Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. They make alarm and one-day lever clocks only, and with practically two different articles, known as the 4-inch and 2-inch movements, they have an output of in their factory at LaSalle, Ill., of nearly two million clocks a year. . 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. Benton County Museums: Westclox Radium Dial Clock - Blogger 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. 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. [left to right: F.W. [citation needed] After about 20minutes this delivers the equivalent of one whole day's worth of normal background radiation. I would like to find the value of it. I think we threw it away. I was given an Elias Ingraham Clock many years ago and would like to know a bit more about it and its value. 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. 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? In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. 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. Its got a round brass dial and a painting in the door, really neat. I know it was purchased in 1937 because it belonged to my elderly friends who were married in 1938. Theyre just scattered in different places all over the country, little collections of hands, springs, screws, and things like that. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. A radium dial clock from the 1930s. US radium dial painting factory. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. When did westclox start making clocks? 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. 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. Next year, well have been married for 49 years, Mary Ann said. 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. Dont know if someone ingraved date on when took down or if the original. . Did westclox stop using radioactive paint by the 1960s? For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. Vintage Clocks and Radium Risks - Ken's Clock Clinic There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. Among the rarities on display is a Westclox-made National Emergency Alarm Repeater. From 1917 to 1926, the United States Radium Corporation used radium to produce wristwatches and clocks. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. . Westclox Classic Alarm Clock Full Size 47602. Underneath the #12 on the face it says: G. Falconer & Co. LTD. Hong Kong. T. tkarter Registered User. Kind regards, Ben van Vliet. Facts About Radium | Live Science 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. Radiums luminosity was part of its allure, Moore writes. Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. Jessie, good observation. 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. This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day. He corresponded with Westclox General Manager Ernst Roth over the weeks that followed, but after a final letter that September, he went silent. 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. I have a similar clock. When he made his first clock and plugged it into the wall it worked fine except it wasnt accurate, it was off by plus or minus a half hour a day, because the 60 cycles were not regulated at that time, so it could vary quite a bit. 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. 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. The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. Thank to several professionals who Ive met on Ebay, I have become quite skilled with my restorations plus making dials and alarm function indicators. 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. 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. I am looking to get an approxmiate value of this clock. I recently wrote an article on Hong Kong Watch and Clockmakers for the Antiquarian Horology Society Journal. Now I know that theres probably 14 basic shapes, but a lot more variations than that depending on how far you want to take things. 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. Behind the light, theyd been left in the dark. I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. Westclox began as the United Clock Company of Peru, Illinois in 1885. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. You must log in or register to reply here. Their factory in LaSalle, Illinois closed down in about 1980 when they moved all their production down south, but the building is still there. radium - Encyclopedia Britannica | Britannica Up until this point in time (pun intended), quality time pieces had been considered a rich mans game. When did the use of radium stop? 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. 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. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. While the painting technique of the Ghost Girls was replaced with supposedly safer methods like silk screening, traces of radium were still used by many companies to get that desired glow effect throughout the 1940s and even as late as the 60s. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. This classic clock is known for its loud and distinct bell-like . 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, read another. I believed it was manufacturing tag. 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. 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. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. Radium Baby Ben by Westclox ( Still Glows) : r/clocks - reddit I have a collection of clocks, and amongst my collection are Westminster chime wall clocks, I have two Keinzle and two Junghans. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. Thanks so much Richard Ristau Jr., former plant manager, said hes happy to see the space being used for the museum. Their Scottish factory was a full manufacturing plant, at which all their clocks were assembled from start to finish with only the basic raw materials being brought in by outside suppliers. 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. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. 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. . 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 am sure I can give Mr. Shields further information about his clock. 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. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. Similarly, They were told that eliminating lip-pointing had ended earlier problems. 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. About the only. Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book A clock without hands might seem indifferent to the passage of time, but these old Big Ben and Baby Ben dials have some serious stories to tell. [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. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government A pair of teenage boys broke into the abandoned factory and set a fire that quickly spread and enveloped much of the central complex. Clocks produced in the early 1900's are particularly concerning in this regard. Is this a product that the company would have made or something someone created? Theres a seller on eBay now whos doing some really outstanding restorations of Big Bens. Before we get to that, though, we have to start with the issue of geography as it concerns the business in question. 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. 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. Various lettering on the dial and various patent dates (later, numbers) on the Like style 1a non-luminous with dealer name on dial. Thanks, Paula. Do you have an archival dept who could give us an idea of our Western Clock which we recently acquired? Collectors Weekly: When did you discover that there were other clock collectors? I have a Westclox Big Ben 1910 style 1a and have not been able to find out the present value/worth. Who makes Westclox? - Wise-Answers 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. Apr 14, 2011 501 1 18. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that watches with radium dials should not be taken apart[5] without proper training, technique, and facilities. Production was back in full force and at an all-time high by 1956, with 3,000 employees on staff. I have a mantel clock,its floral in color,made by Ansonia Cock Co.USA.New York. Once I was winding it and one of the main springs broke, so I decided to take it all apart and fix the main spring. 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. 2023 by Andrew Clayman. Radium - The First Rolex Luminous Material. 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. Unbelievable true story of the 'radium girls' - NZ Herald 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]. The drinking fountain worked.. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The Timeless Appeal of the Westclock Big and Baby Bens 1980 By the early 1950s, Westclox employed thousands of LaSalle-Peru residents. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. . As stated it is working and keeps time. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. Over time, she contracted terrible cancerous tumors, lost most of her teeth, and suffered countless other health problems. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. From that point on I really liked those.