A 'Vitascope' dioramic electric timepiece

A 'Vitascope' dioramic electric timepiece, Vitascope Industries Limited, Isle of Man, circa 1941-44, The interior with mains powered isochronous timepiece movement with take-off a gear fitted with a large cam for the automaton and worm drive for the horizontal rotating cylindrical lamp shade/filter positioned within a second compartment at the rear, the creamy light blue Bakelite case of Art-Deco rounded form with the front and top planes composed as a single sweeping curve incorporating a window enclosing automaton of a rocking clipper ship with background light changing in brightness and tone depending on the time of day, over simple dot chapter ring and Art Deco pierced metal hands, the sides with integral raised moulded panels and the rear with green painted aluminium cover applied with transfer trade label Vitascope, INDUSTRIES LTD. over another inscribed U.K. PATENTS, 550361, 580886, OTHER UK AND, FOREIGN PATENTS PENDING, 32cm high Provenance: The property of a private collector, Hertfordshire. The 'Vitascope' timepiece was first developed by J.S. Thatcher on the Isle of Man in 1941 and later improved by Joseph Summerskill between 1944 and 1944. They were manufactured from shortly after WWII on the Isle of Man by the newly established Vitascope Industries Limited until circa 1968 when the business was wound-up. The electrically powered clocks included automata that caused the ship to gently rock in the waves, and the backlighting changes to indicate the changing time of the day, and the sea is lit for both sunset and sunrise.