In the middle of the 19th century there were two principal visual forms of the cuckoo clock. However, the exact origin of the cuckoo clock is not totally clear to this day. This type of clock was made from approximately 1730 on and was considered to be the specific clock style of the Black Forest. The cuckoo itself was to be found in the semicircle behind a small door. The clock was composed of an almost square board for the clock face and a raised semicircle, and was lavishly decorated. The first model of a cuckoo clock was a painted wooden clock. The cuckoo clock became known throughout the world thanks to the peddling 'clock carriers' from the Black Forest who literally carried the clocks on their backs in rucksacks. Since the 18th century the clockmakers of their region have specialized in the development of this type of clock.

All over the world the cuckoo clock is regarded a symbol of the Black Forest. These original clocks evolved during the early 18th century into clocks known as the “Schilderuhr” which added hand painting, a minute hand, and chimes. The clocks were made entirely of wood, including the movements. The first clocks of the Black Forest, called “wood-beam clocks” were built around the year 1640, on a farm called Glashof. During the long winter months, the farms were snowed-in and the people had a lot of time to create finely handcrafted cuckoo clocks of many styles with rich and varied carvings. In 1808 there were already 688 clockmakers and 582 clock peddlers in the districts of Triberg and Neustadt.

With their inventive genius, cleverness and dexterity, the inhabitants of the region employed the long winter months in making cuckoo clocks with richly hand carved decorations from various woods. Over the following years, the clock industry developed rapidly in the Black Forest. Ketterer managed to reproduce the cuckoo's call by the clever use of bellows producing two different sounds. The first Black Forest Cuckoo Clock was designed and made by Franz Anton Ketterer in the small village of Schönwald near Triberg, Germany, in the depths of the Black Forest.

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