to reviewers and if reviews or remarks were purely
personal opinions they would be pointless. Responsibility requires that a reviewer limits statements to those
areas of knowledge where the reviewer has some competence.
It is for this reason, rather than self promotion, that I have included a short autobiography in the preface.
Its purpose is to indicate the areas in which I have some knowledge and experience and so can consider myself
competent to comment. Although I could never work as a watchmaker, I have turned balance staffs, repaired
fusee chains and done enough other tasks to appreciate the trade. Although I have not undertaken mathematical
research I have enough knowledge of mathematics and statistics to undertstand and appreciate many of the
more theoretical aspects of horology and manufacture. And I have taught enough students and written copious
study guides so I can reasonably comment on other people’s approaches to education. What I cannot do, and
hopefully have avoided doing, is to discuss areas in which I have no experience; which is why I have avoided
clocks and electronic watches, for example.
8
Introduction
The indexes
Full title index
The full title index alphabetically lists all titles with initial articles and other “noise” words omitted; there
are 3,565 entries. This can be very useful (as I have discovered) in finding books with similar titles and the
entries for translations.
Title key word index
There are occasions when only partial information is known. This index cross references title key words to the
bibliography; there are 7,833 entries. Some words, such as uhr or watch, are singularly useless and are omitted.
Where possible I have taken liberties and not indexed titles literally but indexed indicative key words. Such
liberties allow more useful entries.
Author index
The author index cross references authors to the bibliography; there are 4,234 entries.
In some instances, where the author is unknown, I use the publisher, editor or some other suitable identifier.
One example is Swiss Watchmakers, used for the authorless books and pamphlets produced by different
organisations within the Swiss ebauche industry.
I have found it useful to extend this index to include some names other than those of the authors. For
example, many books refer to a single watchmaker; Breguet, Patek Philippe, etc. These makers’ names are listed
in the author index to provide a convenient means of accessing titles concerning that maker.
Publication date index
This index gives the titles in order of the date they were first published with the lastest known date in
parentheses. Items for which the dates are unknown are collected together at the end of the list.
Subject top level index
To help you find your way around the very large Subject Index, this index lists the top level categories in that
index.
Subject index
The subject index is like an ordinary book’s multi-level index except that it indexes many books simultaneously,
each entry providing a pointer into the bibliography. There are 36,263 entries. Because it is so large, I have
provided a short list of the 481 top level index entries to help you find your way around.
I have included entries in three ways:
• If I have read a book, I have built up my own index entries independently of any index in the book.
• Where I have not read the work I have included general entries based on available information.
• Some books have not been indexed. Some are “indexes” in themselves (such as Pritchard “Swiss timepiece
makers 1775-1975”) and a few books cannot be indexed because their content is so specific that the title
and review are sufficient.
In addition, the index contains entries under Reviews, which refer to specific topics on which I have
commented, and Reviewer, which lists the names of other people who have provided reviews.
The hardest decisions were how to classify the information and what to include in the index.
Classification is a headache because some index headings contain many entries. I have provided two aids to
the user. First, where I feel it is necessary, cross reference entries are included; for example, the entry “Duplex”
is simply “See Escapement, duplex”. Second, some index headings are split in two, using the singular form for
specific information and the plural form to indicate more general references. For example, case contains entries
on watch case construction and repair whereas cases references descriptions, types and illustrations.
The major problem with what to include is my inability to provide any indication of the depth and quality
of the text in the corresponding book; entries may point to a few lines or an entire book, and the information
might be excellent or poor. In consequence, I have indexed books without regard to quality. The user must
rely on the bibliography entries and reviews to decide on the appropriateness of the selected works to their
needs. In some situations I have deliberately omitted entries. For example, I have tried to index only interesting
illustrations; my criteria being that the illustration is good and it displays something more than “just another
watch”. Likewise, I have tried to limit the makers entries to those that do not appear in the basic references
(such as Loomes) or for which significant information is provided.
Finally, it must be noted that the index was built up over about twenty years, during which time my opinions
about what to index and how to categorise it changed. In consequence there are inconsistencies, unwarrented
omissions and silly inclusions. However I hope the result will be of some use despite its inadequacies.
9
Introduction
Buying books
The accumulative instinct in Sir Thomas seems to have approached, if not even passed, mania
“Collecting, an unruly passion”, W. Muensterberger
As the primary purpose of a bibliography is to tell you about books you haven’t read, a few remarks may be
useful for unfortunate souls like myself.
