Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. Charles Stahlberg had an idea for making a better, but less expensive alarm clock. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. 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. It also says that the patent was re-issued March 31, 1868. I know it was purchased in 1937 because it belonged to my elderly friends who were married in 1938. When many of these early Big Ben advertisements were still running, Gaston Le Roys life took a sudden and dramatic turn. I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. The style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben (1956 to 1964, the first Bens with concentric alarm hand) has minute markings. can anybody tell me about this piece? 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. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. The alpha particles emitted by the radium, which is taken up in bone, will kill off surrounding bone tissue, resulting in a condition loosely referred to as radium jaw. Which is interesting because many of the electrics are scarcer but people just arent into collecting electric clocks. Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. In a few short years, thanks to Dr. Douglas's efforts, the amount of radium available in the US more than quintupled. 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. In 1918 the Big Ben case was improved to make it dustproof, as described in patent #1,300,278 issued to Kern on April 15, 1919. 5 17 15 is May 17, 1915 . 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). Is Westclox a good brand? I took it back and the repairman told me it was like a large Timex watch and just not worth being fixed. One employee, R.D. With alarm clocks, they were so common that when people repaired them they did whatever they could to get them going. Any suggestions of where to get a replacement preferably in Canada? It is made by The Sessions Clock movement, appears to be brass, a bucking horse with cowboy riderjudgeing from the clothes design of the cowboy it is quite old. That summer at an antique store I came across one that wasnt even in the book, and I thought that was exciting. 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.. . But it had always just been a matter of time (pun less intended) before industrial mass production made a wide-scale phenomenon like the Big Ben possible. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. 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. Behind the light, theyd been left in the dark. 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. We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. Even so, our case-less dials are certainly best left behind glass and out of reach, a sad reminder of a terrible and preventable episode in industrial history, the effects of which continued to plague the town of Ottawa for many years afterward. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. But for years the majority were wind ups, they were so popular. So you find clocks where parts have been switched, so thats one challenge, determining originality. UHR (CW arrow) knob sets clock time. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. . I have a collection of clocks, and amongst my collection are Westminster chime wall clocks, I have two Keinzle and two Junghans. 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. Its basically all forward momentum from here. 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. 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. 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. We have photos of all the employees between 1927-1945 at the Peterborough Ontario Location but not much else. 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. 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. Advertisement: Illustrates crackle green Tiny Tim, crackle blue Big Ben and crackle pink Baby Ben clocks. I had developed some sort of fascination for Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. Sep 23, 2011 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. Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 In 1931 it merged with Seth Thomas Clock Co. and both became divisions of General Time Corp. So yes. A pair of teenage boys broke into the abandoned factory and set a fire that quickly spread and enveloped much of the central complex. lds missionary clothing stores; June 24, 2022 . Westclox Scotland produced its first clock on 21 September 1948; a spring wound alarm with a 4-inch (10cm) dial. The other thing is reproductions. Similarly, Stoddard: Ive been there several times. July 17th, 2008. 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. She was 18. 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. 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. Unfortunately, they also hint at a tragic chapter in American industrial history, when the appeal of a luminous new kind of paint wound up putting hundreds of workersmostly young womenat great personal risk. 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. Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. My dad was one of the top bowlers here, Ristau said. 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. Am I missing something here? It is encased in hard polymer Plastic and the ends have rivets . 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. If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place. credit: Northern Illinois University]. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. The company later changed its name to the United States Radium Corporation. . Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. I have a small westclox alarm clock. Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. It still works. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . Westclox Classic Alarm Clock Full Size 47602. 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. any info would be appreciated. var today = new Date() 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 . Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. 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. 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 I went home and washed my hands in a dark bathroom, they would appear luminous and ghostly,, My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. I am a retired mechanical engineer, the quality has floored me, hats off to this company. I will be watching for more articles from Bill Stoddard Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book By the 1960s production went offshore to achieve economies of scale . credit: Northern Illinois University], According to a 1909 article in Commercial America, In clocks, as in all other lines of goods, there are two classes of consumersthe millions and the millionaires. 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.. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. Your email address will not be published. Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. 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. At the top was a clock covered with a glass door. When did they stop using radium on clocks? Any guidance or help is appreciated. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. 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. I was given an Elias Ingraham Clock many years ago and would like to know a bit more about it and its value. Buy Now. With a half-life of only 3.8 days, radon "seeds" (Rn gas contained in thin walled gold tubing, crimped and cut into units up to 1cm in length) could be left permanently implanted in the body. So I brought it home and left it hanging and would wind it up every once in a while. 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.. Thank to several professionals who Ive met on Ebay, I have become quite skilled with my restorations plus making dials and alarm function indicators. Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. I also like some of the older American weight-driven clocks. 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 never seen this mentioned anywhere. