After several changes of ownership, it became . 1970s Many of these workers developed bone cancer . I was looking at it and said, aha! On the Style 9, they went back to actual minute markings. Don Spayer, volunteer and former Westclox employee, said the bulk of the museums collection was built through donations. 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. Without a crystal poses a serious Health risk because the Radium paint flakes off and can become airborne. On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. Radium was discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. 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). I would also like photo and more details of his clock, since I intend to write a follow-up article. Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. 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. Helen. . Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? The only marking I can find are the letters ST in old english style inside of a diamond thats inside of a circle, on the clock works. I was pained to learn how the girls had suffered while working here and sacrificed their lives to give the name of the company which it has today. Art and Mary Ann Windy [pictured] have been married for 49 years, met as Westclox employees and were present for the open house. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . Westclox style series. Inhaled or ingested particles may deposit a high local dose with a risk of radiation-caused lung or gastrointestinal cancer. Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. They were officially Americas preferred wake-up call provider. AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. 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. People did some bad things over the years just to get them running. Gordon Goodrum I have a mantel clock,its floral in color,made by Ansonia Cock Co.USA.New York. Stahlbergs company goes bankrupt not once, but twice, within its first several years. It is in working order and chimes on the hour and half hour. 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. 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. 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. Is radium still used on watches? Phone: 717-684-8261. Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. Just as pilots in World War II had radium on the dials in their cockpits for all-condition visibility, many people who purchased Big Ben alarm clocks during the same periodincluding the very style in our museum collection (made from 1939-1946)went to bed each night sleeping next to a tiny box of radioactivity. This will broaden my view in the clock. Can you help Jessie, good observation. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government 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. They made the most of the perk, wearing their good dresses to the plant so theyd shine in the dance halls at night, and even painting radium onto their teeth for a smile that would knock their suitors dead.. When Did They Stop Using Radium On Clock Hands? 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. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? I hung it on my wall and we tried to get it fixed but the repairman couldnt fix it. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. It would be greatly appreciated. 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. This was a wonderful article to read. It has a patent June 18-1882 and says Dakota on the back,can you tell me more? A pair of teenage boys broke into the abandoned factory and set a fire that quickly spread and enveloped much of the central complex. 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. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. Was westclox ever manufactured in germany and if so when? Radium dials held near the face have been shown to produce radiation doses in excess of 10Sv / hour. So you find clocks where parts have been switched, so thats one challenge, determining originality. I was about 3ft high and recessed into the wall. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. 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. 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 factory contained a bowling alley, and Ristau said his father was an excellent bowler. The style 1a can be distinguished from style 1 in several ways: The movement was changed for style 1a so that the mounting nuts were on the back. I am trying to determine the age. Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. When the Radium Dial Company moved to Ottawa in the 20s to better serve its number one client, Westclox, they were welcomed with enthusiasm, particularly by the young, working class women in the town. 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. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. 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.. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. Charles Stahlberg had an idea for making a better, but less expensive alarm clock. This dustproofing is accomplished by fittings around the set knobs and winding keys and on the regulator. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I was told it was an antique at that time. Stoddard: Pay attention to quality. There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.. Site of the Old Westclox factory 211-201 Hunter Street, Peterborough Ontario. 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. 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. 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. Stoddard: My grandma gave me an old Baby Ben alarm clock that didnt work when I was seven. Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. [Former Westclox workers Art and Mary Ann Windy (standing), 2015], This is amazing, Art said. The greater surprise, though, is that they didnt abandon the use of radium in the years that followed. Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. Was this done so the alarm could be more easily set on the quarter or half hour? 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. I like to find the ones before that and study their history. 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. Next year, well have been married for 49 years, Mary Ann said. Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. Westclox did make a couple of documented advertising clocks, but very few. Westclox Classic Alarm Clock Full Size 47602. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. 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. Something about them has always been ingrained in me. 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. German: WECKER (alarm); UHR (clock). This classic clock is known for its loud and distinct bell-like . This particular clock is made in China while other similar Westclox alarm clocks at the time were made in Taiwan. I think it is a clock made by Sessions. They were told that eliminating lip-pointing had ended earlier problems. It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. Underneath the #12 on the face it says: G. Falconer & Co. LTD. Hong Kong. Frank Baker. It still works. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 and again 1243 is this an antique its gold but looks brand new but also an antique at the same time does anyone know what kind of pocket watch this is or if its gold or a replica of something or what it might be worth?? i use a 1980s I believe westclox pocket ben sweep 2nd hand, I actually had a westclox bullseye from the early 1990s when I was in elementary school. 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. 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. Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. 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. When did they stop using radium for watches? 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. when did westclox stop using radiumcapricorn and virgo flirting. Ive been trying to compare lots of different clocks to find out what original parts go together. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. It also says that the patent was re-issued March 31, 1868. It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862. About 1920 the luminous dial using radium paint was introduced. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. As radium luminosity came under attack in the 1930s, Westcloxs other updates to the Big Ben design were far more practical and uncontroversial. At the end of one hand is a star and the other hand is the moon. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . Sep 23, 2011 Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses . Thank to several professionals who Ive met on Ebay, I have become quite skilled with my restorations plus making dials and alarm function indicators. [9] The element was phased out of use by industry acting under its own volition as superior and safer luminous materials entered the marketplace. Sometimes getting parts is tough, too, although it turns out Westclox made lots and lots of spare parts. Any information would be very helpful. It had beneath that four long tubes and they were the chimes for the door bell. About the only. Any suggestions of where to get a replacement preferably in Canada? In 1913, with help from the US government, Dr. Douglas formed the National Radium Institute, to mine radium from uranium ores recently discovered in Colorado. 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. (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. All Rights Reserved. They worked in unvented rooms, they wore smocks that they laundered at home. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. When I walked along the street, Iwas aglow from the radium powder., The radium girls case was one of the first in which an employer was made responsible for the health of the companys employees. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. I have an antique mantle clock given to my Aunt & Uncle for a wedding gift (approximately 1949) FROM my great grandparents. Stopping this practice drastically reduced the amount of radium ingested and therefore, the incidence of malignancy. 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. Westclox Radium Dial Clock. The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. 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. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. It led to life-saving regulations and, ultimately, to the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which now operates nationally in the United States to protect workers. . 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. dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. A radium dial clock from the 1930s. Big Ben style, and there are other styles with names instead of numbers. I am reading, studying, and learning more about the Westclox. Thanks, Teri. Various lettering on the dial and various patent dates (later, numbers) on the Like style 1a non-luminous with dealer name on dial. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. We are looking for any Westclox photographs, memorabilia etc between 1927- 1980s of the factory. 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. It is in good condition and has the original pendulum and key. Dave, Your question about a Big Ben containing radium, and in fact about which clocks actually do contain radium, is a good one. These folks here that are responsible for this are doing a marvelous job, Ristau said. [3] The Radiolite series, made in various sizes and models, became a signature of the Connecticut-based company. Could you please try to help me find out what kind of clock this is. The work involved using luminous radium paint to make the numbers on clocks, watches and aeronautic dials glow in the dark. 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. We thought it was 1890 or older. 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. Going back further in time, here is a pretty hypnotizing silent film released by Westclox in the early 1920s to promote the Big Ben and other products. But the chances that you have a radium clock are slim, unless it is very old. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Westclox Big Bens and Baby Bens are full of the stuff. Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. Then my friend and I went around the neighborhood asking people if they had anything they wanted to give away, like old clocks and cameras and tape recorders. 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 have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. 