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. hi, I have a cocacola square clock. They can be identified by having the modern type of flat head screws Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, The Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide, Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. The incidents occurred at three different factories in United States: one in Orange, New Jersey, beginning around 1917; one in Ottawa, Illinois, beginning in the early 1920s; and a third facility in Waterbury, Connecticut, also in the 1920s. A lot of American clocks have veneer over the base wood so if thats starting to peel it can be really expensive to get fixed. . Sometimes Ive seen them for 300 to 600 dollars. Luminous Processes employees interviewed by a journalist in 1978 stated they had been left ignorant of radium's dangers. 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. "[4], According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, "radioactive antiques [including watches] are usually not a health risk as long as they are intact and in good condition. It is battery operated and takes a D battery. Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? theres the problem, there were two gears that were in backwards. Sep 23, 2011 This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. When did westclox stop using radium? its about 2 inches long maybe 1/2 in thick with holes on either end to be worn on a key chain perhaps? 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. 5 17 15 is May 17, 1915 . thanks for your time, was doing research.. Appears from search engine a conversation about D batteries but cant find it in the text.. Can anyone inform me of the different size of D? They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. In the comprehensive Big Ben & Baby Ben Identification Guide, organized by researchers Richard Tjarks and Bill Stoddard, they credit the original brilliant marketing of these little wonders almost entirely to one mana 28 year-old French immigrant named Gaston Le Roy. 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. US radium dial painting factory. They make alarm and one-day lever clocks only, and with practically two different articles, known as the 4-inch and 2-inch movements, they have an output of in their factory at LaSalle, Ill., of nearly two million clocks a year. Radium was even used in medical applications during the 20th century. Thanks. The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. I would like to know the value of a #4 black, #321(in original cardboard Christmas box), mint condition, Baby Ben alarm clock is. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. I try to get all the pictures I can and keep them all chronologically and study the history. Well, the company certainly maintained some major salesrooms here, and many of their employees came from the city and its suburbs. Not to mention theres the Big Bens so that doubles it right there. Penetrating gamma radiation produced by some dials also represents a significant health risk. Any information would be very helpful. 2023 by Andrew Clayman. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. 7&a half X 6..desk clock. 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). Your email address will not be published. 1919 - 1920 on a small proportion of clocks, "Westclox" in Roman text, Wide lettering at bottom: 1923, "Westclox" in Roman text, Narrow lettering at bottom:1924 to 1927, "Westclox" in Roman text, Projection on the "x": 1928 - 1935, Luminous, "Westclox" in italics: ca. [citation needed] After about 20minutes this delivers the equivalent of one whole day's worth of normal background radiation. It was passed on to my sister and for years it was on their mantle along time until it stopped. Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. $25.99. This has probably been discussed before but my search turned up nothingdo the luminous hands on a Big Ben alarm clock contain painted radium? Big Ben Style Series. 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. Collectors Weekly: When did you discover that there were other clock collectors? Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. These clocks were produced in the thousands and many can be bought on eBay for under $10. 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. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width. 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. 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. The Crystal blocks a significant amount of The radiation. Was westclox ever manufactured in germany and if so when? 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. Thank to several professionals who Ive met on Ebay, I have become quite skilled with my restorations plus making dials and alarm function indicators. 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. Is Westclox a good brand? The factory contained a bowling alley, and Ristau said his father was an excellent bowler. I spent many an evening here, watching him bowl.. Never underestimate the value of an alarm clock when yours broke two years ago and nobody has manufactured a new one since. Dates Stamped on Big Ben and Baby Ben Clock Movements Dates were stamped on a movement plate of most Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks made up until mid-1970's. Numbers are used for the month, day and year; or just the month and year (e.g. The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. The Westclox building remained there in all its glory well into the 21st century, as plans were tossed around for some sort of repurposing of the huge, historic facility. My husband has a Big Ben clock that he inherited, it was took down from a mill and given to his grandma. