{{short description|Prussian watchmaker}} {{Refimprove|date=May 2014}} <!-- This article is of encyclopaedic interest. It describes the life and work of one of the most import watchmakers of Berlin during the late baroque.(The researches continue). Link of an article at an important German watchmaker encyclopaedia [http://watch-wiki.de/index.php?title=George%2C_Louis]

The history of Berlin was very turbulent for the last 91 year. During the II.WW historical collections have been moved - sites been destroyed. During the communist reign more historical tradition of Berlin and Prussia was erased (i.e. the blasting of royal city palace in 1950 [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Stadtschloss]). This article wants to help to restore the lost parts of the history of Berlin and its citizens. --> {{otheruses}} [[File:Louis George Konsolenuhr console clock.jpg|thumb|right|Royal console clock made by the ''Louis George'' workshops at Berlin, [[Prussia]]]] [[File:Frederick II of Prussia Coloured drawing.png|thumb|right|[[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick the Great]] King of Prussia and the sovereign prince of the Principality and the watchmaking industry hub of [[Neuchâtel]], Switzerland.]] [[File:Blick über die Lange Brücke auf das Berliner Schloss.jpg|right|thumb|The Berlin Lange Bruecke with city palace and a row of houses (left-hand side) with the workshops of Louis George]] [[File:Hermann Rückwardt - Lange Brücke (1889).jpg|thumb|right|Photo of the Berlin Lange Bruecke (1889) and a row of shops. Louis Georges workshop was in the rooms of ''Zadek S. Friedlaender'']]

'''Louis George''' was a Prussian master watchmaker of the late [[baroque]] era.

Louis George was a descendant of French [[Huguenots]] living in Berlin in the third generation. Louis George produced mainly daedal{{huh|date=October 2014}} watches. Reported makes are: pocket watches, nautical clocks, mechanical odometer, console clocks, long case clocks, dead second watches.

==Working period== On the 26 December 1769 Louis George applied for the patent as the royal watchmaker and succeeded. He was allowed to call himself from now on “Horloger du Roy” — in English, "watchmaker to the king". French was the language of the Berlin nobility.

The literature on Louis George reports different working periods. The writer Gerhard Koenig states in his book a working period from 1769 to 1796. The address calendar of Berlin lists the Louis George in the editions of the years 1799 and 1801.

The addresses of Louis George's workshops mentioned at the Berlin ''Adresskalender'' are ''Schlossplatz 10'' and ''13'' (in 1799) and ''Schlossplatz 10'' in (1801), right opposite the [[Stadtschloss, Berlin|Stadtschloss]] (city palace) of Berlin. Starting in 1815 ''Louis George et compagnie'' produced lever pocket watches, most probably a son of the royal watchmaker.

==Watchmaker to the King== Louis George was a talented watchmaker and artist. He did not just create watches but real gems of watch making. His posh watches enchanted the audience and recovered the respect of the Berlin nobility and solvent bourgeoisie. His business flourished and he was capable of opening a second shop in the same street opposite the royal city palace.

Located at Berlin he provided watches for three generations of Prussians kings: * [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick II.]] (the Great) King of Prussia * his nephew and successor [[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William II.]] King of Prussia * his nephew and successor [[Frederick William III of Prussia|Frederick William III.]] King of Prussia

Other German monarchs appreciated the masterly crafted clocks and watches too. A long case clock with an organ movement formerly owned by [[George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen|Georg I. Duke of Saxe-Meiningen]] is preserved on castle of Elisabethenburg at Meiningen. It can be visited at the art collection of the Meininger Museen at the Schloss Elisabethenburg Inventory-No. II 1908, height 2,93&nbsp;m. approx. 1790; watch dial reads: „Ls. GEORGE HORLOGER DU ROY“ / „A BERLIN“. The curator M. Ruszwurm reports that clock is equipped with a precious flute watch (also called organ watch).

A console clock with an attached flute work is exhibited at the Schloss [[Sanssouci]] at Potsdam.

<gallery> File:Louis_George_Bodenstanduhr_Flötenuhrwerk.jpg|Louis George long case clock of Georg I. Duke of [[Saxe-Meiningen]]

File:Louis_George_Historische_Uhr_1.jpg|Clock dial of a Louis George console clock at [[Sanssouci]] File:Louis_George_Music_Clock.jpg|Louis George alcove clock with an attached bronze flute work, auctioned 2005 in Paris File:LOUIS_GEORGE_Berlin_Taschenuhr_montre_de_poche_pocket_watch_01.jpg|''Louis George'' lever watch, face File:LOUIS_GEORGE_Berlin_Taschenuhr_montre_de_poche_pocket_watch_02.jpg|''Louis George'' lever watch, back File:LOUIS GEORGE montre de poche.jpg|''Louis George'' pocket watch, made in [[Berlin]] about 1810, photo: Dr.Ilk, Munich, Germany File:Berliner_Adresskalender_1769_Louis_George_1.jpg|Entry of the address of ''Louis George'' at the Berlin address book of 1769 </gallery>

==European market== Louis Georges watches and clocks can be found all over Europe. A bedroom clock displaying hour, minute and date with a rich decorated and gold-plated case was auctioned in Paris in 2005. Other clocks made by Louis George have been found in Spain.

