I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. Art and Mary Ann Windy [pictured] have been married for 49 years, met as Westclox employees and were present for the open house. Not to mention theres the Big Bens so that doubles it right there. They are just gorgeous watches and very well made. 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. 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.. The drinking fountain worked.. Ristau said he remembered when the Westclox factory was the heart of the city, and recalled enjoying his time with Westclox. Was this done so the alarm could be more easily set on the quarter or half hour? We have photos of all the employees between 1927-1945 at the Peterborough Ontario Location but not much else. When did clocks stop using radium? Could you please try to help me find out what kind of clock this is. 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? 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. 1968 Who made westclox? Radiums luminosity was part of its allure, Moore writes. 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. Old Rose (pink) crackle finish Baby Ben with luminous dial: 1929 1930. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the. 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. Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. At one time they employed about 3500 people, making about 35, 000 clocks and watches per day. This particular clock is made in China while other similar Westclox alarm clocks at the time were made in Taiwan. When many of these early Big Ben advertisements were still running, Gaston Le Roys life took a sudden and dramatic turn. 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. As my first name is Ben, I started to collect these alarmclocks since about 1970. 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. 1980 By the early 1950s, Westclox employed thousands of LaSalle-Peru residents. Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide ClockHistory.com, Keeping Time in Peru Chicago Tribune, October 18, 1998, Remembering the Great War and The Clock That Caused a Near Riot WestcloxMuseum.com, For That Healthy Glow, Drink Radiation Popular Science, August 17, 2004, The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of Americas Shining Women, by Kate Moore, 2o17, The Forgotten Story Of The Radium Girls, Whose Deaths Saved Thousands Of Workers Lives, by Kate Moore, Buzzfeed.com, One-Day and Alarm Clocks Commercial America, Vol VI, 1909, A Rude Awakening: The History of Alarm Clocks ThroughoutHistory.com. When I walked along the street, Iwas aglow from the radium powder., The radium girls case was one of the first in which an employer was made responsible for the health of the companys employees. Your email address will not be published. I was looking at it and said, aha! Thank you, i have a pocket watch that says (inscribed inside) g. falconer ,,,rona & london or kona & london i dont know its in old english and says kona or hona it has 1243 all inscribed on the inside where when u open it u can see the gears, looks like an a8 and a crown with a 18 on the middle inside cover (that covers the gears) and also a 1243 and what looks like an 8 or an infinite symbol (sideways 8)then again on the part that clasps over everything on the inside an A3 or A8? 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. Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, and I added even more in 2012. Thanks, Paula. Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. 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. It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. 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 NAWCC has an online forum with a lot of different categories. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. One time a friend and I were down there behind the factory and we got talking to a man who was leasing the back half of the factory to make machinery for bakeries. A radium dial clock from the 1930s. Big Ben Style Series. Many folks might not realize that early vintage clock dials were painted with radioluminescent paint, which is a mixture of fluorescent salts (these produce the glow) and radium-226, which is a dangerous and highly radioactive element. The internet is fantastic, you can find out anything about just any kind of clock, exchange pictures easily, correspond with people and work together on research. By Dave Margulius This classic clock is known for its loud and distinct bell-like . I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. 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. By the 1960s production went offshore to achieve economies of scale . Can someone get back to me as to what it is and possibe age of 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. Initially hired as a low level clerk, Le Roy worked his way up the company ladder in the early 1900s as an on-the-road sales rep, soliciting business from Chicago to New York to parts unknown. 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. In 1913, with help from the US government, Dr. Douglas formed the National Radium Institute, to mine radium from uranium ores recently discovered in Colorado. According to Periodic. First, if your clock is for display only, I think it is harmless if the paint on the hands is not disturbed. Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. Any suggestions of where to get a replacement preferably in Canada? 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. 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 . They worked in unvented rooms, they wore smocks that they laundered at home. Credit: pinimg. I was told it was long ago before even my aged family was servicing watches. 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. I thought, oh boy, I just need four more and Ill have them all! [citation needed] This rate probably only represents the dose rate from gamma emission, as the alpha emission will be stopped by the lacquer, or crystal, or case; hence, the dose rate following ingestion or inhalation of the dust could be much higher. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? i have a large ansonia wall clock 32 1/2 x 32. When did they stop using radium for watches? The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. 1970s Many of these workers developed bone cancer . [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. As seen below, the company made something of a symbolic gesture out of honoring the last Big Ben to roll off the assembly line on July 31, 1942, the day when all production shifted to government contracts for the duration of the war. The radium isotope (226Ra) used has a half-life of about 1,600years,[6] so radium dials remain essentially just as radioactive as when originally painted 50 or 100 years ago, whether or not they remain luminous. 