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. The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. 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. The only thing I found is the word Germny engraved on the back. I was looking at it and said, aha! Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. What is Radium Used For? - WorldAtlas Hundreds of thousands of clocks were produced a year, until closing its doors in 1980. All Rights Reserved. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width. So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. I have a Westclox Big Ben 1910 style 1a and have not been able to find out the present value/worth. Required fields are marked *. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. Theres a seller on eBay now whos doing some really outstanding restorations of Big Bens. Another thing people do is make fake advertising clocks. 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. Westclox Big Ben Luminous Hands | NAWCC Forums Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. When did Junghans stop manufacturing Westminster Chimes, and when did Keinzle stop manufacturing Westminster chimes. You must log in or register to reply here. Stoddard: Pay attention to quality. I have never seen this mentioned anywhere. (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. Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. Dozens of radium dial painters around the country developed similar symptoms, although the effects could take years to manifest, making it more difficult to pinpoint the phenomenon from its first cases in the early 1920s. I first saw the clock in 1957. var year = today.getFullYear() Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that watches with radium dials should not be taken apart[5] without proper training, technique, and facilities. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. After the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 by French physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Antoine Henri Becquerel, many other scientists began to search for uses of radioactivity. In the United States there does not seem to have ever been prohibitory legislation passed banning the use of radium in clocks and watches. I took it back and the repairman told me it was like a large Timex watch and just not worth being fixed. We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. The company made luminescent paint. can anybody tell me about this piece? 514 Poplar Street . 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. I have a similar clock. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. It is a Medbury-4W #4910. Stoddard: Some of the old American pocket watches are just beautiful so I have several in my collection. I am looking to get an approxmiate value of this clock. So I brought it home and left it hanging and would wind it up every once in a while. In all my research I can not confirm that The Style 1 models every had 1) and 2) above. These clocks were produced in the thousands and many can be bought on eBay for under $10. 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. About 1920 the luminous dial using radium paint was introduced. 1888. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the. hi, I have a cocacola square clock. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses . 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. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. Can anyone tell me about this? The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. It is a wind up. 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. Origin of the eye, forklore or legends surrounding????? It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. I have a small westclox alarm clock. There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. When was Westclox Big Ben made? - WhoIsWh From 1942 to 1945, Westclox ceased all production intended for domestic civilian sale and dedicated its production resources to the war effort. 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. How do you date a Westclox Baby Ben? "[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. I am reading, studying, and learning more about the Westclox. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. WECKER (CW arrow)/UHR (CCW arrow) knob with ring: CW winds alarm; CCW winds clock. Who makes Westclox? - Wise-Answers The magical glow, as was widely understood by everyone involved, was created by radiuma radioactive element discovered by Marie Curie in 1898. I never realized, even working here, they made so many different models.. Charles Crow Penn Valley, Ca, I have run across and old clock that I would like to know something about. National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc (A 501c3 non-profit corporation). Richard Ristau Jr., former plant manager, said hes happy to see the space being used for the museum. So, does Westclox really belong in the Made In Chicago Museum? Its got a round brass dial and a painting in the door, really neat. My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. the knobs have foreign words ie wecker & UHR.would like to know about his clock 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]. Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, and I added even more in 2012. Through a friend I purchased an apparently antique key wind up long wooden and glass cased clock. Don Spayer, volunteer and former Westclox employee, said the bulk of the museums collection was built through donations. 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). The use of Radium changed over several years but it was not until late 1960ies when the last were made. Westclox style series. Big Ben style, and there are other styles with names instead of numbers. It is battery operated and takes a D battery. According to Periodic. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. In 2006 I started collecting vintage advertisements. Stopping this practice drastically reduced the amount of radium ingested and therefore, the incidence of malignancy. The style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben (1956 to 1964, the first Bens with concentric alarm hand) has minute markings. 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. The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. Matthiessen [pictured below], who owns the powerful Illinois Zinc Company and most other things in Peru / LaSalle, decides to swoop in and save Stahlbergs little clock business, incorporating it as the Western Clock Mfg. