The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. 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. The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. Big Ben style 1a continued in production until its discontinuation in 1935. Created with WordPress. Richard Tjarks introduced Radium - Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table I had developed some sort of fascination for Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks. . Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. 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 Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. I would like to find the value of it. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. var today = new Date() Just as pilots in World War II had radium on the dials in their cockpits for all-condition visibility, many people who purchased Big Ben alarm clocks during the same periodincluding the very style in our museum collection (made from 1939-1946)went to bed each night sleeping next to a tiny box of radioactivity. 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. In the 1970s, radium was phased out of wristwatches and clockdials. . 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 a gift from him to her the year before they were married. That way I got myself another Baby Ben, bringing my collection to three by age 12. I hope to document Style 5 Baby Bens this winter. 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. At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. 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. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. Medical researchers extended the use of radium to cure impotence in men and women by creating fertility drugs with the element to "stimulate" reproduction. (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. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. Could you please try to help me find out what kind of clock this is. When did westclox start making clocks? A key point to bear in mind is this: the dial is still highly radioactive. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. On the Style 9, they went back to actual minute markings. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. Back then, radium wasn't considered to be dangerous in small doses. Your response or advice would be much appreciated. Dreyfuss revised his changes at the end of the decade, designing the Style 5 and 5a Big Bens in 1938including the featured Loud Alarm dials from our museum collection. They managed to extract 1 mg of radium from ten tonnes of the uranium ore pitchblende (uranium oxide, U 3 O 8), a considerable feat, given the chemically methods of separation available to them.They identified that it was a new element because its atomic spectrum revealed new lines. His bigger job was to design a system so the power companies could regulate their generator so the clock could keep time. 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. 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. 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. I was looking at it and said, aha! It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862. The movement was then used with minor changes in Loud Alarm models until 1956. I hung it on my wall and we tried to get it fixed but the repairman couldnt fix it. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. Is Radium Lume Really That Dangerous? - WahaWatches This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day. There are also some other makers clocks Ive gotten into, like the Seth Thomas 30 hour ogee, which is a weight-driven shelf clock. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. 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. when did westclox stop using radium old restaurants in lawrence, ma . When Westclox changed over to the style 8 Big Ben and Baby Ben in 1964, they used 4 divisions per 5 minutes, I believe to make the alarm easier to set. It has a patent June 18-1882 and says Dakota on the back,can you tell me more? Most are in nickel finish cases, but some were made in gold plated cases. 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. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. But the chances that you have a radium clock are slim, unless it is very old. When did they stop using radium on clocks? I just had it repaired & it works & looks great. Same as the nickel version but in a gold-plated case. The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. "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. 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. A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. If you look at a Baby Ben in the 1959 Sears catalog, they sold for about nine dollars and if you go to a Wal Mart today you can still buy a Baby Ben for about nine dollars, but the quality isnt the same. Various lettering on the dial and various patent dates (later, numbers) on the Like style 1a non-luminous with dealer name on dial. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc (A 501c3 non-profit corporation). Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses . The incidents occurred at three different factories in United States: one in Orange, New Jersey, beginning around 1917; one in Ottawa, Illinois, beginning in the early 1920s; and a third facility in Waterbury, Connecticut, also in the 1920s. 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. Good old fashioned branding played a major role, as well. It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. Just remember, old luminous clocks are full 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. 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. Up until this point in time (pun intended), quality time pieces had been considered a rich mans game. How do you date a Westclox Baby Ben? Is a Glow-in-the-dark Clock Any Cause for Alarm? 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. The next month, Roth got a cablegram from London; his friend and valued co-worker Le Roy had died for his country. Those simple words, Roth later wrote in the November 1914 issue of the company newsletter, Tick Talk, unconsciously characterized the manunaffected, direct, devoted to his cause., [Images from a 1922 issue of the Westclox company newsletter, the very cleverly titled Tick Talk]. Don Spayer, volunteer and former Westclox employee, said the bulk of the museums collection was built through donations. 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. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. Radium dials held near the face have been shown to produce radiation doses in excess of 10Sv / hour. As stated it is working and keeps time. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . 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. They were told that eliminating lip-pointing had ended earlier problems. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. it has a picture of a huck finn type boy,carying 2 bottles of coke& a fishing pole,with his dog. "[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. 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. There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. I am reading, studying, and learning more about the Westclox. The use of Radium changed over several years but it was not until late 1960ies when the last were made. 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. 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. