The Talking Clock with Sound Film Strip. The talking clock with a sound film strip was a technical sensation of its time: a mechanical table clock that announced the time using a human voice—automatically every 15 minutes or at the press of a button. It was designed as a night clock or alarm, allowing users to hear the time even in darkness.
Inside, a sophisticated mechanism operated a roughly 80 cm long celluloid film strip containing 48 sound grooves—one for each quarter hour of a 12-hour period. A soundbox with a sapphire needle mechanically traced the grooves; the film was rewound after each announcement, and the needle was advanced via a threaded spindle. The entire mechanism worked purely mechanically, without electricity, powered only by mainsprings.
The technology was developed by Berlin inventors Franz Seelau (mechanics) and Alexander M. Newman (sound recording), who founded the company “Die Zeitansagende Uhr GmbH” in 1910, later renamed “Sprechende Uhr AG”. The clock was featured in specialist journals and planned for international production in over 30 languages. However, it never entered full-scale production: manufacturing was costly, the film fragile, and the mechanism temperamental. The company went bankrupt in 1913.
Why it is not a “Hiller Clock”: The term “Hiller Clock” only emerged in the 1950s, when Waldemar Hiller, son of mechanic Bernhard Hiller, publicly claimed his father had invented the talking clock. But historical records clearly show that Bernhard Hiller was not involved in the development or production of the original film-based talking clock. His first patent came after the company had already gone bankrupt—and it dealt with a different concept using a phonograph record. Thus, the name “Hiller Clock” is historically inaccurate—it stems from a later legend that has since been debunked by scholars.