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. 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. Benton County Museums: Westclox Radium Dial Clock - Blogger Radium dials usually lose their ability to glow in the dark in a period ranging anywhere from a few years to several decades, but all will cease to glow at some point. 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. 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. Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? Both the Big and Baby Bens were housed in a newly refined bell-back clock case. 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. Western Clock MFG Co. (Westclox), est. 1888 - Made-in-Chicago Museum Thank you. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. By the 1970s, radium was no . 7&a half X 6..desk clock. Westclox Big Ben Style 1a Alarm Clock Date Summary: 1918 - 1935 (and a reproduction was made in 1970) Characteristics: Ring on top, two legs in front, no screws through the front of the bezel. On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolate radioactive radium salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. Can anyone tell me the meaning or significance of this eye? Chronic exposure to high levels of radium can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, or breast cancer. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 It looks like you mount it to the wall. I am sure I can give Mr. Shields further information about his clock. The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. I believed it was manufacturing tag. Is Westclox still in business? - Quick-Advice.com 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. In clocks, as in all other lines of goods, there are two classes of consumersthe millions and the millionaires. "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. when did westclox stop using radium old restaurants in lawrence, ma . Which is interesting because many of the electrics are scarcer but people just arent into collecting electric clocks. 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 Forgotten Story Of The Radium Girls, Whose Deaths Saved Thousands Of Workers Lives, by Kate Moore, A Rude Awakening: The History of Alarm Clocks , Western Clock MFG Co. (Westclox), est. Am I missing something here? Westclox did make a couple of documented advertising clocks, but very few. 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. All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. 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. Penetrating gamma radiation produced by some dials also represents a significant health risk. In some respects, the early rise of the Western Clock MFG Co. is even more impressive considering the company didnt have all the resources of an established, major metropolis to draw from. document.write(year) Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. Did Westclox use radium? Only reason I can think of and it looks pretty odd not to have minutes on a clock face. There is a small dial inside of the clock face that has roman numerals like another clock face. 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. Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium - HISTORY So you find clocks where parts have been switched, so thats one challenge, determining originality. Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it This dustproofing is accomplished by fittings around the set knobs and winding keys and on the regulator. What You Want To Know About Watch Luminant - aBlogtoWatch Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. When many of these early Big Ben advertisements were still running, Gaston Le Roys life took a sudden and dramatic turn. Donohue, like many of her young peers in the radium industry, eventually realized that her amusing glow had been a warning of severe exposure to a radioactive substance. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. It would be very interesting if you could provide me with some pictures of the clock. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. . Westclox Radium Dial Clock. At the top was a clock covered with a glass door. 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 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. Thank you, i have a pocket watch that says (inscribed inside) g. falconer ,,,rona & london or kona & london i dont know its in old english and says kona or hona it has 1243 all inscribed on the inside where when u open it u can see the gears, looks like an a8 and a crown with a 18 on the middle inside cover (that covers the gears) and also a 1243 and what looks like an 8 or an infinite symbol (sideways 8)then again on the part that clasps over everything on the inside an A3 or A8? The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . How can people be exposed to Radium? 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. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. WHAT IS A Moonbeam clock? - Thecrucibleonscreen.com A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. The thing I remember most is working with the people, Ristau said. The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. $26.95. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. Big Ben Style Series. The movement was then used with minor changes in Loud Alarm models until 1956. If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. They were officially Americas preferred wake-up call provider. 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. 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. Thank you. As radium luminosity came under attack in the 1930s, Westcloxs other updates to the Big Ben design were far more practical and uncontroversial. bailey oceans tide clock dated 1880, with a Fusee movement. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. Are Watches With Radium Dials Safe? New Study Offers Warning Inhaled or ingested particles may deposit a high local dose with a risk of radiation-caused lung or gastrointestinal cancer. Buy Now. styles to organize them When did westclox start making clocks? Did westclox stop using radioactive paint by the 1960s? While studying the types of Big Ben style 1 and 1A in WestcloxHistory.com, I noticed the reproduction style 1A, and have acquired about 5 of them.