Description
19th Century English Gilt Brass Perpetual Desk Calendar in the Victorian Baroque Revival Style. The sculptural case, with its scrolling foliage, masks, and cresting, frames three viewing windows that display the day of the week, the numerical date, and the month, all changed by hand‑operated drums concealed within the body. This is not a static ornament: unlike many surviving examples with seized movements or missing knobs, this calendar retains its complete rotating drum mechanism and functions exactly as intended.
Operation method (please read carefully before use): Inside the case are three internal cylinders (“drums”): one printed with the days of the week, one with the months, and one with the date numbers. Each drum is controlled by small dials set into the sides of the calendar. The three dials on the left side are used to move the day, date, and month backward; the dials on the right side move them forward. Adjust the display by slowly turning the appropriate dial until the desired day, number, or month appears in the front aperture. Never spin the dials quickly or forcefully. Each drum has a fixed beginning and end to its printed sequence. For example, when you reach the final “Monday” on the day drum, you will see the word “RETURN” printed underneath. This is the signal that you have reached the end of the roll. At that point, stop, gently reverse direction, and roll back to the start of the sequence. Always handle the dials with patience, delicacy, and a light touch. The mechanism has survived in notably good working order for more than a century and will continue to function “perpetually” if used with care.
As with all Victorian perpetual calendars, the date is changed manually. Because the drums carry complete cycles of days, dates, and months, and no year is printed, this piece never goes out of date. Its rarity lies not only in the lavish Baroque Revival casting and warm original brass surface, but also in the fact that the original working mechanism and knobs remain intact, offering an authentic 19th‑century desk accessory that is as engaging to operate as it is striking to display on a desk, library table, or curated bookshelf vignette.
H=9.5 in. W=6.25 in. D=4 in. 3 lbs.