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. Sometimes extensive casework can be more time consuming than getting the movement running. 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. 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. On March 31, 1980, the Peru-LaSalle plant was officially closed, narrowly missing its 100-year anniversary. I have looked high and low in my attempts to find out how any of these resproduction style 1A were produced. I first saw the clock in 1957. Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. 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. 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. Stoddard: The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) is headquartered in Pennsylvania but has chapters throughout the country. Beginning in the 1910s, the girls instructed to put radium in their mouths didn't bat an eyelash. 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. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. It emits alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Can anyone direct me on how to find this clock? into groups of similar models. 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. In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. 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. Thank you Same as the nickel version but in a gold-plated case. Another thing people do is make fake advertising clocks. "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. Instrument dials painted with radium-based paint, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "WWII Military Watches 'Potentially Pose Serious Cancer Risk,', "Health Effects of Radium Radiation Exposure,", "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Radium Dials,", "Lume 101: Watch Luminescence Explained,", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radium_dial&oldid=1123475907, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Jane Brickman, "Radium Girls: Women and Industrial Health Reform, 19101935,", This page was last edited on 23 November 2022, at 23:30. There are also some other makers clocks Ive gotten into, like the Seth Thomas 30 hour ogee, which is a weight-driven shelf clock. The disease, radium-induced osteonecrosis, was recognized as an occupational disease in 1925 after a group of radium painters, known as the Radium Girls, from the United States Radium Corporation sued. 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. I have a collection of alarm clocks, but slowly selling many. WECKER (CW arrow)/UHR (CCW arrow) knob with ring: CW winds alarm; CCW winds clock. This will broaden my view in the clock. 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?? You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. 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. I would like to find out about this clock. They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) As radium luminosity came under attack in the 1930s, Westcloxs other updates to the Big Ben design were far more practical and uncontroversial. 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. When radium was discovered in the early 1900s, people were fascinated by its mysterious glow and it was added to many everyday products, including paints. 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. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.. 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. They had one in Brazil for a while and I think also in Hong Kong. For the town of Peruwhich had tied much of its identity to Westclox for the better part of a centurythe damage went beyond financial. Thank you. Radium - The First Rolex Luminous Material. The whole clock seems to be origional and was maintained by my grandfather who was a watch/clock repairman. Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. Is this a product that the company would have made or something someone created? Columbia, PA 17512 The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. I'll start with a 19j Bunn, Looking for Somebody with Some Bandwidth to do a Repair. 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. [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. . The only problem is a standard size D battery does not fit. I read (but cant remember where) that about 40,000 were made. I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. The work involved using luminous radium paint to make the numbers on clocks, watches and aeronautic dials glow in the dark. Over time, she contracted terrible cancerous tumors, lost most of her teeth, and suffered countless other health problems. One of the objects on display in the Benton County Historical Society's Corvallis Museum is this Westclox Radium Dial Clock. In clocks, as in all other lines of goods, there are two classes of consumersthe millions and the millionaires. That way I got myself another Baby Ben, bringing my collection to three by age 12. 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. In 1914, Dr. Sabin Arnold von Sochocky and Dr. George S. Willis founded the Radium Luminous Material Corporation. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. I have a sessions mantle clock duet#1. 7&a half X 6..desk clock. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. In the 1970s, radium was phased out of wristwatches and clockdials. Nowadays, Super-LumiNova, which is entirely non-radioactive and non-toxic, is the most used lume in watchmaking. According to Periodic. The drinking fountain worked.. when did westclox stop using radiumcapricorn and virgo flirting. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. Could you please try to help me find out what kind of clock this is. Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. . 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. Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. From 1917 to 1926, the United States Radium Corporation used radium to produce wristwatches and clocks. I am sure I can give Mr. Shields further information about his clock. document.write(year) hi, I have a cocacola square clock. [Former Westclox workers Art and Mary Ann Windy (standing), 2015], This is amazing, Art said. 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. This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day. Next year, well have been married for 49 years, Mary Ann said. "[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. . Theyre making some really nice reproductions of it in China and if you dont know what youre looking for you could be fooled easily. I am pleased that I came across your article. Chronic exposure to high levels of radium can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, or breast cancer. Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. Westclox Big Bens and Baby Bens are full of the stuff. 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. [9] The element was phased out of use by industry acting under its own volition as superior and safer luminous materials entered the marketplace. 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. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. Thank you for your input. Style 10 is the last numbered 2023 by Andrew Clayman. This was a wonderful article to read. 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 was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. Production was back in full force and at an all-time high by 1956, with 3,000 employees on staff. The trademark "Westclox" which had appeared on their Big Ben alarm clocks as early as 1910 was officially registered in January 1916. It is a Medbury-4W #4910. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. 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. Is radium still used on watches? Collectors Weekly: When did you discover that there were other clock collectors? As my first name is Ben, I started to collect these alarmclocks since about 1970. We thought it was 1890 or older. Art and Mary Ann Windy [pictured] have been married for 49 years, met as Westclox employees and were present for the open house.
