Synchronome (Englische Elektrische Uhren)

[Horology]

Die Antiquarian Horological Society ist in der Schlussphase vor der Publikation eines grossen neuen Buches ueber die Firma SYNCHROME

270 Seiten, grossformatig, 300+ farbige Illustrationen.

Sie sind daran interessiert herauszufinden (OHNE Verpflichtung) wer moeglicherweise an dem Titel interessiert ist um gebuegend Exemplare zu drucken aber nicht auf einer Rieseninvestition sitzen zu bleieben.

Bitte die folgende Webseite besuch und interesse anmeleden


http://www.ahsoc.org/synchronomebook.html



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Register your interest...
o "Synchronome - Masters of Electrical Timekeeping"
by Robert H.A. Miles

o If you would be interested in purchasing this book please register your interest in advance. This will help ensure that the size of the first print run is tailored as accurately as possible.
o
o Registering an interest does not commit you in any way.
o
o To register an interest
in this much anticipated book, please click on the e-mail address below and send your name and contact details to
synchronome@ahsoc.org
You will then be notified of any updates, and of the release of the published book.

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Synchronome - Masters of Electrical Timekeeping

by Robert H. A. Miles

The Antiquarian Horological Society is delighted to give advance notice of its publication of Bob Miles’s long-awaited book on Synchronome. After more than fifteen years in the research and writing, this gargantuan project is nearing its closing stages with final details of printing and binding being discussed.

To give you a flavour of what to expect, here are some important features:
Size: quarto book size (pages are 305mm x 241mm)
Binding: thread sewn hardback book, with fine quality cloth cover and full gloss dust jacket
Paper: 150gsm silk art paper
Pages: approx. 265 pages (120,000+ words)
Illustrations: more than 300 illustrations, mostly in colour, many bespoke for the book



Chapter Plan
Chapter 1 charts the lives of all the key characters of the story (Frank and Robert Hope-Jones, George Bennett Bowell, William Hamilton Shortt and a variety of key employees). It covers the early history of the firm from the 1890s, through troubled times, world wars, involving the triumphs of precision timekeeping, factory expansion, the diversification of products, all the way through to the firm’s eventual demise, illustrated throughout with pictures of the key figures and places.

Chapters 2 to 5 chart the development of the Synchronome master clock through all its forms, variants and uses, profusely illustrated, with details of rare and unusual models. The chapters are divided as follows: 2 – The Years of Pioneering 1894–1905; 3 – The Years of Development 1905–1918; 4 – The Years of Achievement 1918–1960; and 5 – The Final Years 1960–1980.

Chapters 6 and 7 deal in detail with slave dials, their form and design, famous installations, and a variety of ancillary pieces of equipment produced by the firm, such as programmers, distribution boards, batteries, warning lamps and so forth.

Chapters 8 and 9 explore in detail the development of precision clocks by William Hamilton Shortt, and include extensive extracts from previously unpublished sources, as well as high resolution photographs of the prototype Shortt clock, No. 0, commissioned especially from the National Museums of Scotland for the book. Appendix 2 contains a detailed list of all known Shortt clocks, the detail of their order-book specification as well as original location and subsequent history where known.

Chapters 10 to 12 round off the story with an account of Synchronome’s involvement in the transmission of time by wireless, its adoption of the synchronous clock, and the development of marine clocks.

Chapter 13 will be invaluable to collectors and conservators since it gathers together crucial information on the repair, set-up and maintenance of Synchronome clocks and dials, again profusely illustrated with clearly labelled colour pictures and diagrams.

Appendix 1 provides dating charts that illustrate the progression of Synchronome designs, the various detailed elements of the clocks, and also the correlation between serial numbers and dates.

Appendix 2 provides a list and description of all Shortt clocks. Finally, the book has been indexed thoroughly, producing more than 2,000 references.

What will it look like?
To give you an idea of the layout and content of some typical pages, click on each of the following thumbnail images to download a pdf of that page (these are still proofs):




What will it cost?
The price will be £50 for AHS members and £65 for non-members, plus postage & packing in each case. International purchases will be made possible by Paypal in time for publication.

If you would like to register an interest to purchase the book, please click on the e-mail address below and send your name and contact details to
synchronome@ahsoc.org
You will then be notified of any updates, and of the release of the published book.

Registering an interest does not commit you to a purchase.

TO ENSURE YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO ACQUIRE A COPY OF THIS IMPORTANT BOOK
PLEASE REGISTER NOW!

[Wynen]

Ich habe vor ein paar Tagen das Buch erhalten und kann nur sagen: großartig.

Es ist selten, dass in einem Buch Geschichte und Technik auf so hervorragende Weise vereinigt werden. Das Buch ist nicht nur für Besitzer von Synchronom-Uhren (oder solchen, die es werden wollen) interessant. Es beschreibt auch die Geschichte der Entwicklung der elektrischen Uhren um 1900 (aus englischer Sicht).

Sicherlich, die Ausstattung des Buches hat ihren Preis. Aber den ist es aus meiner Sicht in jedem Fall wert.

Gruß
Hartmut

[Wynen]

P.S

Falls jemand als Primärliteratur dazu das Buch von Hope-Jones "Electrical Timekeeping" in der ersten Auflage von 1940 zu Rate ziehen will, das gibt es online bei der Universität Delhi http://library.du.ac.in/dspace/ als PDF zu lesen. Einfach dort nach Hope-Jones suchen.