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. Did westclox stop using radioactive paint by the 1960s? when did westclox stop using radium. So, rather than having the classic oversized bell or double-bell on top of the unit (to smash with your palm at 6am), the ringing mechanism was housed inside the back of the case, and a big winding key occupied the summit. 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. Quite a few who try to get every basic model, but fewer who get into the rarer models and do research. From 1917 to 1926, the United States Radium Corporation used radium to produce wristwatches and clocks. Stoddard: The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) is headquartered in Pennsylvania but has chapters throughout the country. 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]. Is Westclox a good brand? . 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. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. Can anyone tell me the meaning or significance of this eye? 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. Condition is important, but clocks can be restored. 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. who can refurbush big ben still runs good perfect time purchased in 1950 cataloge #885(885). My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. That batch was in production non-continuously from 1939 to 1946, housed in gunmetal cases with nickel trim. AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. The only thing I found is the word Germny engraved on the back. Westclox Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. Created with WordPress. Charles Stahlberg had an idea for making a better, but less expensive alarm clock. However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. Is this a product that the company would have made or something someone created? I have never seen this mentioned anywhere. The whole clock seems to be origional and was maintained by my grandfather who was a watch/clock repairman. In some respects, the early rise of the Western Clock MFG Co. is even more impressive considering the company didnt have all the resources of an established, major metropolis to draw from. Its basically all forward momentum from here. Style 10 is the last numbered In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. Richard Ristau Jr., former plant manager, said hes happy to see the space being used for the museum. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. 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. So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. Immediately after, substances like promethium and tritium were used as a luminous material, and they're still being used today. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. "[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. Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. About 1920 the luminous dial using radium paint was introduced. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. 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]. Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? The Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage is an iconic timepiece that has been around since the early 1900s. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. The style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben (1956 to 1964, the first Bens with concentric alarm hand) has minute markings. Which is interesting because many of the electrics are scarcer but people just arent into collecting electric clocks. Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it Contact the Webmaster for perceived copyright infringement (DMCA Registration Number 1010287). Just remember, old luminous clocks are full of radium! Radium dials were produced throughout most of the 20th century before being replaced by safer tritium-based luminous material in the 1970s and finally by non-toxic, non-radioactive strontium aluminatebased photoluminescent material from the middle 1990s. 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 Classic Alarm Clock Full Size 47602. 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. When did Junghans stop manufacturing Westminster Chimes, and when did Keinzle stop manufacturing Westminster chimes. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. styles to organize them 514 Poplar Street the knobs have foreign words ie wecker & UHR.would like to know about his clock Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. Your email (will not be published) (required), The Timeless Appeal of the Westclock Big and BabyBens, The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Not Your Grandmas Cuckoo: Decapitating, Rat-Eating Clocks of the Black Forest, The Care and Repair of 19th-Century American Clocks. I would like to find the value of 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. I am a retired mechanical engineer, the quality has floored me, hats off to this company. I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. 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. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. The work involved using luminous radium paint to make the numbers on clocks, watches and aeronautic dials glow in the dark. On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. I tend to be a nitty gritty detail kind of guy. It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862. 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.. How do you date a Westclox Baby Ben? I also like some of the older American weight-driven clocks. It was a gift from him to her the year before they were married. When Did They Stop Using Radium On Clock Hands? 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. 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. Is radium still used on watches? 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. I have an Pine State Ice Cream Milk clock that I would like to find out how much it may be worth. After several changes of ownership, it became . At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. 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. When I walked along the street, Iwas aglow from the radium powder., [Mrs. Charlotte Purcell, like Catherine Donohue, was one of 15 former workers at the Radium Dial Company who contracted cancer and sought justice in the late 1930s]. 1888. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. Can you confirm? They were officially Americas preferred wake-up call provider. 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. A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. 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. 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. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. He also recalled playing in the factory. I have a mantel clock,its floral in color,made by Ansonia Cock Co.USA.New York. I think we threw it away. 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. It is in good condition and has the original pendulum and key.
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