Louis George discussed technical problems of watchmaking with other watchmakers from the Swiss Canton of Neuchâtel. He had business connections with the Swiss watchmaker [[Pierre Jaquet-Droz]] and [[Jean-Frédéric Leschot]]. These watchmakers tried to find technical solutions going far beyond the requirements of ordinary watch making. Jaquet-Droz created mechanical puppet automats. Louis George created complicated clocks with an attached organ or flute work.

== Berlin – the Baroque Hub of watchmaking == Berlin was considered a hub for the production of organ and [[:de:Flötenuhr|flute clocks]]. The clock movements released an attached organ, flute or harp unit at a preset time – working like a music alarm clock.

==Sites of historical Louis George Clocks== * [http://www.ville-ge.ch/mah/?langue=eng Musée d´Art et d´Histoire], Geneve, Switzerland: ''Dead Seconds Watch'' (Inventory No. H2006-106) * Schloss [[Sanssouci]], Maulbeerallee, 14469 Potsdam, Germany * Art collection of the [https://web.archive.org/web/20090726120633/http://www.meiningermuseen.de/mmuseeneng/index.html Museums at Meiningen] - Schloss Elisabethenburg, PF 100554, 98605 Meiningen, Germany

==Bibliography== * ''Uhren und Uhrmacherei in Berlin 1450 - 1900 - Miniaturen zur Geschichte, Kultur und Denkmalspflege Berlins, Kulturband der DDR, Berlin 1988'', by Gerhard König * {{cite book| last = Abeler| first = Jürgen| title = Meister der Uhrmacherkunst: Über 14000 Uhrmacher aus dem deutschen Sprachgebiet mit Lebens- oder Wirkungsdaten und dem Verzeichnis ihrer Werke| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nUhFMwAACAAJ| year = 1977| publisher = Uhrenmuseum }} * {{cite book| author = G. H. Baillie| title = Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BQ737Pp5GoQC&pg=PA121| year = 2008| publisher = Read Books| isbn = 978-1-4437-3353-3| page = 121 }} * {{cite book| last1 = Chapuis| first1 = Alfred| last2 = Kehrli| first2 = Charles| title = Pendules neuchâteloises: documents nouveaux| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kDOC6fyN1iQC&pg=PA113| year = 1931| publisher = Slatkine| isbn = 978-2-05-100819-8| page = 113 }} * {{cite book| last = Chapuis| first = Alfred| title = History of the musical box and of mechanical music| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FsYXAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA57| year = 1980| publisher = Musical Box Society International| isbn = 978-0-915000-01-2| page = 57 }} * {{cite book| last1 = Chapuis| first1 = Alfred| last2 = Droz| first2 = Edmond| title = Automata: a historical and technological study| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sIlTAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA199| year = 1958| publisher = Éditions du Griffon| page = 199 }} * ''Le Grand Frédéric et ses horlogers: une émigration d'horlogers suisses au XVIIIme siècle; un demi-siècle d'horlogerie berlinoise (1760–1810)'', by Alfred Chapuis, publisher: Journal suisse d'horlogerie et de bijouterie, 1938, page 64 and 65, illustration of a Louis George pocket watch

==External links== * [http://home.watchprosite.com/show-forumpost/fi-17/pi-3380736/ti-549936/s-0/ Louis George ''dead second'' pocket watch with Pouzait escapement] exhibited at the 13e Journée d'étude de la [http://www.ssc.ch Société Suisse de Chronométrie] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100607152416/http://www.louisgeorge.biz/ LOUIS GEORGE website]

===History=== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719115939/http://adressbuch.zlb.de/viewAdressbuch.php?CatalogName=adre2007&ImgId=169&intImgCount=-38&CatalogCategory=adress&Counter=&CatalogLayer=3 Berlin address calendar of 1799] at the Historische Sammlungen of the Zentral und Landesbibliothek Berlin, Breite Str.36, 10178 Berlin, Germany * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719120116/http://adressbuch.zlb.de/viewAdressbuch.php?CatalogName=adre2007&ImgId=459&intImgCount=-16&CatalogCategory=adress&Counter=&CatalogLayer=3 Berlin address calendar of 1801] at the Historische Sammlungen of the Zentral und Landesbibliothek Berlin, Breite Str.36, 10178 Berlin, Germany * [http://www.luise-berlin.de/kalender/tag/dez26.htm Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein, Berlin] – Berlin history web portal, registered association

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Louis}} [[Category:Year of birth missing]] [[Category:Year of death missing]] [[Category:People from Berlin]] [[Category:German watchmakers (people)]]