platform escapement · 1889 · travelling case
strikes the hour on a coiled gong, almost inaudible unless the room is already silent. it has a half-hour ping too, which can be repeated by pushing the lever on top — for waking in unfamiliar hotels, in another century.
last wound on the train back from the coast. the key is kept in its own velvet pouch inside the leather travelling case. nobody has carried it anywhere in a long time.
field-note · the glass on the back panel has a hairline crack the shape of a small river.
clock room · ticking · ferry · harbour · traveller