Brooklyn Museum: Decorative Arts: "Ball" Wall Clock

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"Ball" Wall Clock

The Ball wall clock, sometimes called the Atomic clock, has become an icon of mid-twentieth century American design. It was the star of a line commissioned by the Howard Miller Clock Company to update its collection for a new, postwar generation of consumers. The rods and spheres evoking the structure of the atom introduced a modern scientific note into home or office interiors.

Designers: Irving Harper, American, 20th century; for George Nelson Associates
Manufacturer: Howard Miller Clock Co., founded 1926
Medium: Painted birch, steel, brass
Place Manufactured: Zeeland, Michigan, USA
Dates: 1948-1969
Dimensions: 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (34.3 x 34.3 x 7 cm)
Markings: Decal label, black on gold: "Howard Miller Clock Company [in script] / ZEELAND, MICHIGAN / 115 v. 60 CY 2 WATTS / PATTERN N." At left in circle between inverted "U" shapes: "chronograph [in script]"
Collections: Decorative Arts
Museum Location: This item is on view in Luce Visible Storage and Study Center, 5th Floor
Accession Number: 2000.101.1
Credit Line: H. Randolph Lever Fund
Image: Overall, 2000.101.1_transp4820.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Catalogue Description: Ball Wall Clock. Central wooden disc, painted orange houses works of clock. From the outer component of this disc twelve brass rods radiate, each terminating in orange painted wooden ball. Hour hand is long tapering triangle terminating in broad triangle painted black. Minute hand is thin strip intersected near end by oval shape, painted black. Second hand is small thin strip with circle at short end, painted red. On reverse is affixed a direct plug with two tines in plastic casing and a small hole for hanging. CONDITION: Very good. Some fading of orange and minor losses to paint. See conservation report. Model No. 4755

Collections: Decorative Arts: "Ball" Wall Clock