Gordon Goodrum I met somebody then who told me about the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and then I joined that and in their bi-monthly magazine I found a man looking for early Westclox information, he is now one of the foremost Westclox researchers. Dates Stamped on Big Ben and Baby Ben Clock Movements Dates were stamped on a movement plate of most Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks made up until mid-1970's. Numbers are used for the month, day and year; or just the month and year (e.g. When did westclox start making clocks? Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. I never realized, even working here, they made so many different models.. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. 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]. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. This fall, the museum will be open more frequently and for more events. 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 NAWCC is dedicated to providing association services, promoting interest in and encouraging the collecting of clocks and watches including disseminating knowledge of the same. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. I know it was purchased in 1937 because it belonged to my elderly friends who were married in 1938. 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. 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. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. 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. But he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. It was put away for years and last year it was given to me as I have small collection of United novelty clocks. 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?? Your response or advice would be much appreciated. It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. I am pleased that I came across your article. Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. The use of Radium changed over several years but it was not until late 1960ies when the last were made. Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. Jessie, good observation. I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. Penetrating gamma radiation produced by some dials also represents a significant health risk. England. I know the site informs readers the amount of Big Bens produced in any one year, but does NOT for the reproduction model produced in 1970. When did westclox stop using radium? 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. I think we threw it away. The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. Luminous Processes employees interviewed by a journalist in 1978 stated they had been left ignorant of radium's dangers. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. US radium dial painting factory. Stoddard: The main thing is the originality of the dial and if its a wooden shelf clock, having the original painting in the door would be really important. But for years the majority were wind ups, they were so popular. Radium paint can be ingested by inhaling flaking paint particles. 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. Another thing people do is make fake advertising clocks. 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.. 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. Production was back in full force and at an all-time high by 1956, with 3,000 employees on staff. 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. Hi I need the face plate for a black face big ben with the alarm dial on its face do you have any you could sell me alonf with the radio dials, it was probably outsourced meaning westclox sold some watches to hot wheels, I had a westclox electric dialite like that. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. A key point to bear in mind is this: the dial is still highly radioactive. The company made luminescent paint. its a Gold coloring and the bottom is well worn like it was slid into something regularily. [3] The Radiolite series, made in various sizes and models, became a signature of the Connecticut-based company. So, does Westclox really belong in the Made In Chicago Museum? 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. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width. "[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. 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. Many thanks. The movement was mounted to the inner case back. Thanks very mutch, I just acquired a sir w.h. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. Theyre just scattered in different places all over the country, little collections of hands, springs, screws, and things like that. 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. I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA. This Christmas (1930) ad illustrates 61-F Dura Case, style 2 crackle finish Big Ben and Baby Ben, Auto Clock, Pocket Ben and Country Club pocket watches. 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. I worked here for 28 years. The Ghost Girls might have been the envy of the other girls in town, but no one yet realized just how much danger they were being subjected to. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? $38.00. I believed it was manufacturing tag. Any suggestions of where to get a replacement preferably in Canada? One employee, R.D. Early in the 20th century there was a medical practice that revolved around a new treatment involving the radioactive material called radium. Don Spayer, volunteer and former Westclox employee, said the bulk of the museums collection was built through donations. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. Style 5 dial design]. The Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage is an iconic timepiece that has been around since the early 1900s. I was looking at it and said, aha! Underneath the #12 on the face it says: G. Falconer & Co. LTD. Hong Kong. That way I got myself another Baby Ben, bringing my collection to three by age 12. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. 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 is 3 diameter with Westclox on the back and PAT.APLOFOR. 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. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In clocks, as in all other lines of goods, there are two classes of consumersthe millions and the millionaires. 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. Well, the company certainly maintained some major salesrooms here, and many of their employees came from the city and its suburbs. 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.. I have an Pine State Ice Cream Milk clock that I would like to find out how much it may be worth. The NAWCC has an online forum with a lot of different categories. Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. His bigger job was to design a system so the power companies could regulate their generator so the clock could keep time. 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. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, and I added even more in 2012. When did Westclox close? It was passed on to my sister and for years it was on their mantle along time until it stopped. Radium is highly radioactive. First, if your clock is for display only, I think it is harmless if the paint on the hands is not disturbed. 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. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. when did westclox stop using radium; when did westclox stop using radium. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. So you find clocks where parts have been switched, so thats one challenge, determining originality. The greater surprise, though, is that they didnt abandon the use of radium in the years that followed. I also like some of the older American weight-driven clocks. If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place. credit: Northern Illinois University]. Is this a product that the company would have made or something someone created? Beginning in the 1910s, the girls instructed to put radium in their mouths didn't bat an eyelash. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. You must log in or register to reply here. I'll start with a 19j Bunn, Looking for Somebody with Some Bandwidth to do a Repair. Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. Its basically all forward momentum from here. Thanks, Teri. bailey oceans tide clock dated 1880, with a Fusee movement. 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. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. Your email address will not be published. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. In the early 1920s, when the company introduced a new series of Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks with luminous dials, the work of painting on this special, glow-in-the-dark element was outsourced to the Radium Dial Companyan independent business located just up the road in the neighboring town of Ottawa, IL. There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. In all my research I can not confirm that The Style 1 models every had 1) and 2) above. Thanks for any info you may be able to supply A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. I hung it on my wall and we tried to get it fixed but the repairman couldnt fix it. 