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. Buy Now. Radium is an almost pure white alkaline radioactive earth metal, and is found in nature in uranium ores. Behind the light, theyd been left in the dark. Not everyone involved with the manufacturing of Westclox products was employed directly by Westclox, however. I believed it was manufacturing tag. Richard Tjarks introduced Charles Crow Penn Valley, Ca, I have run across and old clock that I would like to know something about. Thank you 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. Thanks, Paula. thank you, My Husband and I just purchased an antique mantle/shelf clock at an estate sale. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. I know it was purchased in 1937 because it belonged to my elderly friends who were married in 1938. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? 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. But he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. Style 1a has four holes in the back to access the movement cap screws; Style 1 has the legs and pendant riveted to the case, on style 1a they screw on. Soon, he was running the Western Clock Co. advertising department, and proving his worth with some clever marketing strategies. Good old fashioned branding played a major role, as well. Thats another story. As stated it is working and keeps time. can anybody tell me about this piece? Radiums luminosity was part of its allure, Moore writes. The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. I had developed some sort of fascination for Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. By the 1960s production went offshore to achieve economies of scale . Penetrating gamma radiation produced by some dials also represents a significant health risk. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. Thank you for your input. They call it Shabby Chic and sell it on eBay for 60 to 80 dollars. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. 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. Radium is highly radioactive. 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. I think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. Production was back in full force and at an all-time high by 1956, with 3,000 employees on staff. Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. Radium paint can be ingested by inhaling flaking paint particles. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. 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. Old Rose (pink) crackle finish Baby Ben with luminous dial: 1929 1930. Radium dials are watch, clock and other instrument dials painted with luminous paint containing radium-226 to produce radioluminescence. The women also left a legacy to science that has been termed invaluable.. 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. It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. The drinking fountain worked.. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. 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). I spent many an evening here, watching him bowl.. National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc (A 501c3 non-profit corporation). Hi I need the face plate for a black face big ben with the alarm dial on its face do you have any you could sell me alonf with the radio dials, it was probably outsourced meaning westclox sold some watches to hot wheels, I had a westclox electric dialite like that. Luminous Processes employees interviewed by a journalist in 1978 stated they had been left ignorant of radium's dangers. The clock can still give considerable amounts of radiation about 2-3 inches from the Crystal measured with a Geiger counter. I know very little about clocks in general. The trademark "Westclox" which had appeared on their Big Ben alarm clocks as early as 1910 was officially registered in January 1916. 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. At the start of the decade, the company brought in a skilled new industrial designer named Henry Dreyfuss; a true modernist. then 4 symbols a crown an 18 and to unkown symbols in a square patern but on its side square pattern. When did Westclox stop using radium? 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. . Not to mention theres the Big Bens so that doubles it right there. As Kate Moore explains it, The radium girls case was one of the first in which an employer was made responsible for the health of the companys employees. [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.]. I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. 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. The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. Sometimes Ive seen them for 300 to 600 dollars. i have a large ansonia wall clock 32 1/2 x 32. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other Theres a seller on eBay now whos doing some really outstanding restorations of Big Bens. I have a Seth Thomas Mantle clock that my older sisters husbands Aunt had on her mantle for years. Can anyone tell me the meaning or significance of this eye? Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. 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. Annie Moussin designer intrieur. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. There are also some other makers clocks Ive gotten into, like the Seth Thomas 30 hour ogee, which is a weight-driven shelf clock. Its basically all forward momentum from here. The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. The only problem is a standard size D battery does not fit. Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. She was 18. The center is in the shape of the world map. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. I love the Hamiltons in particular, probably some of the best watches made in America. A Westclox Museum has been opened within the original facility, showing off rare collections from the millions of timepieces once manufactured there. It is too large (wide). the knobs have foreign words ie wecker & UHR.would like to know about his clock Within two decades she had lost all her teeth. 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, read another. $38.00. Henry Warren invented a little synchronous motor that could go inside a clock. I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. Were finally at a point, where were ready to do more than just sit here, said Ruth Spayer, curator for the museum.