1735 Landteck / Homann Presentation of their Novel Universal Clock

A remarkable 1735 Zacharias Landteck and J. B. Homman diagram of a 'universal clock,' with instructions in German (left) and Dutch (right) on how to use it to determine the time and thus longitude at sea - an age-old problem for mariners. This advertising piece for Landteck's clock, known as Geographische Universal Zeig und SchlagUhr an (Universal Pointing and Chiming Clock), was published in 1735, not by chance, for this was the same year that Englishman John Harrison claimed the Royal 'Longitude Act' prize for his own groundbreaking invention, the marine chronometer.

A Closer Look

The image represents the Landteck clock, a physical clock invented and constructed in 1705 by the Nuremberg clockmaker Zacharias Landteck (1670 - 1740) - there is some debate about this as an alternate version of this image and contemporaneously circulated that attributed the invention to map and instrument maker J. B. Homann. The primary image presents a clock handsomely housed in a wooden case. The central image is a northern polar projection (with insular California), surrounded by calendar and time dials that would have rotated on the actual clock. An additional ring, also rotating, is intended to distinguish night and day. In the example given here, the location of the day/night boundary is shown when the sun rises in Nuremberg on the summer solstice (on June 21 when the sun enters the sign of Cancer).

Who Invented It?

There are at least three versions of this print, all of which were issued simultaneously by Homann. One attributes the invention of the clock to Homann, while the other (this one) attributes it to Landteck. This creates an ambiguity for which history has not provided a clear answer.

Time at Sea - Competing Visions

This revolutionary clock made it possible to determine the local time along any meridian, from any location, as well as the positions and times of sunrise and sunset on any day of the year for any location in the Northern Hemisphere. This achievement was significant because armed with this information, it was possible to calculate longitude at sea, a longstanding problem for mariners.

Around the same time that Landteck invented this clock, the English polymath John Harrison (1693 - 1776) was working on his own clock in response to a Royally-sponsored contest to solve the problem of longitude at sea. The 'Longitude Act' of 1714 offered a cash prize of £20,000 (an enormous sum at the time) to anyone who could solve the problem. John Harrison announced his invention of the Marine Chronometer in 1735, the same year this image was printed.

We speculate that this was no accident. It is likely that Landteck knew of Harrison's efforts and sought to promote his own solution to the longitude at sea problem. Unlike Harrison, who had the attention of the crown of the world's most powerful maritime empire, Landteck was a single individual, isolated in a landlocked city more than 300 miles from the sea, in a nation not known for its maritime prowess. We speculate further that he reached out to the only person he likely had access to with a global reach, the Nuremberg publishing powerhouse J. B. Homann. By allowing Homann to claim partial credit for his invention, word of Landteck's clock could be advertised far and wide.

Alas, it was not to be. Harrison's momentum and royal support catapulted his marine chronometer to global fame, a version of which was eventually assigned to every oceangoing British ship. Landteck's universal clock, despite Homann's reach, was sidelined as a novelty and languished forgotten.

Geographische Universal Zeig und SchlagUhr an

Was it ever made? It seems so! Wolfram Dolz, in his study of the piece, was able to identify an auction record of the clock selling in 1955, although there is no further knowledge of that example. However, in 2005 the Musée International d'Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) managed to acquire an example for its collection - perhaps the 1955 example? In addition, in 1738, a copy of the clock was made for King Frederick August III of Poland. Although we have been unable to track it down, this example is believed to survive.

Publication History and Census

This image was published in 3 editions. The present example does not feature Homann's name, and the clock is attributed exclusively to Landteck. Another version introduces Homann's name but does not record his membership in the Königlich Preußische Sozietät der Wissenschaften (he was elected in 1715). A third state records the membership. Of the three states, this example, with only Landteck's name, is the rarest and arguably most important.