It was a gift from him to her the year before they were married. At one time they employed about 3500 people, making about 35, 000 clocks and watches per day. Westclox Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. So, does Westclox really belong in the Made In Chicago Museum? At the start of the decade, the company brought in a skilled new industrial designer named Henry Dreyfuss; a true modernist. This will broaden my view in the clock. [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.]. Good old fashioned branding played a major role, as well. I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA. 7&a half X 6..desk clock. First, if your clock is for display only, I think it is harmless if the paint on the hands is not disturbed. 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. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. 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. 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. Dreyfuss revised his changes at the end of the decade, designing the Style 5 and 5a Big Bens in 1938including the featured Loud Alarm dials from our museum collection. The drinking fountain worked.. 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. Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. Its basically all forward momentum from here. I cannot date it. Richard Tjarks introduced Was westclox ever manufactured in germany and if so when? The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. 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. 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. 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. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. . I know Bill Stoddards name from other publications on Westclox. See the top of this page for a current list of 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. On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. . However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. It is battery operated and takes a D battery. I am sure I can give Mr. Shields further information about his clock. 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. 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. 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. In-Depth Luminous Dials, What Makes Them Glow, And How To - HODINKEE 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. 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. JavaScript is disabled. I am pleased that I came across your article. I have purchased 1) Style 1 Baby and Big Ben with the Gold Leaf dial (seller stated raised letters); and, 2) a Style 1 Baby Ben with Baby Ben De Luxe on the dial. Dozens of radium dial painters around the country developed similar symptoms, although the effects could take years to manifest, making it more difficult to pinpoint the phenomenon from its first cases in the early 1920s. Another thing people do is make fake advertising clocks. Stopping this practice drastically reduced the amount of radium ingested and therefore, the incidence of malignancy. . Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. The only problem is a standard size D battery does not fit. Also, its not just Americans who collect, its worldwide. It still works. The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. Art and Mary Ann Windy [pictured] have been married for 49 years, met as Westclox employees and were present for the open house. For the town of Peruwhich had tied much of its identity to Westclox for the better part of a centurythe damage went beyond financial. Big Ben: butler nickel case, gold leaf numeral dial 1930 1932. 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]. 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. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24., unconsciously characterized the manunaffected, direct, devoted to his cause., Radiums luminosity was part of its allure,, 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. Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it 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. 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. In a few short years, thanks to Dr. Douglas's efforts, the amount of radium available in the US more than quintupled. I know very little about clocks in general. According to Periodic. 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. These clocks were produced in the thousands and many can be bought on eBay for under $10. I spent many an evening here, watching him bowl.. Many thanks. The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that watches with radium dials should not be taken apart[5] without proper training, technique, and facilities. Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. I was looking at it and said, aha! 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. when did westclox stop using radium. Not everyone involved with the manufacturing of Westclox products was employed directly by Westclox, however. 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. Health effects of Radium radiation exposure | Mass.gov You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. They have meetings every two months, and educational programs, so thats a really great way to meet collectors and get all kinds of advice. It is 3 diameter with Westclox on the back and PAT.APLOFOR. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. From 1942 to 1945, Westclox ceased all production intended for domestic civilian sale and dedicated its production resources to the war effort. Which is interesting because many of the electrics are scarcer but people just arent into collecting electric clocks. 1970s Many of these workers developed bone cancer . [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. 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. [9] The element was phased out of use by industry acting under its own volition as superior and safer luminous materials entered the marketplace. Helen. 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 2006 I started collecting vintage advertisements. Never underestimate the value of an alarm clock when yours broke two years ago and nobody has manufactured a new one since. var year = today.getFullYear() Similarly, can anybody tell me about this piece? How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? There are also some other makers clocks Ive gotten into, like the Seth Thomas 30 hour ogee, which is a weight-driven shelf clock. That batch was in production non-continuously from 1939 to 1946, housed in gunmetal cases with nickel trim. Thanks for any info you may be able to supply Any guidance or help is appreciated. Quite a few who try to get every basic model, but fewer who get into the rarer models and do research. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government Radium dial - Wikipedia Can you help This dustproofing is accomplished by fittings around the set knobs and winding keys and on the regulator. 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). 226RA has a half life of about 1600 years and the glow of the paint used on dials and hands decreases because of the damage the alpha particles emitted by the Radium do to the ZnS . The company later changed its name to the United States Radium Corporation. Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. With alarm clocks, they were so common that when people repaired them they did whatever they could to get them going. When did Westclox close? Is radium still used on watches? [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. 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. Site of the Old Westclox factory 211-201 Hunter Street, Peterborough Ontario. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. 2023 by Andrew Clayman. About the only. I think we threw it away. Stoddard: Some of the old American pocket watches are just beautiful so I have several in my collection. . when did westclox stop using radium old restaurants in lawrence, ma . 