Ruth Spayer at the Westclox Museum tracked down a newspaper story from the Daily Post-Tribune on March 21, 1944, describing a scene in which three women fainted, several clerks were trampled, and four showcase windows were shattered before police untangled a jam of 2,500 women and a few stout-hearted men who converged on the store.. The magical glow, as was widely understood by everyone involved, was created by radiuma radioactive element discovered by Marie Curie in 1898. I know Bill Stoddards name from other publications on Westclox. It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. 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. 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. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. The sound is very good when I compare it with the Howard Miller and the Jauke I just purchases, its loud and resonates very well. Thank you. Chronic exposure to high levels of radium can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, or breast cancer. They worked in unvented rooms, they wore smocks that they laundered at home. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. The Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage is an iconic timepiece that has been around since the early 1900s. I am sure I can give Mr. Shields further information about his clock. Purchased from a man who claimed to have salvaged them from the backroom of an unnamed Chicago watch repair shop, each round and weathered face represents the lasting work of an international manufacturing giant at the peak of its powers. 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. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. A lot of American clocks have veneer over the base wood so if thats starting to peel it can be really expensive to get fixed. [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 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . Were finally at a point, where were ready to do more than just sit here, said Ruth Spayer, curator for the museum. Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. 514 Poplar Street My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. 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. Westclox Big Bens and Baby Bens are full of the stuff. 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. Radium is highly radioactive. How can people be exposed to Radium? Charles Crow Penn Valley, Ca, I have run across and old clock that I would like to know something about. Thanks, Paula. Any help would be appreciated. Lynda Hinshaw, At this moment I am research a clock by Falconer& co HongKong. 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. 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. Origin of the eye, forklore or legends surrounding????? Immediately after, substances like promethium and tritium were used as a luminous material, and they're still being used today. She was 107 when she died on March 1 in Middlebury, Conn . I cannot date it. knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. Stoddard: My grandma gave me an old Baby Ben alarm clock that didnt work when I was seven. So yes. It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. thanks for your time, was doing research.. Appears from search engine a conversation about D batteries but cant find it in the text.. Can anyone inform me of the different size of D? I just had it repaired & it works & looks great. Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. 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. I try to get all the pictures I can and keep them all chronologically and study the history. 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. It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. 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 start making clocks? Buy Now. when did westclox stop using radium. Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. 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. Big Ben style, and there are other styles with names instead of numbers. Same as the nickel version but in a gold-plated case. It is in good condition and has the original pendulum and key. 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. I was looking at it and said, aha! 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.. 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. England. My dad was one of the top bowlers here, Ristau said. About 1931 they made the first electric Big Ben, and they were plug ins. This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. 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. I have a collection of alarm clocks, but slowly selling many. Hundreds of thousands of clocks were produced a year, until closing its doors in 1980. Radium was also used until the early 1970s in "glow-in-the-dark" paints, e.g., for dials on clocks, and in other industrial applications such as instrument calibration. [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. when did westclox stop using radium. I have an antique mantle clock given to my Aunt & Uncle for a wedding gift (approximately 1949) FROM my great grandparents. 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. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. . It still works. The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. That way I got myself another Baby Ben, bringing my collection to three by age 12. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. 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. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. Advertisement: Illustrates crackle green Tiny Tim, crackle blue Big Ben and crackle pink Baby Ben clocks. Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. Sometimes getting parts is tough, too, although it turns out Westclox made lots and lots of spare parts. Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Stoddard: The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) is headquartered in Pennsylvania but has chapters throughout the country. It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862. Like many East Coasters, he decides to pursue his fortune out West, but unlike many of his peers, he skips the bustling Second City in favor of a promising river & railroad region downstate; where the towns of Peru, LaSalle and Ottawa intersect. [3] The Radiolite series, made in various sizes and models, became a signature of the Connecticut-based company. From 1917 to 1926, the United States Radium Corporation used radium to produce wristwatches and clocks. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. I'll start with a 19j Bunn, Looking for Somebody with Some Bandwidth to do a Repair. Frank Baker. 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. 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. Can you confirm? 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. They had one in Brazil for a while and I think also in Hong Kong. 7&a half X 6..desk clock. Charles Stahlberg had an idea for making a better, but less expensive alarm clock. The front is in Roman Numerals with a dome shaped raised glass. Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? Sometimes Ive seen them for 300 to 600 dollars. We have photos of all the employees between 1927-1945 at the Peterborough Ontario Location but not much else. 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. When did the use of radium stop? 1968 Who made westclox? When did clocks stop using radium? First, if your clock is for display only, I think it is harmless if the paint on the hands is not disturbed. