Initially hired as a low level clerk, Le Roy worked his way up the company ladder in the early 1900s as an on-the-road sales rep, soliciting business from Chicago to New York to parts unknown. The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. I have a Seth Thomas Mantle clock that my older sisters husbands Aunt had on her mantle for years. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. The precise, delicate skill of painting clock dials with radium powder promised a much higher salary than most factory jobs available to women at the time (upwards of $18 a week), and the company soon employed as many as 200 female workers in its Ottawa plant. Immediately after, substances like promethium and tritium were used as a luminous material, and they're still being used today. We would like to redo the entrances and lobby areas and show the history of the building right on site but have not found much anywhere. Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. I think we threw it away. I think it is a clock made by Sessions. Am I missing something here? The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. The standard operating procedure of their daily work involved literally placing radium flecked paint brushes between their lips to create a finer point before application. Thank you [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. Within two decades she had lost all her teeth. styles to organize them The new features, according to a synopsis from the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, included: shifting from serif to sans-serif typefaces and from slightly ornate to more streamlined minute and second hands, all of which eased legibility; setting the clock face closer to the glass, reducing shadows; and creating a slightly smaller form overall.. Thank you. I was told it was an antique at that time. You must log in or register to reply here. Also, its not just Americans who collect, its worldwide. Safety The end of the Great War began what was, in many respects, a halcyon time for Westclox, now arguably the best-known timekeeping brand in the world. Instrument dials painted with radium-based paint, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "WWII Military Watches 'Potentially Pose Serious Cancer Risk,', "Health Effects of Radium Radiation Exposure,", "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Radium Dials,", "Lume 101: Watch Luminescence Explained,", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radium_dial&oldid=1123475907, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Jane Brickman, "Radium Girls: Women and Industrial Health Reform, 19101935,", This page was last edited on 23 November 2022, at 23:30. . Even so, our case-less dials are certainly best left behind glass and out of reach, a sad reminder of a terrible and preventable episode in industrial history, the effects of which continued to plague the town of Ottawa for many years afterward. A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. When did they stop using radium on clocks? This was a wonderful article to read. It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. They asked me to give some programs myself at some of the chapter meetings so I became a little bit better at being a public speaker, and its been great meeting people. Radium was also used until the early 1970s in "glow-in-the-dark" paints, e.g., for dials on clocks, and in other industrial applications such as instrument calibration. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . It has a patent June 18-1882 and says Dakota on the back,can you tell me more? It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. For me its kind of an inexpensive hobby because as a boy I could find them for about a dollar a piece, sometimes in good condition. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses . When did westclox start making clocks? Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. var today = new Date() This eye is horizontally elliptical in general shape, about 4 3/4 long and 1 3/4 tall with a circle in the middle making it look like a single eye. Luminous Processes employees interviewed by a journalist in 1978 stated they had been left ignorant of radium's dangers. Nowadays, Super-LumiNova, which is entirely non-radioactive and non-toxic, is the most used lume in watchmaking. Back then, radium wasn't considered to be dangerous in small doses. It also says that the patent was re-issued March 31, 1868. But the chances that you have a radium clock are slim, unless it is very old. The whole clock seems to be origional and was maintained by my grandfather who was a watch/clock repairman. Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. I have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. I just had it repaired & it works & looks great. Henry Warren invented a little synchronous motor that could go inside a clock. Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. 7&a half X 6..desk clock. Located at 41.3275 N, 89.1290 W on the map, the companys former plant is admittedly on the absolute fringes of what would typically be designated Chicagoland turf. Next year, well have been married for 49 years, Mary Ann said. The Windys said their union confirms an old Westclox employee rumor about the long-lasting nature of a relationship struck up near a certain fountain. The radium isotope (226Ra) used has a half-life of about 1,600years,[6] so radium dials remain essentially just as radioactive as when originally painted 50 or 100 years ago, whether or not they remain luminous. Origin of the eye, forklore or legends surrounding????? [9] Prior to that date, "the federal government had a limited role, if any, in ensuring the safe use of radium," according to the NRC. Something about them has always been ingrained in me. Their Scottish factory was a full manufacturing plant, at which all their clocks were assembled from start to finish with only the basic raw materials being brought in by outside suppliers. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. I was told it was long ago before even my aged family was servicing watches. Theres a seller on eBay now whos doing some really outstanding restorations of Big Bens. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? Westclox Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. A lot of the American Shelf clocks from the 1820s up to 1900 have reverse paintings in the door, on the backside of the glass. I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. During World War II they had some fantastic ads that you can see on my website like, Victory Wont Wait for the Nation Thats Late, and Guard Your Big Ben where they show a bulldog and a soldier with a gun guarding a Big Ben because during the war they stopped making clocks for the consumer market and totally switched over to military work. July 17th, 2008. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. As various larger corporate interests got involved in the years ahead, however, and as increasing competition from electronic clockmakers slowed the Big Bens dominance, the inevitable slow down began. The other thing is reproductions. The only problem is a standard size D battery does not fit. 1968 Who made westclox? I have a Westclox Magnet Key Part number 031723 I think was used to open a door as it has an arrow on 1 end. Radium was discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. Donohue, like many of her young peers in the radium industry, eventually realized that her amusing glow had been a warning of severe exposure to a radioactive substance. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. Your response or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks, Paula. Westclox Radium Dial Clock. Any guidance or help is appreciated. Westclox began as the United Clock Company of Peru, Illinois in 1885. In a way theyre preventing clocks from being thrown away so I cant totally condemn it, but it still seems like a funny thing to do. It was put away for years and last year it was given to me as I have small collection of United novelty clocks. Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. Thank you for your input. it has a picture of a huck finn type boy,carying 2 bottles of coke& a fishing pole,with his dog. Any information would be very helpful. I met somebody then who told me about the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and then I joined that and in their bi-monthly magazine I found a man looking for early Westclox information, he is now one of the foremost Westclox researchers. Did Westclox use radium? . Buy Now. Style 10 is the last numbered Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. While studying the types of Big Ben style 1 and 1A in WestcloxHistory.com, I noticed the reproduction style 1A, and have acquired about 5 of them. Fortunately, in the years since, theres been a noble effort to retain surviving parts of the building and some of the important local history that the empty factory once represented. He invited us in to look around, so we got to go up and down the big freight elevator and he found some old music boxes that were never used that he gave to us (Westclox made one or two little clocks with a music box in them). Former employees showed up to view a collection of watches, clocks, tools, photographs of the old factory, a short black and white film of the factory in action and remember working for Westclox. During the early 1900's, the effects of radiation exposure were not well understood, and radium was frequently . Thank you. Theyre just scattered in different places all over the country, little collections of hands, springs, screws, and things like that. I wonder if the younger generations are as interested in the older things as we are, although there are some younger collectors out there learning how to do clock repair. Its hard to fathom in retrospect, but in the early 20th century, it was generally believed that small amounts of radium were perfectly harmless to humans, and thus, the substances natural, long-lasting glow actually made it something of an attractive novelty of the time periodnot just on clock dials, but in the worlds of quack medicine, fashion, cosmetics, and even a proto version of energy water, called Radithor.. Radium is highly radioactive. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government The internet is fantastic, you can find out anything about just any kind of clock, exchange pictures easily, correspond with people and work together on research. These efforts, combined with an ahead-of-its-time factory welfare department and employee benefits packages, led to a lot of workers spending their whole lives with Westclox. While promoting Westclox products in Europe, the breakout of World War I and the laws of mandatory military service in his native France forced Le Roy to get his affairs in order and head for the front in 1914. Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. I think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. I first saw the clock in 1957. Ironically, the war that had cost them Gaston Le Roy had also stifled much of the companys European competition, opening up an even bigger share of the world marketplace in the 1920s. . The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. [left to right: F.W. They had one in Brazil for a while and I think also in Hong Kong. In fact, one of their designs for the military, the terrifying sounding WarAlarm, spurred a small shopping riot in Chicago in 1944 when a small batch of the clocks was made available for commercial purchase at a downtown store. In some respects, the early rise of the Western Clock MFG Co. is even more impressive considering the company didnt have all the resources of an established, major metropolis to draw from. In fact, one of their designs for the military, the terrifying sounding "WarAlarm," spurred a small shopping riot in Chicago in 1944 when a small batch of the clocks was made available for commercial purchase at a downtown store. German: WECKER (alarm); UHR (clock). The standard operating procedure of their daily work involved literally placing radium flecked paint brushes between their lips to create a finer point before application. He corresponded with Westclox General Manager Ernst Roth over the weeks that followed, but after a final letter that September, he went silent. When I went home and washed my hands in a dark bathroom, they would appear luminous and ghostly, an original Ghost Girl named Catherine Donohue (nee Wolfe) later testified. Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide , Remembering the Great War and The Clock That Caused a Near Riot . Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. A Westclox Museum has been opened within the original facility, showing off rare collections from the millions of timepieces once manufactured there. One time a friend and I were down there behind the factory and we got talking to a man who was leasing the back half of the factory to make machinery for bakeries. We thought it was 1890 or older. Radium was even used in medical applications during the 20th century. These styles constitute the The use of Radium changed over several years but it was not until late 1960ies when the last were made. For my 14th birthday I got a book called The Treasury of American Clocks and there was a picture showing the seven types of Baby Bens. $26.95. Annie Moussin designer intrieur. If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place. credit: Northern Illinois University]. theres the problem, there were two gears that were in backwards. Thanks, I have come across a mantle clock that has been in my husbands family for as long as he can remember He estimates his bother purchased the clock around 1950. When he made his first clock and plugged it into the wall it worked fine except it wasnt accurate, it was off by plus or minus a half hour a day, because the 60 cycles were not regulated at that time, so it could vary quite a bit. dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. Buy Now. Kind regards, Ben van Vliet. I was looking at it and said, aha! It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 . who can refurbush big ben still runs good perfect time purchased in 1950 cataloge #885(885). i have a large ansonia wall clock 32 1/2 x 32. According to Chemistry Explained, radium is extracted today from uranium ores in much the same way that Marie and Pierre Curie did in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Matthiessen [pictured below], who owns the powerful Illinois Zinc Company and most other things in Peru / LaSalle, decides to swoop in and save Stahlbergs little clock business, incorporating it as the Western Clock Mfg. $25.99. Thanks. As my first name is Ben, I started to collect these alarmclocks since about 1970. About the only. Early in the 20th century there was a medical practice that revolved around a new treatment involving the radioactive material called radium. Once I was winding it and one of the main springs broke, so I decided to take it all apart and fix the main spring. Underneath the #12 on the face it says: G. Falconer & Co. LTD. Hong Kong. Art and Mary Ann Windy [pictured] have been married for 49 years, met as Westclox employees and were present for the open house. Your email (will not be published) (required), The Timeless Appeal of the Westclock Big and BabyBens, The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Not Your Grandmas Cuckoo: Decapitating, Rat-Eating Clocks of the Black Forest, The Care and Repair of 19th-Century American Clocks. Through a friend I purchased an apparently antique key wind up long wooden and glass cased clock. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? Thank you. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. I know the site informs readers the amount of Big Bens produced in any one year, but does NOT for the reproduction model produced in 1970. Thank you, i have a pocket watch that says (inscribed inside) g. falconer ,,,rona & london or kona & london i dont know its in old english and says kona or hona it has 1243 all inscribed on the inside where when u open it u can see the gears, looks like an a8 and a crown with a 18 on the middle inside cover (that covers the gears) and also a 1243 and what looks like an 8 or an infinite symbol (sideways 8)then again on the part that clasps over everything on the inside an A3 or A8? I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. The clock is shielded From the glass crystal. Thanks so much I'll start with a 19j Bunn, Looking for Somebody with Some Bandwidth to do a Repair. My dad was one of the top bowlers here, Ristau said. Can you help I have never seen this mentioned anywhere. From that point on I really liked those. There are also some specialty chapters, like an alarm clock chapter and a 400-day clock chapter, one that specializes in wristwatches and one on early American pocket watches. The dial painters soon became known as the ghost girls because by the time they finished their shifts, they themselves would glow in the dark. In terms of my own collection, Im still trying to find some of the really early Big Bens. Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. Stoddard: The prices for larger wall clocks, three feet tall and up, have increased dramatically, while prices on some of the more common clocks have remained the same for the past 20 years. The lume used on vintage Rolex watches was radium-based, and radium remained the standard for nearly all Rolex lume until 1963, when growing health concerns forced a shift away from it. Recently Ive seen people taking an old Baby Ben thats worth a few bucks or so and gluing rhinestones around the bezel on the clock. Credit: pinimg. Selling for $2.50 in the years before World War I (or about $60 in modern money), the 5-inch diameter Big Ben and its half-pint cousin the Baby Ben combined to move over 900,000 units in just 1913 alone, and the Western Clock MFG Companynot yet officially known as Westcloxwas producing more than twice that many clocks annually in total. George Kern died on July 27, 1918 from a ruptured appendix, but his basic clock design lived on for years. Old Rose (pink) crackle finish Baby Ben with luminous dial: 1929 1930. Penetrating gamma radiation produced by some dials also represents a significant health risk. Despite Westcloxs deep German roots, the Illinois factory was a huge contributor to the U.S. military again during World War II, supplying upwards of a billion small parts for use in various defense products. They worked for the United States Radium Corporation painting the numbers and hands on watch. I am looking to get an approxmiate value of this clock. In the United States there does not seem to have ever been prohibitory legislation passed banning the use of radium in clocks and watches. One of the objects on display in the Benton County Historical Society's Corvallis Museum is this Westclox Radium Dial Clock. Lynda Hinshaw, At this moment I am research a clock by Falconer& co HongKong. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. As the dark cloud of fear and suspicion grew over the small town of Ottawa into the 30s, the Radium Dial Company itself refused to take any responsibility, claiming innocence and ignorance. The company later changed its name to the United States Radium Corporation. Behind the light, theyd been left in the dark. 1888. They call it Shabby Chic and sell it on eBay for 60 to 80 dollars. Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. The aim of the Western Clock MFG Co. in entering the manufacture of alarms was to apply to nickel clocks, features which were previously found only in high-priced timepieces, and prohibited in low-priced lever clocks by the high cost of production involved. Now I know that theres probably 14 basic shapes, but a lot more variations than that depending on how far you want to take things. Its basically all forward momentum from here. In a few short years, thanks to Dr. Douglas's efforts, the amount of radium available in the US more than quintupled. Created with WordPress. They worked in unvented rooms, they wore smocks that they laundered at home. Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. It sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. Sep 6, 2008. potz said: Afaik Radium was used right up to the 1950's. Some sources even say it was used up to 1968 in watches and 1978 in clocks. In the early 1920s, when the company introduced a new series of Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks with luminous dials, the work of painting on this special, glow-in-the-dark element was outsourced to the Radium Dial Companyan independent business located just up the road in the neighboring town of Ottawa, IL. Could you suggest how I could go about finding out this information. Stahlberg knows that no other noteworthy clock company has ever succeeded west of the Hudson, let alone smalltown Illinois, but he dives into the challenge, establishing his first factory. The thing I remember most is working with the people, Ristau said. As seen below, the company made something of a symbolic gesture out of honoring the last Big Ben to roll off the assembly line on July 31, 1942, the day when all production shifted to government contracts for the duration of the war. Luckily for Charles, however, he is living in the same small town as Frederick William Matthiessena fellow German, but one with a hell of a lot more money and business experience. Westclox Wrought Iron Look Wall Clock 12" 32021A. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) I would like to know the value of a #4 black, #321(in original cardboard Christmas box), mint condition, Baby Ben alarm clock is. At the start of the decade, the company brought in a skilled new industrial designer named Henry Dreyfuss; a true modernist. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. It has a removable bottom decorative piece as well as a top rounded top flat piece of wood with a verticle wooden slat on the back extending to become a peg-like extension to fit and secure the decorative piece into the top of the clock. When did Bulova stop using radium? Patton, had joined Charles Stahlbergs original start-up back in 1886 at the age of just 13, and he was still on board in 1936, 50 years later. In 1919 the company was incorporated as Western Clock Company, Ltd. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. I try to get all the pictures I can and keep them all chronologically and study the history. 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. I had developed some sort of fascination for Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks. Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. Westclox did make a couple of documented advertising clocks, but very few. They were told that eliminating lip-pointing had ended earlier problems. Radium paint can be ingested by inhaling flaking paint particles. Within in another ten years, the workforce had tripled again, powered by employee George Kerns 1908 invention of the first Big Benthe sleek, iconic model that basically set the template for the 20th century wind-up alarm clock. The work involved using luminous radium paint to make the numbers on clocks, watches and aeronautic dials glow in the dark. How did I get interested in clocks? This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day.
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