First, book prices generally follow a pattern, rising or falling depending on demand and quality. Occasionally
sudden changes may occur, as when a new edition appears or multiple copies are sold. But there are exceptions
without obvious reasons. For example the “Official catalogue of Swiss watch repair parts” was offered for $126
in 1996 and $30 in 1998. Similarly, I bought a copy of Bestfit #111 for $39 at the same time as a copy sold at
auction for $153.
Second, whether general book dealers undervalue books or horological specialists overprice them is not for
me to say, but there is a fairly consistent price difference between them which can be quite large.
Third, auction prices are very strange, probably reflecting the salesmanship of the seller and the irrationality
of the bidder rather than the value of the lot. (I was comforted recently when a book sold at auction for about
$5,000 and my copy, bought only a few months earlier, cost me $350.)
Fourth, second-hand book lists are frequently vague and sometimes misleading. Several times I have bought
books listed under their first edition dates only to receive a modern reprint; Wilkinson “The escapement and
train of American watches” is a good example of a facsimile which is only distinguishable from the original by its
cleanliness and slight difference in size.
The existing situation doesn’t surprise me and the absence of adequate bibliographies and coherent price
guides make it to be expected. The book collector is at a severe disadvantage when confronted with a book for
sale and has no means to determine if it is cheap or expensive. (Equally, book sellers probably find it hard to
determine what to ask.) Hopefully this bibliography will help the buyer make sensible decisions, especially if a
few guidelines are observed:
• Do you actually intend to read the books? Let me be frank (the authors are dead), Piaget and Kemlo are
basically rubbish. Indeed, of my 800 or so books there are maybe two dozen I would consider worthy of
owning for their content. I justify buying books by saying I need them to write this book, but in reality I
am a collector willing to pay out large sums for very little return.
• Be aware of the book’s printing history and the relative values of different editions. In some cases the
differences in content from one edition to another are so great that they should be regarded as distinct
works.
• Compare prices from several sources and don’t buy at auction unless you know what you would pay
in a bookshop. If buying by mail order or on the internet ask for details. In particular make sure of
the edition, condition and completeness (some books appear for sale with parts or supplements missing
but this may not be clearly indicated). Searching internet book sites is fun. I search using the keyword
“watches” and get such interesting entries as “Angelique had lain naked in Gold Beard’s arms, responding
to his caresses, yet remaining faithful to Joffrey de Peyrac. Now, as savage Indians gather for war, she is
humiliated, spurned by the one man she loves, scorned by those whose life she had once saved, a prey to
Jesuit hatred. Her heart torn by conflicting emotions, Angelique watches ...”!
• Avoid “rare” pamphlets! These are often puff, fun and overpriced relative to their usefulness. Although
it will be rejected by book dealers and collectors, I have actually found some value in assessing books
by their “weight”. This is probably because I am concerned with the content and a book’s weight gives
some indication of the amount of information it contains (although not of its quality). It is an interesting
exercise to compare prices per quarto page; the cost divided by number of pages with some allowance for
page size.
• If reading books is a minor consideration, you either want attractive bookshelves (in which case only
condition matters) or you are investing (and only good first editions and rare books will grace your walls).
In either case you cannot open your books (any sign of use will devalue them) and I don’t think this
bibliography will be of use to you.
The value of checking before you buy will rapidly become clear. On internet book sites, some listing over
a million books, it is tempting to buy the first copy you come across to save searching through the seemingly
endless lists. But often several copies will be for sale with prices varying by 100% or more. Likewise, just because
something seems rediculously cheap do not assume it is a reprint; occasionally first editions are sold at reprint
prices.
A short list
Finally, a few personal suggestions.
Of the books I have read (admitedly only a fraction of those in the bibliography) some stand out above
the rest. Varying from general historical and repair works, to specialised references, to outright oddities, they
provide an incomplete, and at times strange, but reasonable coverage of most aspects of horology in the small.
These, to my mind, would be amongst the first I would buy if I were to start collecting books from scratch.
Although other people will certainly disagree with some of my choices, the following short list of 78 books
may be useful as a guide to the better, primarily English language works.
R61 Andrewes, WJH (ed): “The quest for longitude”, 1998
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