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. 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. The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. The factory contained a bowling alley, and Ristau said his father was an excellent bowler. [9] Prior to that date, "the federal government had a limited role, if any, in ensuring the safe use of radium," according to the NRC. Early in the 20th century there was a medical practice that revolved around a new treatment involving the radioactive material called radium. Westclox Radium Dial 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. 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. Copyright 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. A few years later my grandma gave me one that worked, and my aunt gave me another one. In the United States there does not seem to have ever been prohibitory legislation passed banning the use of radium in clocks and watches. I had developed some sort of fascination for Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks. 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. Can someone get back to me as to what it is and possibe age of it. "[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. Many thanks. 2023 by Andrew Clayman. It is 3 diameter with Westclox on the back and PAT.APLOFOR. Quite a few who try to get every basic model, but fewer who get into the rarer models and do research. By Dave Margulius For the town of Peruwhich had tied much of its identity to Westclox for the better part of a centurythe damage went beyond financial. A radium dial clock from the 1930s. can anybody tell me about this piece? 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). While studying the types of Big Ben style 1 and 1A in WestcloxHistory.com, I noticed the reproduction style 1A, and have acquired about 5 of them. Westclox Scotland produced its first clock on 21 September 1948; a spring wound alarm with a 4-inch (10cm) dial. She was 18. So, does Westclox really belong in the Made In Chicago Museum? Instead, it would be better to take the box outside and remove the lid there, which would allow any built-up gas to rapidly dissipate." The watches tested were produced from the 1920s through the '60s, and are a mix of British, Swiss, and American origin. 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. Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. I hope to document Style 5 Baby Bens this winter. Radiums luminosity was part of its allure, Moore writes. 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. 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. 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 . How do you date a Westclox Baby Ben? There are also some other makers clocks Ive gotten into, like the Seth Thomas 30 hour ogee, which is a weight-driven shelf clock. I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. 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. 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. 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. There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. I thought, oh boy, I just need four more and Ill have them all! Thats another story. This has probably been discussed before but my search turned up nothingdo the luminous hands on a Big Ben alarm clock contain painted radium? [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. Just remember, old luminous clocks are full of radium! On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolate radioactive radium salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris. This will broaden my view in the clock. 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., [Automatic machinery certainly sped up the manufacturing process, by plenty of human skill and attention was still required to make the Big Ben. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. its a Gold coloring and the bottom is well worn like it was slid into something regularily. I read (but cant remember where) that about 40,000 were made. 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. In her 2017 book, The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of Americas Shining Women, author Kate Moore notes that many of the new girls at the Radium Dial factory started out painting the famous Westclox Big Ben clocks before moving on to the smaller and more challenging Baby Ben, and finally the Pocket Ben and Scotty pocket watches, all produced at the Westclox Works. i have a large ansonia wall clock 32 1/2 x 32. Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. As stated it is working and keeps time. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width. 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]. They were, incredibly enough, instructed to ingest a radioactive poison all day, every day, and never properly warned of any potential hazards. In terms of my own collection, Im still trying to find some of the really early Big Bens. I also like some of the older American weight-driven clocks. 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. It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. They make alarm and one-day lever clocks only, and with practically two different articles, known as the 4-inch and 2-inch movements, they have an output of in their factory at LaSalle, Ill., of nearly two million clocks a year. 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. If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place., Big Ben is a handsome, well built, refined and bright looking fellow with a clean-cut open face and a deep cheerful voice,, 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,, But he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. When did Bulova stop using radium? However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. The women also left a legacy to science that has been termed invaluable.. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. Is radium still used on watches? 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 think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. I have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. 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. 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. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. Radium - The First Rolex Luminous Material. That batch was in production non-continuously from 1939 to 1946, housed in gunmetal cases with nickel trim. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . Collectors Weekly: When did you discover that there were other clock collectors? Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. The movement was then used with minor changes in Loud Alarm models until 1956. 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. Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. Site of the Old Westclox factory 211-201 Hunter Street, Peterborough Ontario. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. 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. On March 31, 1980, the Peru-LaSalle plant was officially closed, narrowly missing its 100-year anniversary. Medical researchers extended the use of radium to cure impotence in men and women by creating fertility drugs with the element to "stimulate" reproduction.
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