styles to organize them Ironically, the war that had cost them Gaston Le Roy had also stifled much of the companys European competition, opening up an even bigger share of the world marketplace in the 1920s. 1970s Many of these workers developed bone cancer . The clock is shielded From the glass crystal. He corresponded with Westclox General Manager Ernst Roth over the weeks that followed, but after a final letter that September, he went silent. Radium is an almost pure white alkaline radioactive earth metal, and is found in nature in uranium ores. I think we threw it away. I am pleased that I came across your article. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? Westclox Big Bens and Baby Bens are full of the stuff. Even if the Western Clock Co. wasnt born in Chicago or headquartered here, the immediate aftershocks of the companys cultural and industrial impact certainly reached our shores in a hurry, no interstate required. Thank you for your input. He also recalled playing in the factory. I tend to be a nitty gritty detail kind of guy. AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. What is Radium Used For? - WorldAtlas 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. 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. 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. 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. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. Not everyone involved with the manufacturing of Westclox products was employed directly by Westclox, however. $38.00. It would be greatly appreciated. When did Junghans stop manufacturing Westminster Chimes, and when did Keinzle stop manufacturing Westminster chimes. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. Your email address will not be published. Even today, with the considerable help of a thing called Interstate 80, its still about a two-hour journey from LaSalle Street to LaSalle County. I hung it on my wall and we tried to get it fixed but the repairman couldnt fix it. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. Im trying to determine if it is a legit or reproduction that someone made. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. Store - The WestClox Source Richard Tjarks introduced A few years later my grandma gave me one that worked, and my aunt gave me another one. 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 first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. 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. it has a picture of a huck finn type boy,carying 2 bottles of coke& a fishing pole,with his dog. 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. This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day. Jessie, good observation. Big Ben Style Series. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. 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. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. In terms of my own collection, Im still trying to find some of the really early Big Bens. 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. 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. 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. In a way theyre preventing clocks from being thrown away so I cant totally condemn it, but it still seems like a funny thing to do. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. 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. I also like some of the older American weight-driven clocks. Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? Condition is important, but clocks can be restored. Unbelievable true story of the 'radium girls' - NZ Herald 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. 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. I was given an Elias Ingraham Clock many years ago and would like to know a bit more about it and its value. I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. The work involved using luminous radium paint to make the numbers on clocks, watches and aeronautic dials glow in the dark. Apr 14, 2011 501 1 18. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc (A 501c3 non-profit corporation). It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. 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. "[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. How old is my Westclox? - Rampfesthudson.com Am I missing something here? By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. Westclox style series. Big Ben: butler nickel case, gold leaf numeral dial 1930 1932. Westclox travel alarm clock made in China - Antique And Vintage Clocks There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. 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. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. [left to right: F.W. Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. Without a crystal poses a serious Health risk because the Radium paint flakes off and can become airborne. 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. How To Turn Off The Loud And Persistent Big Ben Alarm Clock How did I get interested in clocks? 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. . 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. Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. 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. 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. Westclox Big Ben Luminous Hands | NAWCC Forums They made them with wooden works until about 1840, then with brass gears and I like some of the early brass-geared American clocks. 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. It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. 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. 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). thank you, My Husband and I just purchased an antique mantle/shelf clock at an estate sale. It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. In 1914, Dr. Sabin Arnold von Sochocky and Dr. George S. Willis founded the Radium Luminous Material Corporation. That was the first antique clock I owned myself. Another thing people do is make fake advertising clocks. Sep 23, 2011 Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. I'll start with a 19j Bunn, Looking for Somebody with Some Bandwidth to do a Repair. Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium - HISTORY Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. 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. At the start of the decade, the company brought in a skilled new industrial designer named Henry Dreyfuss; a true modernist. 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. Is a Glow-in-the-dark Clock Any Cause for Alarm? All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. Beginning in the 1910s, the girls instructed to put radium in their mouths didn't bat an eyelash. The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government Stoddard: Some of the old American pocket watches are just beautiful so I have several in my collection. I would like to find the value of it. JavaScript is disabled.
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