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. radium - Encyclopedia Britannica | Britannica It was put away for years and last year it was given to me as I have small collection of United novelty clocks. At the end of one hand is a star and the other hand is the moon. 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. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. Although old radium dials generally no longer produce light, this is due to the breakdown of the crystal structure of the luminous zinc sulfide rather than the radioactive decay of the radium. Could you suggest how I could go about finding out this information. Were finally at a point, where were ready to do more than just sit here, said Ruth Spayer, curator for the museum. $38.00. 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. Theres a clock that came down the family, my great great granddad bought it used in about 1885, it was actually sold new in about 1839, one of the first of the weight-driven brass clocks. Stoddard: Pay attention to quality. These styles constitute the I am trying to determine the age. George Kern died on July 27, 1918 from a ruptured appendix, but his basic clock design lived on for years. Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. They are just gorgeous watches and very well made. 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. The greater surprise, though, is that they didnt abandon the use of radium in the years that followed. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. I have a sessions mantle clock duet#1. As stated it is working and keeps time. Without a crystal poses a serious Health risk because the Radium paint flakes off and can become airborne. It also says that the patent was re-issued March 31, 1868. 1978. Stoddard: Ive been there several times. Sep 23, 2011 Vintage Clocks and Radium Risks - Ken's Clock Clinic Required fields are marked *. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. I worked here for 28 years. I was told it was long ago before even my aged family was servicing watches. 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. 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. Radium: a medical treatment in the early 20th - College of Physicians Early in the 20th century there was a medical practice that revolved around a new treatment involving the radioactive material called radium. Debbie Blake, I have a small Westclox wind up clock dating around 1937. Dont know if someone ingraved date on when took down or if the original. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. Just remember, old luminous clocks are full of radium! What replaced radium in watches? - TimesMojo As my first name is Ben, I started to collect these alarmclocks since about 1970. 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. A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. We thought it was 1890 or older. Facts About Radium | Live Science Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses . 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. Museum Artifacts: Luminous Big Ben & Baby Ben Clock Dials (1940s) and Style 1A Big Ben Alarm Clock (1920s), Made By: Western Clock MFG Company, aka Westclox, 350 5th St., Peru, Illinois [LaSalle]. 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. 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 next month, Roth got a cablegram from London; his friend and valued co-worker Le Roy had died for his country. Those simple words, Roth later wrote in the November 1914 issue of the company newsletter, Tick Talk, unconsciously characterized the manunaffected, direct, devoted to his cause., [Images from a 1922 issue of the Westclox company newsletter, the very cleverly titled Tick Talk]. When did Westclox go out of business? - Ufoscience.org What is Radium Used For? - WorldAtlas Thank you. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. Can someone get back to me as to what it is and possibe age of it. I was about 3ft high and recessed into the wall. 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. It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. In the United States there does not seem to have ever been prohibitory legislation passed banning the use of radium in clocks and watches. 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. "[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. 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. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. It had beneath that four long tubes and they were the chimes for the door bell. How did I get interested in clocks? A clock without hands might seem indifferent to the passage of time, but these old Big Ben and Baby Ben dials have some serious stories to tell. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the. 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. 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. knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. Sometimes getting parts is tough, too, although it turns out Westclox made lots and lots of spare parts. When did they stop using radium for watches? 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. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. Something about them has always been ingrained in me. Buy Now. After several changes of ownership, it became . Stoddard: The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) is headquartered in Pennsylvania but has chapters throughout the country. If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. . Posted on 1 second ago; June 24, 2022 . Radiums luminosity was part of its allure, Moore writes. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. By the 1970s, radium was no . Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. Is this a product that the company would have made or something someone created? When did westclox stop using radium? One of the objects on display in the Benton County Historical Society's Corvallis Museum is this Westclox Radium Dial Clock. Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. Chronic exposure to high levels of radium can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, or breast cancer. 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. 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. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 In all my research I can not confirm that The Style 1 models every had 1) and 2) above. But the chances that you have a radium clock are slim, unless it is very old. 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.. Radium is highly radioactive. How can people be exposed to Radium? Luminous Processes employees interviewed by a journalist in 1978 stated they had been left ignorant of radium's dangers. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. 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. So you find clocks where parts have been switched, so thats one challenge, determining originality. 1888. Radium dials usually lose their ability to glow in the dark in a period ranging anywhere from a few years to several decades, but all will cease to glow at some point. they played a deep rich tone. I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. Any information would be very helpful. The clock is shielded From the glass crystal. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. Style 1 has three screws through the bezel visible from the front, style 1a doesnt (compare figures 3 and 7); Style 1 has two screws holding the bell back, style 1a has three. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. They managed to extract 1 mg of radium from ten tonnes of the uranium ore pitchblende (uranium oxide, U 3 O 8), a considerable feat, given the chemically methods of separation available to them.They identified that it was a new element because its atomic spectrum revealed new lines.