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I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. can anybody tell me about this piece? Matthiessen [pictured below], who owns the powerful Illinois Zinc Company and most other things in Peru / LaSalle, decides to swoop in and save Stahlbergs little clock business, incorporating it as the Western Clock Mfg. 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. We are looking for any Westclox photographs, memorabilia etc between 1927- 1980s of the factory. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. Am I missing something here? they played a deep rich tone. I have a sessions mantle clock duet#1. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. . 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. any info would be appreciated. Buy Now. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. 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.. The movement was mounted to the inner case back. 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. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. . There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. Any suggestions of where to get a replacement preferably in Canada? Lynda Hinshaw, At this moment I am research a clock by Falconer& co HongKong. Thank to several professionals who Ive met on Ebay, I have become quite skilled with my restorations plus making dials and alarm function indicators. While most of our Big Ben dials are black with luminous numbers, there were also white dials with black numerals in production at the same time. UHR (CW arrow) knob sets clock time. Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, and I added even more in 2012. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. Only reason I can think of and it looks pretty odd not to have minutes on a clock face. 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. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. 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. They have meetings every two months, and educational programs, so thats a really great way to meet collectors and get all kinds of advice. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. Copyright i have a large ansonia wall clock 32 1/2 x 32. Before we get to that, though, we have to start with the issue of geography as it concerns the business in question. Ironically, the war that had cost them Gaston Le Roy had also stifled much of the companys European competition, opening up an even bigger share of the world marketplace in the 1920s. The only problem is a standard size D battery does not fit. 1978. 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. 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. When Westclox changed over to the style 8 Big Ben and Baby Ben in 1964, they used 4 divisions per 5 minutes, I believe to make the alarm easier to set. [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. One of the objects on display in the Benton County Historical Society's Corvallis Museum is this Westclox Radium Dial Clock. Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it 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. . It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. The other thing is reproductions. 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. Stoddard: Its really hard to say. 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. Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. Did Westclox use radium? Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. While the painting technique of the Ghost Girls was replaced with supposedly safer methods like silk screening, traces of radium were still used by many companies to get that desired glow effect throughout the 1940s and even as late as the 60s. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. 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. When did they stop using radium on clocks? 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. They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. Among the rarities on display is a Westclox-made National Emergency Alarm Repeater. On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. 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. 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. 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. The trademark "Westclox" which had appeared on their Big Ben alarm clocks as early as 1910 was officially registered in January 1916. Can anyone direct me on how to find this clock? The only thing I found is the word Germny engraved on the back. Not to mention theres the Big Bens so that doubles it right there. var year = today.getFullYear() As stated it is working and keeps time. Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. 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. Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . I have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. . They made them with wooden works until about 1840, then with brass gears and I like some of the early brass-geared American clocks. This fall, the museum will be open more frequently and for more events. 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. The policy of the company is one of highly specialized production. They had one in Brazil for a while and I think also in Hong Kong. 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. [7] A 2018 study by researchers from the University of Northampton found that a collection of 30 vintage military watches with radium dials kept in an small, unventilated room produced a radon concentration 134 times greater than the UK's recommended "safe" level. 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. A pair of teenage boys broke into the abandoned factory and set a fire that quickly spread and enveloped much of the central complex. They were, incredibly enough, instructed to ingest a radioactive poison all day, every day, and never properly warned of any potential hazards. JavaScript is disabled. Similarly, Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. Patton, had joined Charles Stahlbergs original start-up back in 1886 at the age of just 13, and he was still on board in 1936, 50 years later. Most are in nickel finish cases, but some were made in gold plated cases. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. I think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. I have a mantel clock,its floral in color,made by Ansonia Cock Co.USA.New York. Its got a round brass dial and a painting in the door, really neat. This particular clock is made in China while other similar Westclox alarm clocks at the time were made in Taiwan. 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. Jessie, good observation. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. 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. 514 Poplar Street It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. Quite a few who try to get every basic model, but fewer who get into the rarer models and do research. Recently Ive seen people taking an old Baby Ben thats worth a few bucks or so and gluing rhinestones around the bezel on the clock. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. Sometimes extensive casework can be more time consuming than getting the movement running. Various lettering on the dial and various patent dates (later, numbers) on the Like style 1a non-luminous with dealer name on dial. A Westclox Museum has been opened within the original facility, showing off rare collections from the millions of timepieces once manufactured there. I have a small westclox alarm clock. Not everyone involved with the manufacturing of Westclox products was employed directly by Westclox, however. Dave, Your question about a Big Ben containing radium, and in fact about which clocks actually do contain radium, is a good one. They arent hurting it permanently, its just kind of weird. document.write(year) 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. 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. Big Ben style 1a continued in production until its discontinuation in 1935. Thank you for your input. At the start of the decade, the company brought in a skilled new industrial designer named Henry Dreyfuss; a true modernist. The magical glow, as was widely understood by everyone involved, was created by radiuma radioactive element discovered by Marie Curie in 1898. They were told that eliminating lip-pointing had ended earlier problems. England. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. According to Periodic. I spent many an evening here, watching him bowl.. [Former Westclox workers Art and Mary Ann Windy (standing), 2015], This is amazing, Art said. Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. When did the use of radium stop? 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 did some limited production (less than 200) in 1908, when they were still perfecting the design, then quite a few in 1909, but it really wasnt nationally advertised until September of 1910. When did they stop using radium for watches? [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. 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. Despite Westcloxs deep German roots, the Illinois factory was a huge contributor to the U.S. military again during World War II, supplying upwards of a billion small parts for use in various defense products. 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. Thanks for any info you may be able to supply 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. The center is in the shape of the world map. The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. I am reading, studying, and learning more about the Westclox. They are just gorgeous watches and very well made. Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. The pioneering spirit is there, but the business skills soon appear lacking. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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). My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. The Forgotten Story Of The Radium Girls, Whose Deaths Saved Thousands Of Workers Lives, by Kate Moore, A Rude Awakening: The History of Alarm Clocks , Western Clock MFG Co. (Westclox), est. As my first name is Ben, I started to collect these alarmclocks since about 1970. Collectors Weekly: When did you discover that there were other clock collectors? Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. Can you help Nowadays, Super-LumiNova, which is entirely non-radioactive and non-toxic, is the most used lume in watchmaking. Created with WordPress. They worked for the United States Radium Corporation painting the numbers and hands on watch. It was passed on to my sister and for years it was on their mantle along time until it stopped. I always wondered why the dial of my Baby Ben clock, which I have had from late 60s, was marked off in 48ths of an hour instead of minutes. 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. A radium dial clock from the 1930s. Westclox began as the United Clock Company of Peru, Illinois in 1885. 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. As various larger corporate interests got involved in the years ahead, however, and as increasing competition from electronic clockmakers slowed the Big Bens dominance, the inevitable slow down began. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. About the only. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. Stoddard: Ive been there several times. Thanks, Paula. This eye is horizontally elliptical in general shape, about 4 3/4 long and 1 3/4 tall with a circle in the middle making it look like a single eye.