MELBOURNE.- Spanning over 300 years of horological history The Hose Collection of Clocks, Mechanical Music and Automata. features rare timepieces by Australian and European clockmakers and is estimated at AUD$1,000,000 (£600,000). The auction takes place in Melbourne with Leonard Joel on Monday 25 June

Ken Hose is a respected authority in his field and along with his wife, Judy has published three books on Australian clockmakers including Fritz Ziegeler and Charles Falck.

Ken has been fascinated by clocks and their mechanics since he was a teenager and began a mechanics apprenticeship at a local garage. While there, he often admired an old American wall clock and when the garage was demolished, he rescued the clock and took it home. That moment led to over 40 years of collecting and restoring clocks, and to the creation of one of the most diverse and extraordinary collections of its kind.

Leading the auction is an exceptional George II musical organ clock (estimate $40,000-50,000) by renowned English clockmaker, Charles Clay. Made in London circa 1735, originally for the Dutch market, the clock is housed in a large mahogany bell-topped case with gilt brass feet with an exquisitely hand-painted frontispiece depicting allegorical scenes and featuring moving figures. Clay was regarded as a master clockmaker and two very similar pieces to this one, The Temple and Oracle of Apollo and The Temple of the Four Grand Monarchies of the World, were both acquired for the British Royal Collection and can be seen today at Windsor Castle and Kensington Palace.

The auction also features a rare golden eagle swinging clock (estimate $20,000- 30,000) by German clockmaker Charles Falck. Falck, who was trained in the art of watchmaking, was widely regarded as a mechanical genius. Like many, he was drawn to Australia by the Gold Rush and arrived in 1854, settling in Melbourne. In 1862, he moved to Beechworth, where he opened his own business as a watchmaker and gold buyer. His horological skills were revealed in a clock of his own design and manufacture which was exhibited at the first Melbourne Exhibition in 1856, winning Falck the gold medal.

Other highlights include an extremely rare French mantle clock, circa 1875 (estimate: $40,000-50,000). Modelled on the USS Monitor which was built during the American Civil War 1862, the clock depicts an iron clad ship with a rotating gun turret designed to float semi submerged. The eight-day clock, known as 'The Monitor', with two thermometers, a barometer, revolving gun turret and a propeller which turns with the turret also features funnels, air vents, deck ladders, lifeboat and ships wheel compass. The model is mounted on a plinth of cast waves.

Finally, the clock which perhaps conveys the passion behind this collection is the Bristol Cathedral Tower Clock, made by the Kemp Brothers of Bristol in 1901 (estimate on request). The cast iron dial, which measures 240cm across, is decorated with an ivy leaf motif and was acquired by Ken and Judy Hose at an Antique Clock Auction at St. Kilda Town Hall in 1974, having been shipped to Australia from the U.K. the previous year. The clock took pride of place in Ken and Judy’s home until recently, dominating an entire wall.

In the words of horologist and auction curator Phil Gore, ‘it is fitting that this fine collection should finally be dispersed at Leonard Joel, where many of the pieces were once acquired.’