It would be very interesting if you could provide me with some pictures of the clock. I have a similar clock. lds missionary clothing stores; June 24, 2022 . This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. At one time they employed about 3500 people, making about 35, 000 clocks and watches per day. The style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben (1956 to 1964, the first Bens with concentric alarm hand) has minute markings. As my first name is Ben, I started to collect these alarmclocks since about 1970. I first saw the clock in 1957. [left to right: F.W. A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. I think we threw it away. Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. 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. Its basically all forward momentum from here. 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. Medical researchers extended the use of radium to cure impotence in men and women by creating fertility drugs with the element to "stimulate" reproduction. Created with WordPress. they played a deep rich tone. Can anyone direct me on how to find this clock? One of the objects on display in the Benton County Historical Society's Corvallis Museum is this Westclox Radium Dial Clock. I have a small westclox alarm clock. They worked in unvented rooms, they wore smocks that they laundered at home. 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. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. Sometimes getting parts is tough, too, although it turns out Westclox made lots and lots of spare parts. Can anyone tell me about this? Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. Annie Moussin designer intrieur. 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). Style 5 dial design]. 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. 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. Underneath the #12 on the face it says: G. Falconer & Co. LTD. Hong Kong. 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. [citation needed] After about 20minutes this delivers the equivalent of one whole day's worth of normal background radiation. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width. Am I missing something here? So, does Westclox really belong in the Made In Chicago Museum? 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. In 2006 I started collecting vintage advertisements. 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.. In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. I have a mantel clock,its floral in color,made by Ansonia Cock Co.USA.New York. I have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. It is battery operated and takes a D battery. 226RA has a half life of about 1600 years and the glow of the paint used on dials and hands decreases because of the damage the alpha particles emitted by the Radium do to the ZnS . The clock is shielded From the glass crystal. Within two decades she had lost all her teeth. When did westclox stop using radium? I spent many an evening here, watching him bowl.. Only reason I can think of and it looks pretty odd not to have minutes on a clock face. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. when did westclox stop using radium old restaurants in lawrence, ma . 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. Lynda Hinshaw, At this moment I am research a clock by Falconer& co HongKong. My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. Im trying to determine if it is a legit or reproduction that someone made. About 1920 the luminous dial using radium paint was introduced. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the Saturday Evening Post in 1910: Big Ben is a thin, beautiful and punctual sleepmeter with a silent motor that will not annoy you on your lie-awake nights and a deep musical voice that will call you on your sleepiest mornings. Right and Below: A style 1A Big Ben from our museum collection, circa 1920s.]. Radium was even used in medical applications during the 20th century. WECKER (CW arrow)/UHR (CCW arrow) knob with ring: CW winds alarm; CCW winds clock. 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. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. Luckily for Charles, however, he is living in the same small town as Frederick William Matthiessena fellow German, but one with a hell of a lot more money and business experience. It is too large (wide). From that point on I really liked those. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. I would like to find out about this clock. 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. Thank you. It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862. 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. I have purchased 1) Style 1 Baby and Big Ben with the Gold Leaf dial (seller stated raised letters); and, 2) a Style 1 Baby Ben with Baby Ben De Luxe on the dial. Then my friend and I went around the neighborhood asking people if they had anything they wanted to give away, like old clocks and cameras and tape recorders. The greater surprise, though, is that they didnt abandon the use of radium in the years that followed. 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. Buy Now. The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. I was looking at it and said, aha! US radium dial painting factory. Most are in nickel finish cases, but some were made in gold plated cases. T. tkarter Registered User. 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. So yes. Omega stopped using radium around 1963. UHR (CW arrow) knob sets clock time. 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 love the Hamiltons in particular, probably some of the best watches made in America. I am sure I can give Mr. Shields further information about his clock. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. He also recalled playing in the factory. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. 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. Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. 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. Radium dials are watch, clock and other instrument dials painted with luminous paint containing radium-226 to produce radioluminescence. The other thing is reproductions. Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. Before we get to that, though, we have to start with the issue of geography as it concerns the business in question. 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. 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). 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. Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. I would also like photo and more details of his clock, since I intend to write a follow-up article. [9] The element was phased out of use by industry acting under its own volition as superior and safer luminous materials entered the marketplace. I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA. I believed it was manufacturing tag. By Dave Margulius hi, I have a cocacola square clock. I cannot date it. On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. It is a wind up. I never realized, even working here, they made so many different models.. 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. Big Ben: butler nickel case, gold leaf numeral dial 1930 1932. 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. Sep 23, 2011 Stahlbergs company goes bankrupt not once, but twice, within its first several years. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. 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. There is a small dial inside of the clock face that has roman numerals like another clock face. Radium dials were typically painted by young women, who used to 'point' their brushes by licking and shaping the bristles prior to painting the fine lines and numbers on the dials. Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. These folks here that are responsible for this are doing a marvelous job, Ristau said. 5 17 15 is May 17, 1915 . Apr 14, 2011 501 1 18. 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. Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24., unconsciously characterized the manunaffected, direct, devoted to his cause., Radiums luminosity was part of its allure,, 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. Something about them has always been ingrained in me. So you find clocks where parts have been switched, so thats one challenge, determining originality. This particular clock is made in China while other similar Westclox alarm clocks at the time were made in Taiwan. I thought, oh boy, I just need four more and Ill have them all! 