The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. When did westclox start making clocks? Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Any information would be very helpful. It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. In the 1970s, radium was phased out of wristwatches and clockdials. They had one in Brazil for a while and I think also in Hong Kong. Production was back in full force and at an all-time high by 1956, with 3,000 employees on staff. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. The front is in Roman Numerals with a dome shaped raised glass. I have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. 1968 Who made westclox? Thank you. The pioneering spirit is there, but the business skills soon appear lacking. When did Bulova stop using radium? . From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. When I got out of college I started going to the watch and clock conventions and met a man who was giving a program about the history of Big Bens and Baby Bens. A Westclox Museum has been opened within the original facility, showing off rare collections from the millions of timepieces once manufactured there. If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. When did Westclox close? Charles Stahlberg had an idea for making a better, but less expensive alarm clock. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. US radium dial painting factory. Columbia, PA 17512 It was put away for years and last year it was given to me as I have small collection of United novelty clocks. Richard Tjarks introduced 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. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that watches with radium dials should not be taken apart[5] without proper training, technique, and facilities. then 4 symbols a crown an 18 and to unkown symbols in a square patern but on its side square pattern. This will broaden my view in the clock. It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. Radium is highly radioactive. In its place, he ironically dubbed the little bedside clock Big Ben (apparently not copyrighted by the British Parliament), and introduced it to the public in early ads as a gendered he instead of an it., Big Ben is a handsome, well built, refined and bright looking fellow with a clean-cut open face and a deep cheerful voice, one ad read. For at least four generations, the Western Clock Manufacturing Company, aka Westclox, was the lifeblood and largest employer in the small town of Peru, Illinois (with a mailing address in its twin city of LaSalle). Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . I am looking to get an approxmiate value of this clock. I worked here for 28 years. There is a small dial inside of the clock face that has roman numerals like another clock face. AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. The style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben (1956 to 1964, the first Bens with concentric alarm hand) has minute markings. In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. They can be identified by having the modern type of flat head screws with shoulders instead of round head screws, and by having a 1910 patent date on the back even though the case is style 1a. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. Something about them has always been ingrained in me. it has a picture of a huck finn type boy,carying 2 bottles of coke& a fishing pole,with his dog. Style 10 is the last numbered 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. The new company tripled in size by the turn of the century, employing 232 people at its growing Peru plant (145 men, 73 women, 14 children) and producing 500,000 clocks annually. 5 17 15 is May 17, 1915 . Posted on 1 second ago; June 24, 2022 . My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. Annie Moussin designer intrieur. The company later changed its name to the United States Radium Corporation. $38.00. See the top of this page for a current list of In 1931 it merged with Seth Thomas Clock Co. and both became divisions of General Time Corp. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. Both the Big and Baby Bens were housed in a newly refined bell-back clock case. Stoddard: The main thing is the originality of the dial and if its a wooden shelf clock, having the original painting in the door would be really important. Stoddard: My grandma gave me an old Baby Ben alarm clock that didnt work when I was seven. Sep 23, 2011 Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. Radium is an almost pure white alkaline radioactive earth metal, and is found in nature in uranium ores. Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA. He corresponded with Westclox General Manager Ernst Roth over the weeks that followed, but after a final letter that September, he went silent. Radium dials were produced throughout most of the 20th century before being replaced by safer tritium-based luminous material in the 1970s and finally by non-toxic, non-radioactive strontium aluminatebased photoluminescent material from the middle 1990s. Just remember, old luminous clocks are full of radium! [Former Westclox workers Art and Mary Ann Windy (standing), 2015], This is amazing, Art said. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. The Crystal blocks a significant amount of The radiation. My moms father had a small collection of antique clocks and when I was a little boy he showed me how to wind them and regulate them. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. When I was eight we moved to a new house and my mom and I were looking in the attic and found an old octagon wall clock made by Waterbury, probably dated about 1880. In 2006 I started collecting vintage advertisements. Even if the Western Clock Co. wasnt born in Chicago or headquartered here, the immediate aftershocks of the companys cultural and industrial impact certainly reached our shores in a hurry, no interstate required. Credit: pinimg. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. can anybody tell me about this piece? With George Kerns new alarm clock, specifically, Le Roy decided it would be wise to craft a new brand name, and to leave the Western name off of the clock face entirely, since the company was overly associated with cheap goods at the time. These folks here that are responsible for this are doing a marvelous job, Ristau said. At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. We thought it was 1890 or older. Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. Can you help 1970s Many of these workers developed bone cancer . Never underestimate the value of an alarm clock when yours broke two years ago and nobody has manufactured a new one since. All the rods in my clocks are verticle that is from top to bottom of the case, four on each side at the back of the movement. In clocks, as in all other lines of goods, there are two classes of consumersthe millions and the millionaires. . He also recalled playing in the factory. Big Ben: butler nickel case, gold leaf numeral dial 1930 1932. I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. Contact the Webmaster for perceived copyright infringement (DMCA Registration Number 1010287). Old Rose (pink) crackle finish Baby Ben with luminous dial: 1929 1930. 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. She was 107 when she died on March 1 in Middlebury, Conn . We have photos of all the employees between 1927-1945 at the Peterborough Ontario Location but not much else. 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. There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses . 1978. 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. Advertisement: Illustrates crackle green Tiny Tim, crackle blue Big Ben and crackle pink Baby Ben clocks. Radium paint can be ingested by inhaling flaking paint particles. Many folks might not realize that early vintage clock dials were painted with radioluminescent paint, which is a mixture of fluorescent salts (these produce the glow) and radium-226, which is a dangerous and highly radioactive element. On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. But hes taken some that are really rusty and had the backs replaced beautifully and reproduced some dials, and hes actually had some selling for several hundred dollars, so thats a totally different thing. She was 18. I have a mantel clock,its floral in color,made by Ansonia Cock Co.USA.New York. Your email address will not be published. When did they stop using radium on clocks? they played a deep rich tone. 1888. Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. They worked for the United States Radium Corporation painting the numbers and hands on watch. theres the problem, there were two gears that were in backwards. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. I am trying to determine the age. So you find clocks where parts have been switched, so thats one challenge, determining originality. They were told that eliminating lip-pointing had ended earlier problems. 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. Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. It started early in the 20th century, around 1910, when some companies began to use radium on watch dials and hands to create a "glow in the dark" effect. . 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.. Jessie, good observation. Westclox Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide , Remembering the Great War and The Clock That Caused a Near Riot . It is in the manufacture of alarm and one-day clocks that these results are the most noticeable, because in this field the quality of the product had always been subordinated to the market value, and the general feeling was one of let good enough alone., [Automatic machinery certainly sped up the manufacturing process, by plenty of human skill and attention was still required to make the Big Ben. After the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 by French physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Antoine Henri Becquerel, many other scientists began to search for uses of radioactivity. So, rather than having the classic oversized bell or double-bell on top of the unit (to smash with your palm at 6am), the ringing mechanism was housed inside the back of the case, and a big winding key occupied the summit. Phone: 717-684-8261. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 . Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. Your email address will not be published. The greater surprise, though, is that they didnt abandon the use of radium in the years that followed. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. The Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage is an iconic timepiece that has been around since the early 1900s. Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. In a few short years, thanks to Dr. Douglas's efforts, the amount of radium available in the US more than quintupled. The women also left a legacy to science that has been termed invaluable.. The company made luminescent paint. I think we threw it away. How do you date a Westclox Baby Ben? Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. Instead, it would be better to take the box outside and remove the lid there, which would allow any built-up gas to rapidly dissipate." The watches tested were produced from the 1920s through the '60s, and are a mix of British, Swiss, and American origin. Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide ClockHistory.com, Keeping Time in Peru Chicago Tribune, October 18, 1998, Remembering the Great War and The Clock That Caused a Near Riot WestcloxMuseum.com, For That Healthy Glow, Drink Radiation Popular Science, August 17, 2004, The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of Americas Shining Women, by Kate Moore, 2o17, The Forgotten Story Of The Radium Girls, Whose Deaths Saved Thousands Of Workers Lives, by Kate Moore, Buzzfeed.com, One-Day and Alarm Clocks Commercial America, Vol VI, 1909, A Rude Awakening: The History of Alarm Clocks ThroughoutHistory.com. The movement was then used with minor changes in Loud Alarm models until 1956. Its basically all forward momentum from here. Stoddard: Pay attention to quality. Westclox Scotland produced its first clock on 21 September 1948; a spring wound alarm with a 4-inch (10cm) dial. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width. A 2015 article by Ben Hohenstatt in the Illinois Valleys News Tribune included interviews with a few former Westclox workers who returned to see the museum and remember old times. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the Saturday Evening Post in 1910: Big Ben is a thin, beautiful and punctual sleepmeter with a silent motor that will not annoy you on your lie-awake nights and a deep musical voice that will call you on your sleepiest mornings. Right and Below: A style 1A Big Ben from our museum collection, circa 1920s.]. