Cazalea takes readers on the second part of his Dutch Music Box and Clockworks Tour, revealing an astonishing private collection. He describes a visit to a collector's home, showcasing an unparalleled array of horological devices, planetariums, and astrolabes, far surpassing many museum holdings.
This is the second installment in my report on Dutch museums and collections of musical and animated clockwork devices. We traveled by coach to a private home for our second visit. And we were stunned!
This collector has more desirable stuff than most museums in the world. I'm just talking about his clocks and planetariums and astrolabes and globes!
For the moment let's skim over the cool house(s),
in a glorious setting,
the vintage rallying Bentley(s)
and the fine food and wine provided by our host.
Shall we descend into the basement rooms? Past the roaring fireplace, under the massive beams ...
into the land of wonders...
Just the custom display cabinets made me jealous, not to mention their contents which were seemingly unlimited
If you think there are duplicate photos, let me know. I felt it went on forever
Not everything is tucked away. This is a man who likes to play with his toys:
A few years ago he decided to make some new astronomical clocks, and here's the one that faces his back garden:
I saw the back of this clock but neglected to get a photo (my mouth was gaping open).
He decided it would be nice to have a planetarium, and didn't feel like buying a van der Klaauw planetarium watch. Here's how his ceiling appears in the planetarium room. Notice the orbit of Haley's Comet traversing our solar system.
Notice it says constructed in 2008! A drop panel revealed some of the mechanism.
Now here's a fish-eye view of the planetarium room:
After viewing all the cool stuff scattered across three floors in his "overflow house" he led us to a cupboard, opened the door, unlatched a panel at the back, and we marched through a tunnel into the other house - and to our amazement, came out through the wardrobe in the dining room! (No, we didn't see a Lion, or a Witch).
As we left the house for dinner (throwing covetous glances over our shoulders) I noticed what appeared to be a medieval torture device. It was. The first exercise bicycle!
If you enjoying the tour, please encourage me so I can keep sorting through the photos and videos while preparing Part 3
Cheers,
Cazalea
PS - In case he seems like he's on top of the world, here is his next-door neighbor's house - wide angle
and zoom on the chimney