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . Thanks, Teri. WECKER (CW arrow)/UHR (CCW arrow) knob with ring: CW winds alarm; CCW winds clock. I have looked high and low in my attempts to find out how any of these resproduction style 1A were produced. knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. As my first name is Ben, I started to collect these alarmclocks since about 1970. Frank Baker. 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. I have a collection of clocks, and amongst my collection are Westminster chime wall clocks, I have two Keinzle and two Junghans. Helen. 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. I have a quite a few pieces of both of them I have even one big Ben pocket watch which is still working after , I do not know how many years. That was the first antique clock I owned myself. 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? This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day. Both the Big and Baby Bens were housed in a newly refined bell-back clock case. UHR (CW arrow) knob sets clock time. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. 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. 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.. the knobs have foreign words ie wecker & UHR.would like to know about his clock Phone: 717-684-8261. Thank you. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. I have a Westclox Bachelor alarm clock from probably the 50s as it was always there when I was growing up. Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. For the town of Peruwhich had tied much of its identity to Westclox for the better part of a centurythe damage went beyond financial. The clock can still give considerable amounts of radiation about 2-3 inches from the Crystal measured with a Geiger counter. 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. After several changes of ownership, it became . It would be greatly appreciated. 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. When I was 11 or 12, I started mowing lawns for money and paid another man to repair it for me, but when it came back it would run for a while and then stop, pretty erratic. 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. Stahlbergs company goes bankrupt not once, but twice, within its first several years. Required fields are marked *. Thanks for any info you may be able to supply So, does Westclox really belong in the Made In Chicago Museum? In the 1970s, radium was phased out of wristwatches and clockdials. 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. I have an antique mantle clock given to my Aunt & Uncle for a wedding gift (approximately 1949) FROM my great grandparents. Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. Westclox began as the United Clock Company of Peru, Illinois in 1885. [citation needed] This rate probably only represents the dose rate from gamma emission, as the alpha emission will be stopped by the lacquer, or crystal, or case; hence, the dose rate following ingestion or inhalation of the dust could be much higher. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that watches with radium dials should not be taken apart[5] without proper training, technique, and facilities. [left to right: F.W. Richard Tjarks introduced The NAWCC has an online forum with a lot of different categories. You must log in or register to reply here. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. I think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. 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. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . 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 . 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. In 1919 the company was incorporated as Western Clock Company, Ltd. When did the use of radium stop? 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. Westclox Wrought Iron Look Wall Clock 12" 32021A. It is too large (wide). These styles constitute the Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. As the 1960s began, over 50 million Big Ben clocks had been produced in total, and additional Westclox plants were now in operation everywhere from Athens, Georgia, and Ontario, Canada, to Scotland and Australia. It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. 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. England. I cannot date it. The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. About the only. thank you, My Husband and I just purchased an antique mantle/shelf clock at an estate sale. I took it back and the repairman told me it was like a large Timex watch and just not worth being fixed. Can anyone tell me the meaning or significance of this eye? 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.. It is 3 diameter with Westclox on the back and PAT.APLOFOR. Behind the light, theyd been left in the dark. Radium dials are watch, clock and other instrument dials painted with luminous paint containing radium-226 to produce radioluminescence. When did Westclox stop using radium? Can someone get back to me as to what it is and possibe age of it. 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. I think it is a clock made by Sessions. He also recalled playing in the factory. 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., In this particular branch of the clock industry the Western Clock Manufacturing Company has achieved great results in the last twenty years. This Christmas (1930) ad illustrates 61-F Dura Case, style 2 crackle finish Big Ben and Baby Ben, Auto Clock, Pocket Ben and Country Club pocket watches. 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. AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. In her 2017 book, The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of Americas Shining Women, author Kate Moore notes that many of the new girls at the Radium Dial factory started out painting the famous Westclox Big Ben clocks before moving on to the smaller and more challenging Baby Ben, and finally the Pocket Ben and Scotty pocket watches, all produced at the Westclox Works.