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. In the 1970s, radium was phased out of wristwatches and clockdials. Style 10 is the last numbered 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]. The lume used on vintage Rolex watches was radium-based, and radium remained the standard for nearly all Rolex lume until 1963, when growing health concerns forced a shift away from it. [citation needed] After about 20minutes this delivers the equivalent of one whole day's worth of normal background radiation. I am reading, studying, and learning more about the Westclox. At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. 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. I think it is a clock made by Sessions. A Westclox Museum has been opened within the original facility, showing off rare collections from the millions of timepieces once manufactured there. Inhaled or ingested particles may deposit a high local dose with a risk of radiation-caused lung or gastrointestinal cancer. We would like to redo the entrances and lobby areas and show the history of the building right on site but have not found much anywhere. Copyright Company in 1888 and installing another talented German, Ernst Roth, as the general manager. For my 14th birthday I got a book called The Treasury of American Clocks and there was a picture showing the seven types of Baby Bens. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. At the end of one hand is a star and the other hand is the moon. Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. It was a gift from him to her the year before they were married. If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . they played a deep rich tone. I read (but cant remember where) that about 40,000 were made. 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. Hundreds of thousands of clocks were produced a year, until closing its doors in 1980. Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. Thanks, Paula. 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. It also says that the patent was re-issued March 31, 1868. 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. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. I try to get all the pictures I can and keep them all chronologically and study the history. Radium was discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. Columbia, PA 17512 $25.99. It is too large (wide). Westclox Wrought Iron Look Wall Clock 12" 32021A. Thanks so much Thank to several professionals who Ive met on Ebay, I have become quite skilled with my restorations plus making dials and alarm function indicators. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. Up until this point in time (pun intended), quality time pieces had been considered a rich mans game. 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. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. Over time, she contracted terrible cancerous tumors, lost most of her teeth, and suffered countless other health problems. hi, I have a cocacola square clock. 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. 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. . So I brought it home and left it hanging and would wind it up every once in a while. 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. Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. I am looking to get an approxmiate value of this clock. But the chances that you have a radium clock are slim, unless it is very old. She was 18. 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. Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. 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. Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. Stopping this practice drastically reduced the amount of radium ingested and therefore, the incidence of malignancy. 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. Big Ben style 1a continued in production until its discontinuation in 1935. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Nowadays, Super-LumiNova, which is entirely non-radioactive and non-toxic, is the most used lume in watchmaking. Not to mention theres the Big Bens so that doubles it right there. 2023 by Andrew Clayman. This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day. They typically have a round brass base with a glass dome over them; they were made in Germany from the 1890s up through the 1970s, and a lot of people collect them. dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. When did they stop using radium on clocks? Thank you. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. Big Ben style, and there are other styles with names instead of numbers. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. Next year, well have been married for 49 years, Mary Ann said. I have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. It is battery operated and takes a D battery. 514 Poplar Street its about 2 inches long maybe 1/2 in thick with holes on either end to be worn on a key chain perhaps? Various lettering on the dial and various patent dates (later, numbers) on the Like style 1a non-luminous with dealer name on dial. Is Westclox a good brand? . Kind regards, Ben van Vliet. any info would be appreciated. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. I cannot date it. 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 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. 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 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. With alarm clocks, they were so common that when people repaired them they did whatever they could to get them going. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. . By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. The style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben (1956 to 1964, the first Bens with concentric alarm hand) has minute markings. The policy of the company is one of highly specialized production. 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. Did Westclox use radium? [citation needed] The use of radium to provide luminescence for hands and indices on watches soon followed. They are just gorgeous watches and very well made. I was about 3ft high and recessed into the wall. Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . 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. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. But hes taken some that are really rusty and had the backs replaced beautifully and reproduced some dials, and hes actually had some selling for several hundred dollars, so thats a totally different thing. Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide , Remembering the Great War and The Clock That Caused a Near Riot . It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862. According to Chemistry Explained, radium is extracted today from uranium ores in much the same way that Marie and Pierre Curie did in the late 1890s and early 1900s. . Which is interesting because many of the electrics are scarcer but people just arent into collecting electric clocks. 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. Charles Crow Penn Valley, Ca, I have run across and old clock that I would like to know something about. Dont know if someone ingraved date on when took down or if the original. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. Going back further in time, here is a pretty hypnotizing silent film released by Westclox in the early 1920s to promote the Big Ben and other products. When Did They Stop Using Radium On Clock Hands? 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. It might be the only one in the country, Spayer said. Also, its not just Americans who collect, its worldwide. I have never seen this mentioned anywhere. I wonder if the younger generations are as interested in the older things as we are, although there are some younger collectors out there learning how to do clock repair. National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc (A 501c3 non-profit corporation). How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? Art and Mary Ann Windy [pictured] have been married for 49 years, met as Westclox employees and were present for the open house. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. Thank you. I was told it was an antique at that time. Theres a clock called a Crystal Regulator which is about a foot tall with a brass case and glass on all four sides. I have a small westclox alarm clock. When did Westclox stop using radium? 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. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. Debbie Blake, I have a small Westclox wind up clock dating around 1937. 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]. 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. Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. It is in good condition and has the original pendulum and key. UHR (CW arrow) knob sets clock time. I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. These folks here that are responsible for this are doing a marvelous job, Ristau said. Did westclox stop using radioactive paint by the 1960s? It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. "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. 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. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.. . 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. 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. Can anyone tell me about this?