Antiquarian Horology

The Antiquarian Horological Society (AHS) is a learned society formed in 1953—but perhaps that makes it sounds a dry old thing. It most emphatically is not! Indeed it is the hugely vibrant centre of all things related to the history of timekeeping, and brings together over 1500 collectors, curators, conservators, repairers, dealers, historians (of science, technology, culture and much more) and many more besides, across nearly thirty countries. It channels resources derived from that membership into supporting education, research, publishing and the pursuit of excellence.

The AHS memberships spans all age groups, and numbers the students of West Dean and BCU among its number, through to founding members who have seen the Society grow into the modern powerhouse of horological research, writing, information exchange and simple camaraderie. If you have any interest in the world of clocks, watches (including wristwatches) or any aspect of the material or social culture associated with time, the Society offers you much. There are outstanding lectures (the London Lecture Series, as well as many regional ones as well), visits to collections and other hard-to-access locations, as well as exhibitions and seminars. A jewel in the crown is the quarterly peer-reviewed journal, Antiquarian Horology, which contains scholarship at the forefront of research, as well as news, opinion, letters, beautiful colour illustrations and excellent book and literature reviews, which are wholly international in scope. Members not only receive the print version but also gain online access to an entire digitalized and searchable run of the journal, back to 1953—this is a quite extraordinary research tool.

How can I join this extraordinary venture, you may ask? Do I need a sponsor or proposer? Not at all—joining is simple, and can be achieved online in seconds via our website. I shall look forward very much to welcoming you to the Society soon.

Dr James Nye, Chairman