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. 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. 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. One employee, R.D. [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. These styles constitute the They worked for the United States Radium Corporation painting the numbers and hands on watch. Same as the nickel version but in a gold-plated case. Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? At the end of one hand is a star and the other hand is the moon. 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. The movement was then used with minor changes in Loud Alarm models until 1956. It had beneath that four long tubes and they were the chimes for the door bell. Art and Mary Ann Windy [pictured] have been married for 49 years, met as Westclox employees and were present for the open house. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. Among the rarities on display is a Westclox-made National Emergency Alarm Repeater. 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. $38.00. Up until this point in time (pun intended), quality time pieces had been considered a rich mans game. I have an Pine State Ice Cream Milk clock that I would like to find out how much it may be worth. I have a collection of alarm clocks, but slowly selling many. 1919 -1922, Luminous, Westclox in Roman text: 1923 - 1927, Luminous, projection on the "x": 1928 - 1935. It led to life-saving regulations and, ultimately, to the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which now operates nationally in the United States to protect workers. We are looking for any Westclox photographs, memorabilia etc between 1927- 1980s of the factory. Its got a round brass dial and a painting in the door, really neat. The policy of the company is one of highly specialized production. 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. 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. I tend to be a nitty gritty detail kind of guy. The thing I remember most is working with the people, Ristau said. Helen. Production was back in full force and at an all-time high by 1956, with 3,000 employees on staff. Various lettering on the dial and various patent dates (later, numbers) on the Like style 1a non-luminous with dealer name on dial. A few years later my grandma gave me one that worked, and my aunt gave me another one. I was told it was an antique at that time. Can anyone tell me the meaning or significance of this eye? The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. I tried selling some of my surplus electric Big Bens on eBay and they just didnt go, you could get only about $0.99 for them. Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. Stoddard: The prices for larger wall clocks, three feet tall and up, have increased dramatically, while prices on some of the more common clocks have remained the same for the past 20 years. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that watches with radium dials should not be taken apart[5] without proper training, technique, and facilities. Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. I have looked high and low in my attempts to find out how any of these resproduction style 1A were produced. Stoddard: Ive been there several times. It emits alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Through a friend I purchased an apparently antique key wind up long wooden and glass cased clock. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. It is in working order and chimes on the hour and half hour. Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. 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. July 17th, 2008. . In 1919 the company was incorporated as Western Clock Company, Ltd. 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. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. Luminous Processes employees interviewed by a journalist in 1978 stated they had been left ignorant of radium's dangers. Westclox did make a couple of documented advertising clocks, but very few. German: WECKER (alarm); UHR (clock). (All images in this article courtesy Bill Stoddard, www.clockhistory.com), I found this article very complimentary to the Westclox company and an intriguing piece to read. Charles Stahlberg had an idea for making a better, but less expensive alarm clock. Columbia, PA 17512 It was passed on to my sister and for years it was on their mantle along time until it stopped. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. 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. 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. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. 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. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. I am reading, studying, and learning more about the Westclox. This has probably been discussed before but my search turned up nothingdo the luminous hands on a Big Ben alarm clock contain painted radium? The front is in Roman Numerals with a dome shaped raised glass. Nowadays, Super-LumiNova, which is entirely non-radioactive and non-toxic, is the most used lume in watchmaking. 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. When did Westclox close? I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. They were, incredibly enough, instructed to ingest a radioactive poison all day, every day, and never properly warned of any potential hazards. The movement was mounted to the inner case back. I have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. 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. Back then, radium wasn't considered to be dangerous in small doses. I took it back and the repairman told me it was like a large Timex watch and just not worth being fixed. . On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolate radioactive radium salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. But he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. 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. . 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. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. . I like to find the ones before that and study their history. Dont know if someone ingraved date on when took down or if the original. Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. 1980 By the early 1950s, Westclox employed thousands of LaSalle-Peru residents. I think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. 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. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. This fall, the museum will be open more frequently and for more events. [6] Decaying radium also produces the gas radon, recognized as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States[6] and the United Kingdom. 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. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. I will be watching for more articles from Bill Stoddard Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. Radium paint can be ingested by inhaling flaking paint particles. Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. When Did They Stop Using Radium On Clock Hands? 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. 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. 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 cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) My dad was one of the top bowlers here, Ristau said. [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. into groups of similar models. Quite a few who try to get every basic model, but fewer who get into the rarer models and do research. Can you help The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. It was only with the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was given oversight of the use of radium. 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. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government 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. The NAWCC has an online forum with a lot of different categories. then 4 symbols a crown an 18 and to unkown symbols in a square patern but on its side square pattern.
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