Maker, Hahl Automatic Clock Co, Chicago, Illinois, USA. serial no. 318, made in 1913. Graham type deadbeat escapement, one second pendulum with Ellicott compensation, one minute Harrison spiral spring remontoire, 'frictionless' pendulum crutch system.    93"h x 18"d x 25"w.

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Augustus Hahl made his first pneumatic master clock in 1877. At this time the only alternative to using pneumatics - air via compression or vacuum through a system of piping - to drive remote clocks throughout a building, was the use of DC current powered by batteries. At this time batteries had spotty reliability; maintenance and replacement of large battery bank power sources for DC electric current systems was expensive.  Pneumatics eliminated this. His design was successful and the company prospered. In 1897 the Hahl Automatic Clock Company was formed and was headquartered in Chicago.  In 1918 the Times Systems Company bought out the Hahl company. By the middle 1920's alternating current began to be distributed widely and with the introduction of the synchronous motor in combination with better frequency control by power system operators, electrical distribution, which Hahl's system had made obsolete in the late 1800's once again gained ascendancy. See Telechron Type A master clock.  The pneumatic system with its complex air handling master / slave   equipment and expensive piping needed for air distribution was no longer competitive with cheap electricity, motors and easier installation of wires over piping.