Johann Baptist Beha
Encyclopedia
Johann Baptist Beha was a prestigious Black Forest
clockmaker
born in Oberbränd (Eisenbach
). He was trained by his father, the master clockmaker Vinzenz Beha (1764-1868), in his workshop where he built around 365 clocks between 1839 and 1845. At that time V. Beha was already known for the quality of his clocks, he made the so called Shield cuckoo clocks.
In 1845 Johann B. Beha founded his own clockshop in Eisenbach, beginning the manufacturing of his celebrated clocks.
The cases for Beha clocks came from case/woodcarvers shops located in different towns of the Black Forest such as Waldkirch
, Furtwangen, Villingen, Vöhrenbach
and Dittishausen.
When signed, the Beha clocks bore two types of identifications; either a stick-on label which would be on the case back-board on the inside of the case or the name "Beha" engraved on one of the two brass fuseé drum ends. However, it is necessary to emphasize that most of the Beha timepieces were not signed and it is almost impossible to identify a Beha based on the case alone. The case makers that supplied Beha with their cases, sold identical cases to other manufacturers too. So today we can find identical cases, but in fact they were not made by the Beha enterprise. For example Aaron Ketterer and Theodor Ketterer
frequently used the Beha designed and their cases are nearly identical. That is why the mechanism is the crucial part to give a positive attribution.
After the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, Johann B. Beha took his two sons, Lorenz and Engelbert, into his firm as partners and the company was refounded as "Johann Baptist Beha und Söhne".
While the big factories - Junghans
, Kienzle, Philipp Haas und Söhne and Werner, and the smaller firms like Dold, Hilser, Gordian Hettich Sohn, Rombach and Maier- developed their cuckoo clock production in response to the growing demand of the new middle-class for a cheaper clock, especially cheaper carvings, the Behas followed a contrary strategy. They did not believe in the success of the mass-produced cuckoo clock. A similar strategy was followed by other Black Forest clock manufacturers such as Emilian Wehrle
, Winterhalder und Hofmeier, Maurer und Höfler, etc.
When Johann Baptist Beha died in 1898, his sons Lorenz (1865 - 1941) and Engelbert (1866 - 1949) continued with the company in Eisenbach. The manufacturing program consisted of; cuckoo/quail clocks, cuckoo clocks with echo, weight operated clocks, spring powered clocks, trumpeter clocks, monk ringing a monastery bell, calendar clocks, etc.
The largest export market of Beha clocks was to the United Kingdom
and Russia
. In Saint Petersburg
Beha even operated their own warehouse, from there the clocks were marketed to different countries, but with the outbreak of World War I
, the St. Petersburg warehouse was closed. The Beha enterprise struggled during the 1920's to recover the lost export market facing extremely difficult economic times and during the 1930's, with the onset of the economic dictatorship of the "Hitler Regime" in the year 1933, the use of brass and copper was strictly rationed, although the production continued on a very limited scale until 1938. But finally after the World War II
the production was stopped forever in 1956.
Johann Baptist Beha represented the typical Black Forest clockmaker of the 18th and 19th century: experimenting, inventing, self-educated, always seeking solutions with limited theoretical knowledge, creating technical miracles beyond any comparison today.
The clocks made by the Beha company are sought-after collector pieces and are part of both private collections and the most reputed museums in the world such as the British Museum
, the Cuckooland Museum
or the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum
in Germany.
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
clockmaker
Clockmaker
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to repairing clocks and watches...
born in Oberbränd (Eisenbach
Eisenbach
Eisenbach is a town in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
). He was trained by his father, the master clockmaker Vinzenz Beha (1764-1868), in his workshop where he built around 365 clocks between 1839 and 1845. At that time V. Beha was already known for the quality of his clocks, he made the so called Shield cuckoo clocks.
In 1845 Johann B. Beha founded his own clockshop in Eisenbach, beginning the manufacturing of his celebrated clocks.
Contributions to the construction of cuckoo clocks
The clockmaker introduced the following innovations into the construction of cuckoo clocks:- He was the first to equip a Bahnhäusle style clock case with a cuckoo mechanism in 1854. A milestone in the Black Forest clock history, after this cuckoo clocks became popular and marketed worldwide. Indeed, although the Bahnhäusle style creator, Friedrich Eisenlohr, had proposed a cuckoo clock in his 1850 original design, however it was not until 1854 when J. B. Beha became the first clockmaker who take it from drawing to reality.
- He was also the first to make Black ForestBlack ForestThe Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
wall and shelf cuckoo clocks with spring-wound movements. Between 1845 and 1850 the first 8-day cuckoos with fusee movements were built. At that time, without exception, the clocks had wooden plate movements. By adopting the English fusse system in his clocks he expanded the export market of cuckoo clocks to the U.K. The main importers of his clocks were Camerer, Kuss & Co., London; Morath Brothers, Liverpool; and Bohringer, Belfast. Camerer Kuss was also the main exporters of Beha clocks to India. - About 1850 Beha made the first oil painted picture frame cuckoo clocks, where the cuckoo was not integrated in the picture. Also about that time, the first cuckoo clocks with moving eyes came into use.
The cases for Beha clocks came from case/woodcarvers shops located in different towns of the Black Forest such as Waldkirch
Waldkirch
Waldkirch is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is known as "the place of mechanical organs", where fairground organs are manufactured and played on the streets from well-known manufacturers, such as A. Ruth and Sohn, Bruder and Carl Frei .-Sights:* The Catholic Church St...