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. When many of these early Big Ben advertisements were still running, Gaston Le Roys life took a sudden and dramatic turn. Radium dials were typically painted by young women, who used to 'point' their brushes by licking and shaping the bristles prior to painting the fine lines and numbers on the dials. 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. Various lettering on the dial and various patent dates (later, numbers) on the Like style 1a non-luminous with dealer name on dial. I hope to document Style 5 Baby Bens this winter. American manufacturers were quick to see that the millionaires are a negligible quantity as consumers, and that, not chronometersnot marvels of intricacy and originalitywere needed, but timepieces within the reach and want of all. However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. I will be watching for more articles from Bill Stoddard Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. I also like some of the older American weight-driven clocks. On the Style 9, they went back to actual minute markings. 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. I have a small westclox alarm clock. Westclox Big Ben Style 1a Alarm Clock Date Summary: 1918 - 1935 (and a reproduction was made in 1970) Characteristics: Ring on top, two legs in front, no screws through the front of the bezel. Apr 14, 2011 501 1 18. About the only. First, if your clock is for display only, I think it is harmless if the paint on the hands is not disturbed. They typically have a round brass base with a glass dome over them; they were made in Germany from the 1890s up through the 1970s, and a lot of people collect them. Any guidance or help is appreciated. This dustproofing is accomplished by fittings around the set knobs and winding keys and on the regulator. Radium was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898[1] and was soon combined with paint to make luminescent paint, which was applied to clocks, airplane instruments, and the like, to be able to read them in the dark.[2]. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862. These styles constitute the WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. I think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. The women also left a legacy to science that has been termed invaluable., 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., three women fainted, several clerks were trampled, and four showcase windows were shattered before police untangled a jam of 2,500 women and a few stout-hearted men who converged on the store., For That Healthy Glow, Drink Radiation . var year = today.getFullYear() Within two decades she had lost all her teeth. knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. Finally, with Catherine Donohue serving as a key witness from her death bed in 1938, a groundbreaking Supreme Court case finally delivered some long awaited justice to the victims. American manufacturers were quick to see that the millionaires are a negligible quantity as consumers, and that, not chronometersnot marvels of intricacy and originalitywere needed, but timepieces within the reach and want of all. They are just gorgeous watches and very well made. When did clocks stop using radium? If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place., Big Ben is a handsome, well built, refined and bright looking fellow with a clean-cut open face and a deep cheerful voice,, A well-dressed, steady and punctual chap, up to the minute and always on the job., Big Ben always comes to you straight from home, LaSalle, Illinois,, But he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. I would like to find out about this clock. I tried selling some of my surplus electric Big Bens on eBay and they just didnt go, you could get only about $0.99 for them. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. A pair of teenage boys broke into the abandoned factory and set a fire that quickly spread and enveloped much of the central complex. If someone has restored it in the past, make sure the correct dial was put on it and the movements, which have probably been repaired a lot, have been done nicely. Which is interesting because many of the electrics are scarcer but people just arent into collecting electric clocks. In terms of my own collection, Im still trying to find some of the really early Big Bens. 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. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. 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. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . "Westclox" in italics, double hexagon legs: 1918, "Westclox" in italics, regular legs: 1918 -1922, "Westclox" in italics, very narrow lettering at bottom: "MADE BY WESTERN CLOCK CO., LA SALLE, ILL., U.S.A.", ca. The alarm mechanism was also improved as part of Kerns new patents, with an intermittent ringing that kind of acted as an archaic form of snooze alarm. People did some bad things over the years just to get them running. Can anyone tell me about this? This end has been achieved by what is known as the Western Processa process in which the component parts of a clock are cast, or, so to speak, cemented together with an alloy, instead of staked, and in which all hand labor is replaced by automatic machinery., [Automatic machinery certainly sped up the manufacturing process, by plenty of human skill and attention was still required to make the Big Ben. They made them with wooden works until about 1840, then with brass gears and I like some of the early brass-geared American clocks. 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. By the 1960s production went offshore to achieve economies of scale . I just had it repaired & it works & looks great. . Westclox Big Bens and Baby Bens are full of the stuff. I am pleased that I came across your article. Theres a seller on eBay now whos doing some really outstanding restorations of Big Bens. I would like to find the value of it. When did the use of radium stop? the knobs have foreign words ie wecker & UHR.would like to know about his clock 7&a half X 6..desk clock. Richard Ristau Jr., former plant manager, said hes happy to see the space being used for the museum. Is radium still used on watches? The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. 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. 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..
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