dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. Your email address will not be published. He corresponded with Westclox General Manager Ernst Roth over the weeks that followed, but after a final letter that September, he went silent. $26.95. 1978. 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.. I have never seen this mentioned anywhere. Theres a clock called a Crystal Regulator which is about a foot tall with a brass case and glass on all four sides. Through a friend I purchased an apparently antique key wind up long wooden and glass cased clock. That way I got myself another Baby Ben, bringing my collection to three by age 12. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the. Debbie Blake, I have a small Westclox wind up clock dating around 1937. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. I love the Hamiltons in particular, probably some of the best watches made in America. The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. The Forgotten Story Of The Radium Girls, Whose Deaths Saved Thousands Of Workers Lives, by Kate Moore, A Rude Awakening: The History of Alarm Clocks , Western Clock MFG Co. (Westclox), est. Is radium still used on watches? In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. Inhaled or ingested particles may deposit a high local dose with a risk of radiation-caused lung or gastrointestinal cancer. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Some years ago I intended to do a write-up on my collection and started researching on the internet and found the Westclox history site with a wealth of info. By the 1960s production went offshore to achieve economies of scale . However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. By the 1970s, radium was no . Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. Behind the light, theyd been left in the dark. From 1942 to 1945, Westclox ceased all production intended for domestic civilian sale and dedicated its production resources to the war effort. Phone: 717-684-8261. Through it all, Peru remained the companys home base, as over 3,000 employees now enjoyed the rapidly expanding space of the factory and its attached campus, with gardens, tennis courts, a bowling alley, and other things worthy of a Matthiessen estate. Did Westclox use radium? 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. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. The thing I remember most is working with the people, Ristau said. Importantly, the health risks tied to these old clocks is generally believed to be quite minimal, so long as one avoids long-term exposure or directly ingesting the paint as the Ghost Girls had. Ruth Spayer at the Westclox Museum tracked down a newspaper story from the Daily Post-Tribune on March 21, 1944, describing a scene in which 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.. 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. Both the Big and Baby Bens were housed in a newly refined bell-back clock case. Theyre making some really nice reproductions of it in China and if you dont know what youre looking for you could be fooled easily. It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. This dustproofing is accomplished by fittings around the set knobs and winding keys and on the regulator. 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. 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. Collectors Weekly: When did you discover that there were other clock collectors? 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. England. There is a small dial inside of the clock face that has roman numerals like another clock face. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses . When Did They Stop Using Radium On Clock Hands? The Canadian Clock Museum (http://www.canclockmuseum.ca/) may have some information. 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. 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. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. Radium dials held near the face have been shown to produce radiation doses in excess of 10Sv / hour. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. 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. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. 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. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. The Ingersoll Watch division of the Waterbury Clock Company, a nationally-known maker of low-cost pocket and wristwatches, was a leading popularizer of the use of radium for watch hands and indices through the introduction of their "Radiolite" watches in 1916. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. At one time they employed about 3500 people, making about 35, 000 clocks and watches per day. Soon, he was running the Western Clock Co. advertising department, and proving his worth with some clever marketing strategies. For the town of Peruwhich had tied much of its identity to Westclox for the better part of a centurythe damage went beyond financial. Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. Above all else, though, the rise and fall of Westcloxand the deeper history of these Big Ben clocks, in particularis simply far too intriguing to dismiss just because of a long-distance commute. I was looking at it and said, aha! "[5] However, radium is highly radioactive, emitting alpha, beta, and gamma radiation the effects of which are particularly deleterious if inhaled or ingested since there is no shielding within the body. The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. Any information would be very helpful. Thank you. 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. Richard Ristau Jr., former plant manager, said hes happy to see the space being used for the museum. Something about them has always been ingrained in me. After several changes of ownership, it became . About 1931 they made the first electric Big Ben, and they were plug ins. Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. Your email address will not be published. If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. Like many East Coasters, he decides to pursue his fortune out West, but unlike many of his peers, he skips the bustling Second City in favor of a promising river & railroad region downstate; where the towns of Peru, LaSalle and Ottawa intersect. According to Periodic. This fall, the museum will be open more frequently and for more events. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. Stopping this practice drastically reduced the amount of radium ingested and therefore, the incidence of malignancy. In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. We have photos of all the employees between 1927-1945 at the Peterborough Ontario Location but not much else. I have a small westclox alarm clock. Stoddard: Its really hard to say. When Westclox changed over to the style 8 Big Ben and Baby Ben in 1964, they used 4 divisions per 5 minutes, I believe to make the alarm easier to set. 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. 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. The NAWCC is dedicated to providing association services, promoting interest in and encouraging the collecting of clocks and watches including disseminating knowledge of the same. Im always interested in the history and the variations of clocks and how they fit in the scheme of things, what came before and what came after. Annie Moussin designer intrieur. I have looked high and low in my attempts to find out how any of these resproduction style 1A were produced. Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book 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. If you look at a Baby Ben in the 1959 Sears catalog, they sold for about nine dollars and if you go to a Wal Mart today you can still buy a Baby Ben for about nine dollars, but the quality isnt the same. People will still look for a good wind up but the quality declined in the later years just because the companies tried so hard to keep the prices low. (All images in this article courtesy Bill Stoddard, www.clockhistory.com), I found this article very complimentary to the Westclox company and an intriguing piece to read. While most of our Big Ben dials are black with luminous numbers, there were also white dials with black numerals in production at the same time. Westclox did make a couple of documented advertising clocks, but very few.
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