, Furtwangen, Villingen, Vöhrenbach
Vöhrenbach
Vöhrenbach is a town in the district of Schwarzwald-Baar, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the Breg River, 12 km west of Villingen-Schwenningen....
and Dittishausen.
When signed, the Beha clocks bore two types of identifications; either a stick-on label which would be on the case back-board on the inside of the case or the name "Beha" engraved on one of the two brass fuseé drum ends. However, it is necessary to emphasize that most of the Beha timepieces were not signed and it is almost impossible to identify a Beha based on the case alone. The case makers that supplied Beha with their cases, sold identical cases to other manufacturers too. So today we can find identical cases, but in fact they were not made by the Beha enterprise. For example Aaron Ketterer and Theodor Ketterer
Theodor Ketterer
Theodor Ketterer was a renowned Black Forest clockmaker who worked in Furtwangen, .Although his cuckoo clocks were not as popular and known as the ones made by the Beha company, they were of the highest quality and made in low numbers....
frequently used the Beha designed and their cases are nearly identical. That is why the mechanism is the crucial part to give a positive attribution.
After the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, Johann B. Beha took his two sons, Lorenz and Engelbert, into his firm as partners and the company was refounded as "Johann Baptist Beha und Söhne".
While the big factories - Junghans
Junghans
Junghans Uhren GmbH is Germany's largest watch and clock manufacturer.The company is located in Schramberg, Baden-Württemberg. On 15 April 1861 Erhard Junghans created the company „Junghans und Tobler“ together with his brother-in-law Jakob Zeller-Tobler in Schramberg .The company began to produce...
, Kienzle, Philipp Haas und Söhne and Werner, and the smaller firms like Dold, Hilser, Gordian Hettich Sohn, Rombach and Maier- developed their cuckoo clock production in response to the growing demand of the new middle-class for a cheaper clock, especially cheaper carvings, the Behas followed a contrary strategy. They did not believe in the success of the mass-produced cuckoo clock. A similar strategy was followed by other Black Forest clock manufacturers such as Emilian Wehrle
Emilian Wehrle
Emilian Wehrle Emilian Wehrle Emilian Wehrle (1832 – 1896, born in Schönenbach (Furtwangen), was a reputed Black Forest clockmaker famous for his high-quality musical clocks. These musical clocks included the Trumpeter Clock, Flute Clock, Singing Bird Clock, and Rooster Clock. These timepieces call...
, Winterhalder und Hofmeier, Maurer und Höfler, etc.
When Johann Baptist Beha died in 1898, his sons Lorenz (1865 - 1941) and Engelbert (1866 - 1949) continued with the company in Eisenbach. The manufacturing program consisted of; cuckoo/quail clocks, cuckoo clocks with echo, weight operated clocks, spring powered clocks, trumpeter clocks, monk ringing a monastery bell, calendar clocks, etc.
The largest export market of Beha clocks was to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. In Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
Beha even operated their own warehouse, from there the clocks were marketed to different countries, but with the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the St. Petersburg warehouse was closed. The Beha enterprise struggled during the 1920's to recover the lost export market facing extremely difficult economic times and during the 1930's, with the onset of the economic dictatorship of the "Hitler Regime" in the year 1933, the use of brass and copper was strictly rationed, although the production continued on a very limited scale until 1938. But finally after the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the production was stopped forever in 1956.
Awards and recognitions
The company won several awards as well as gold and silver medals for the quality in workmanship and design in different countries, like the Gold Medal of the Vienna World Trade Exhibition of 1873. He was the only Black Forest cuckoo clock maker who was honored in such a way. Former honors at the International exhibition in London 1862, and Paris 1867 and at regional exhibitions in Villingen 1858 and Karlsruhe 1861, had also testified to the excellent quality of the cuckoo clocks of Johann B. Beha. For the clocks shown in Philadelphia in 1876, the firm was honored with the meritory medal by the United States Centennial Commission. Further honors followed at the exhibitions in Karlsruhe 1877, London 1885, Freiburg 1877, Chicago 1893 and Strasbourg 1895.Johann Baptist Beha represented the typical Black Forest clockmaker of the 18th and 19th century: experimenting, inventing, self-educated, always seeking solutions with limited theoretical knowledge, creating technical miracles beyond any comparison today.
The clocks made by the Beha company are sought-after collector pieces and are part of both private collections and the most reputed museums in the world such as the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, the Cuckooland Museum
Cuckooland Museum
The Cuckooland Museum, previously known as the Cuckoo Clock Museum, is a museum that exhibits mainly cuckoo clocks, located in Tabley, co. Cheshire, England...
or the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum
Deutsches Uhrenmuseum
The German Clock Museum is situated near the centre of the Black Forest town of Furtwangen im Schwarzwald, a historic centre of clockmaking. It features permanent and temporary exhibits on the history of timekeeping...
in Germany.
External links
- Beha cuckoo clock catalogue, ca. 1895
- A private collection of Antique Black Forest Clocks including many Beha cuckoos
- Cuckoo land museum 1 & Cuckoo land museum 2, two videos about the only museum in the world devoted mainly to the cuckoo clock with many Beha timepieces.
- Video showing the selling of a Beha cuckoo clock at an auction for $8.000