Before we get to that, though, we have to start with the issue of geography as it concerns the business in question. Not to mention theres the Big Bens so that doubles it right there. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. 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. 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]. At the start of the decade, the company brought in a skilled new industrial designer named Henry Dreyfuss; a true modernist. One time a friend and I were down there behind the factory and we got talking to a man who was leasing the back half of the factory to make machinery for bakeries. 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. 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. I know Bill Stoddards name from other publications on Westclox. Old Rose (pink) crackle finish Baby Ben with luminous dial: 1929 1930. They asked me to give some programs myself at some of the chapter meetings so I became a little bit better at being a public speaker, and its been great meeting people. its a Gold coloring and the bottom is well worn like it was slid into something regularily. 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. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. In the United States there does not seem to have ever been prohibitory legislation passed banning the use of radium in clocks and watches. Most are in nickel finish cases, but some were made in gold plated cases. Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. Thanks so much Stahlbergs company goes bankrupt not once, but twice, within its first several years. 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. I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. thank you, My Husband and I just purchased an antique mantle/shelf clock at an estate sale. Kind regards, Ben van Vliet. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. 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. Can anyone tell me the meaning or significance of this eye? Omega stopped using radium around 1963. . Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . . AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. They worked in unvented rooms, they wore smocks that they laundered at home. 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]. 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. Thanks, I have come across a mantle clock that has been in my husbands family for as long as he can remember He estimates his bother purchased the clock around 1950. Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. 1980 By the early 1950s, Westclox employed thousands of LaSalle-Peru residents. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. When did the use of radium stop? 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. [left to right: F.W. Never underestimate the value of an alarm clock when yours broke two years ago and nobody has manufactured a new one since. The only problem is a standard size D battery does not fit. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. Big Ben style, and there are other styles with names instead of numbers. Was this done so the alarm could be more easily set on the quarter or half hour? Selling for $2.50 in the years before World War I (or about $60 in modern money), the 5-inch diameter Big Ben and its half-pint cousin the Baby Ben combined to move over 900,000 units in just 1913 alone, and the Western Clock MFG Companynot yet officially known as Westcloxwas producing more than twice that many clocks annually in total. [9] Prior to that date, "the federal government had a limited role, if any, in ensuring the safe use of radium," according to the NRC. 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. 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. The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. When I walked along the street, Iwas aglow from the radium powder., The radium girls case was one of the first in which an employer was made responsible for the health of the companys employees. . It looks like you mount it to the wall. Your email address will not be published. I have an Pine State Ice Cream Milk clock that I would like to find out how much it may be worth. With a half-life of only 3.8 days, radon "seeds" (Rn gas contained in thin walled gold tubing, crimped and cut into units up to 1cm in length) could be left permanently implanted in the body. the knobs have foreign words ie wecker & UHR.would like to know about his clock Westclox Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. I tend to be a nitty gritty detail kind of guy. 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]. 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. 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. Their factory in LaSalle, Illinois closed down in about 1980 when they moved all their production down south, but the building is still there. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. into groups of similar models. Is this a product that the company would have made or something someone created? In clocks, as in all other lines of goods, there are two classes of consumersthe millions and the millionaires. 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. Stoddard: Some of the old American pocket watches are just beautiful so I have several in my collection. There are also some other makers clocks Ive gotten into, like the Seth Thomas 30 hour ogee, which is a weight-driven shelf clock. 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. . It might be the only one in the country, Spayer said. Big Ben Style Series. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . 1970s Many of these workers developed bone cancer . I first saw the clock in 1957. Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. How did I get interested in clocks? [citation needed] After about 20minutes this delivers the equivalent of one whole day's worth of normal background radiation. The company later changed its name to the United States Radium Corporation. 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. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? But he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. The NAWCC has an online forum with a lot of different categories. 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. The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. When did clocks stop using radium? The clock is shielded From the glass crystal. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. 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. I try to get all the pictures I can and keep them all chronologically and study the history. Westclox style series. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. . Westclox Big Bens and Baby Bens are full of the stuff. The factory contained a bowling alley, and Ristau said his father was an excellent bowler. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. Theres a clock called a Crystal Regulator which is about a foot tall with a brass case and glass on all four sides. Beginning in the 1910s, the girls instructed to put radium in their mouths didn't bat an eyelash. when did westclox stop using radium; when did westclox stop using radium. This classic clock is known for its loud and distinct bell-like . In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. 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. 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. I had developed some sort of fascination for Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks. Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book I am pleased that I came across your article. 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. I have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. Safety 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. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. Many thanks. Company in 1888 and installing another talented German, Ernst Roth, as the general manager. The center is in the shape of the world map. 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. I am a retired mechanical engineer, the quality has floored me, hats off to this company. Among the rarities on display is a Westclox-made National Emergency Alarm Repeater. I was given an Elias Ingraham Clock many years ago and would like to know a bit more about it and its value. At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. How do you date a Westclox Baby Ben? Thanks, Teri. 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. Henry Warren invented a little synchronous motor that could go inside a clock. 