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. So, does Westclox really belong in the Made In Chicago Museum? It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. I have looked high and low in my attempts to find out how any of these resproduction style 1A were produced. who can refurbush big ben still runs good perfect time purchased in 1950 cataloge #885(885). How do you set a manual alarm clock? - AnswersAll One of the objects on display in the Benton County Historical Society's Corvallis Museum is this Westclox Radium Dial Clock. When did Westclox close? Sometimes getting parts is tough, too, although it turns out Westclox made lots and lots of spare parts. When many of these early Big Ben advertisements were still running, Gaston Le Roys life took a sudden and dramatic turn. Dave, Your question about a Big Ben containing radium, and in fact about which clocks actually do contain radium, is a good one. 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 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. 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. The thing I remember most is working with the people, Ristau said. I read (but cant remember where) that about 40,000 were made. Company in 1888 and installing another talented German, Ernst Roth, as the general manager. By the 1960s production went offshore to achieve economies of scale . I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA. i have a large ansonia wall clock 32 1/2 x 32. The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. Advertisement: Illustrates crackle green Tiny Tim, crackle blue Big Ben and crackle pink Baby Ben clocks. About 1920 the luminous dial using radium paint was introduced. any info would be appreciated. Radium is highly radioactive. My husband has a Big Ben clock that he inherited, it was took down from a mill and given to his grandma. The greater surprise, though, is that they didnt abandon the use of radium in the years that followed. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 2023 by Andrew Clayman. So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. When did westclox stop using radium? This particular clock is made in China while other similar Westclox alarm clocks at the time were made in Taiwan. The only problem is a standard size D battery does not fit. Stoddard: My grandma gave me an old Baby Ben alarm clock that didnt work when I was seven. 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. Is Westclox a good brand? How can people be exposed to Radium? . Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . 5 17 15 is May 17, 1915 . theres the problem, there were two gears that were in backwards. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. From 1942 to 1945, Westclox ceased all production intended for domestic civilian sale and dedicated its production resources to the war effort. Apr 14, 2011 501 1 18. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? . knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. [citation needed] The use of radium to provide luminescence for hands and indices on watches soon followed. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. 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. Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. During the early 1900's, the effects of radiation exposure were not well understood, and radium was frequently . "[4], According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, "radioactive antiques [including watches] are usually not a health risk as long as they are intact and in good condition. So yes. I have a Westclox Magnet Key Part number 031723 I think was used to open a door as it has an arrow on 1 end. 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. document.write(year) The Evolution Behind Rolex Luminous Material | Bob's Watches The factory contained a bowling alley, and Ristau said his father was an excellent bowler. When the Radium Dial Company moved to Ottawa in the 20s to better serve its number one client, Westclox, they were welcomed with enthusiasm, particularly by the young, working class women in the town. 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. I was told it was long ago before even my aged family was servicing watches. Is radium still used on watches? 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. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. In 1918 the Big Ben case was improved to make it dustproof, as described in patent #1,300,278 issued to Kern on April 15, 1919. 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. Contact the Webmaster for perceived copyright infringement (DMCA Registration Number 1010287). I like to find the ones before that and study their history. Thats another story. It sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. 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. Stoddard: Pay attention to quality. 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). 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. They call it Shabby Chic and sell it on eBay for 60 to 80 dollars. German: WECKER (alarm); UHR (clock). Are Watches With Radium Dials Safe? New Study Offers Warning Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. Big Ben Style Series. The only marking I can find are the letters ST in old english style inside of a diamond thats inside of a circle, on the clock works. I cannot date it. The other thing is reproductions. 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 email address will not be published. Sometimes extensive casework can be more time consuming than getting the movement running. It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. Can you confirm? 514 Poplar Street Ristau said he remembered when the Westclox factory was the heart of the city, and recalled enjoying his time with Westclox. when did westclox stop using radium - Simssuccessgroup.com I spent many an evening here, watching him bowl.. 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 . Chronic exposure to high levels of radium can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, or breast cancer. One employee, R.D. Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. Theyre making some really nice reproductions of it in China and if you dont know what youre looking for you could be fooled easily. Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. Westclox Radium Dial Clock. 1968 Who made westclox? Behind the light, theyd been left in the dark. A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . You must log in or register to reply here. He also recalled playing in the factory. Radium - The First Rolex Luminous Material. I know Bill Stoddards name from other publications on Westclox. The work involved using luminous radium paint to make the numbers on clocks, watches and aeronautic dials glow in the dark. The clock can still give considerable amounts of radiation about 2-3 inches from the Crystal measured with a Geiger counter. lds missionary clothing stores; June 24, 2022 . 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.. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. Thank you. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.. 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. I think we threw it away. Omega stopped using radium around 1963. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. They were, incredibly enough, instructed to ingest a radioactive poison all day, every day, and never properly warned of any potential hazards. At the end of one hand is a star and the other hand is the moon. 7&a half X 6..desk clock. The policy of the company is one of highly specialized production. 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. Mae Keane, Whose Job Brought Radium to Her Lips, Dies at 107 Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. Westclox Scotland produced its first clock on 21 September 1948; a spring wound alarm with a 4-inch (10cm) dial.
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