German Zeppelin Mantel Clock, c. 1929
$9,500.00
A very large and impressive 8-day mantel clock with ornate polished marquetry detailing commemorating the round the world flight of the Graf Zeppelin LZ-127 in 1929. of "Napoleon" shape, the dial in the form of a map of the Northern Hemisphere, the pierced chrome hands made to resemble the framework used to construct the airship, with "Zeppelin" tip (minute hand) and star tip (hour hand). Above the dial, the head and shoulders of Captain Dr. Eckner, set within a wreath design flanked by palm fronds. The outline of the LZ-127 can be seen below, and to the left is a scene of the Airship hangers located at Friedrichshafen. In the centre, the escutcheon is inscribed, "Our Erinnerung an die Weltfahrt 1929 red Luftschiffes Graf Zeppelin unser Furhrung von Dr. Eckner".
The LZ-127 was launched in 1928, capturing the public imagination and making an epic round-the-world flight the following year. Its successor, the ill-starred LZ-129 Hindenburg was lost in flames on final approach to Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937.
Dr. Hugo Eckner (1868-1954) directed the Zeppelin company after the death of its founder in 1917 and navigate the Graf Zeppelin on its global circumnavigation, after which he was treated as a celebrity in Weimar Germany. A fervent anti-Nazi, his political views led to him being declared persona non grata by Adolf Hitler in 1933.
Dimensions: 23" H x 37" W x 8" D