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. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . Buy Now. I think it is a clock made by Sessions. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. I think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. 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. The aim of the Western Clock MFG Co. in entering the manufacture of alarms was to apply to nickel clocks, features which were previously found only in high-priced timepieces, and prohibited in low-priced lever clocks by the high cost of production involved. 7&a half X 6..desk clock. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.. So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. Lynda Hinshaw, At this moment I am research a clock by Falconer& co HongKong. 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. The pioneering spirit is there, but the business skills soon appear lacking. People did some bad things over the years just to get them running. "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. Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. German: WECKER (alarm); UHR (clock). T. tkarter Registered User. . I was told it was long ago before even my aged family was servicing watches. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width. var today = new Date() Westclox Radium Dial Clock. Accueil; Services; Ralisations; Annie Moussin; Mdias; 514-569-8476 However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. Radium is highly radioactive. Next year, well have been married for 49 years, Mary Ann said. I would like to know the value of a #4 black, #321(in original cardboard Christmas box), mint condition, Baby Ben alarm clock is. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. At the top was a clock covered with a glass door. Is Westclox a good brand? From that point on I really liked those. 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. Thank you for your input. Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . I have a Westclox Big Ben 1910 style 1a and have not been able to find out the present value/worth. 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 . I have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. Thanks very mutch, I just acquired a sir w.h. JavaScript is disabled. 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. It has a patent June 18-1882 and says Dakota on the back,can you tell me more? When did Bulova stop using radium? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. Style 5 dial design]. We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. I have a collection of alarm clocks, but slowly selling many. This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day. When did they stop using radium for watches? In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. 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. . 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. Richard Tjarks introduced $38.00. Thank you. 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. 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. It is encased in hard polymer Plastic and the ends have rivets . Frank Baker. My dad was one of the top bowlers here, Ristau said. then 4 symbols a crown an 18 and to unkown symbols in a square patern but on its side square pattern. 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.. 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. These efforts, combined with an ahead-of-its-time factory welfare department and employee benefits packages, led to a lot of workers spending their whole lives with Westclox. American manufacturers were quick to see that the millionaires are a negligible quantity as consumers, and that, not chronometersnot marvels of intricacy and originalitywere needed, but timepieces within the reach and want of all. Radium dials held near the face have been shown to produce radiation doses in excess of 10Sv / hour. He corresponded with Westclox General Manager Ernst Roth over the weeks that followed, but after a final letter that September, he went silent. Posted on 1 second ago; June 24, 2022 . Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. One of the objects on display in the Benton County Historical Society's Corvallis Museum is this Westclox Radium Dial Clock. Sometimes Ive seen them for 300 to 600 dollars. styles to organize them 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. Am I missing something here? Copyright Within two decades she had lost all her teeth. Up until this point in time (pun intended), quality time pieces had been considered a rich mans game. But the chances that you have a radium clock are slim, unless it is very old. That summer at an antique store I came across one that wasnt even in the book, and I thought that was exciting. The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. Instrument dials painted with radium-based paint, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "WWII Military Watches 'Potentially Pose Serious Cancer Risk,', "Health Effects of Radium Radiation Exposure,", "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Radium Dials,", "Lume 101: Watch Luminescence Explained,", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radium_dial&oldid=1123475907, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Jane Brickman, "Radium Girls: Women and Industrial Health Reform, 19101935,", This page was last edited on 23 November 2022, at 23:30. They were officially Americas preferred wake-up call provider. This has probably been discussed before but my search turned up nothingdo the luminous hands on a Big Ben alarm clock contain painted radium? Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. The other thing is reproductions. 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. He also recalled playing in the factory. I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA. Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. 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. I like to find the ones before that and study their history. When did they stop using radium on clocks? Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other They arent hurting it permanently, its just kind of weird. 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. Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? Radium - The First Rolex Luminous Material. 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. I hope to document Style 5 Baby Bens this winter. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. The Crystal blocks a significant amount of The radiation. There is a small dial inside of the clock face that has roman numerals like another clock face. Inhaled or ingested particles may deposit a high local dose with a risk of radiation-caused lung or gastrointestinal cancer. Any help would be appreciated. 514 Poplar Street Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. when did westclox stop using radium. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. 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. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. 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. Don Spayer, volunteer and former Westclox employee, said the bulk of the museums collection was built through donations. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. See the top of this page for a current list of 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 . England. Both the Big and Baby Bens were housed in a newly refined bell-back clock case. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. 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. About the only. Big Ben style 1a continued in production until its discontinuation in 1935. Also, its not just Americans who collect, its worldwide. It is a wind up. Its got a round brass dial and a painting in the door, really neat. 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]. 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. 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. 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. Without a crystal poses a serious Health risk because the Radium paint flakes off and can become airborne. Origin of the eye, forklore or legends surrounding????? While promoting Westclox products in Europe, the breakout of World War I and the laws of mandatory military service in his native France forced Le Roy to get his affairs in order and head for the front in 1914.
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