514 Poplar Street Could you please try to help me find out what kind of clock this is. Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. Early in the 20th century there was a medical practice that revolved around a new treatment involving the radioactive material called radium. 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. This has probably been discussed before but my search turned up nothingdo the luminous hands on a Big Ben alarm clock contain painted radium? Stoddard: My grandma gave me an old Baby Ben alarm clock that didnt work when I was seven. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. These folks here that are responsible for this are doing a marvelous job, Ristau said. Thank you. A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. How did I get interested in clocks? I also like some of the older American weight-driven clocks. 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). Luminous Processes employees interviewed by a journalist in 1978 stated they had been left ignorant of radium's dangers. 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 have a Seth Thomas Mantle clock that my older sisters husbands Aunt had on her mantle for years. It would be very interesting if you could provide me with some pictures of the clock. Thanks, Paula. It was put away for years and last year it was given to me as I have small collection of United novelty clocks. . Same as the nickel version but in a gold-plated case. Purchased from a man who claimed to have salvaged them from the backroom of an unnamed Chicago watch repair shop, each round and weathered face represents the lasting work of an international manufacturing giant at the peak of its powers. 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. I tried selling some of my surplus electric Big Bens on eBay and they just didnt go, you could get only about $0.99 for them. Radium was even used in medical applications during the 20th century. The factory contained a bowling alley, and Ristau said his father was an excellent bowler. There is a small dial inside of the clock face that has roman numerals like another clock face. One of the objects on display in the Benton County Historical Society's Corvallis Museum is this Westclox Radium Dial Clock. I love the Hamiltons in particular, probably some of the best watches made in America. We have photos of all the employees between 1927-1945 at the Peterborough Ontario Location but not much else. It was only with the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was given oversight of the use of radium. Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. I think it is a clock made by Sessions. Both the Big and Baby Bens were housed in a newly refined bell-back clock case. I first saw the clock in 1957. The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. But the chances that you have a radium clock are slim, unless it is very old. Im always interested in the history and the variations of clocks and how they fit in the scheme of things, what came before and what came after. 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 has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. the knobs have foreign words ie wecker & UHR.would like to know about his clock Old Rose (pink) crackle finish Baby Ben with luminous dial: 1929 1930. The Crystal blocks a significant amount of The radiation. On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolate radioactive radium salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris. The company made luminescent paint. I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. 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. Radium paint can be ingested by inhaling flaking paint particles. I read (but cant remember where) that about 40,000 were made. Credit: pinimg. Through a friend I purchased an apparently antique key wind up long wooden and glass cased clock. My Grandmother had a Westclox in her house. 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. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. It has a patent June 18-1882 and says Dakota on the back,can you tell me more? Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. Radium is highly radioactive. How do you date a Westclox Baby Ben? 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. Is radium still used on watches? I have a Westclox Big Ben 1910 style 1a and have not been able to find out the present value/worth. I have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. A radium dial clock from the 1930s. 1919 - 1920 on a small proportion of clocks, "Westclox" in Roman text, Wide lettering at bottom: 1923, "Westclox" in Roman text, Narrow lettering at bottom:1924 to 1927, "Westclox" in Roman text, Projection on the "x": 1928 - 1935, Luminous, "Westclox" in italics: ca. 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. Dates Stamped on Big Ben and Baby Ben Clock Movements Dates were stamped on a movement plate of most Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks made up until mid-1970's. Numbers are used for the month, day and year; or just the month and year (e.g. Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. Can anyone tell me about this? On March 31, 1980, the Peru-LaSalle plant was officially closed, narrowly missing its 100-year anniversary. Never underestimate the value of an alarm clock when yours broke two years ago and nobody has manufactured a new one since. Stopping this practice drastically reduced the amount of radium ingested and therefore, the incidence of malignancy. The greater surprise, though, is that they didnt abandon the use of radium in the years that followed. When I went home and washed my hands in a dark bathroom, they would appear luminous and ghostly, an original Ghost Girl named Catherine Donohue (nee Wolfe) later testified. . WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. document.write(year) Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. when did westclox stop using radiumcapricorn and virgo flirting. Apr 14, 2011 501 1 18. We are looking for any Westclox photographs, memorabilia etc between 1927- 1980s of the factory. Beginning in the 1910s, the girls instructed to put radium in their mouths didn't bat an eyelash. Style 5 dial design]. [Former Westclox workers Art and Mary Ann Windy (standing), 2015], This is amazing, Art said. 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. The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. Gordon Goodrum Thank you Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. 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. Among the rarities on display is a Westclox-made National Emergency Alarm Repeater. 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. 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. The magical glow, as was widely understood by everyone involved, was created by radiuma radioactive element discovered by Marie Curie in 1898. We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. As radium luminosity came under attack in the 1930s, Westcloxs other updates to the Big Ben design were far more practical and uncontroversial. 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. 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]. It is a Medbury-4W #4910. Stoddard: The main thing is the originality of the dial and if its a wooden shelf clock, having the original painting in the door would be really important. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. Most are in nickel finish cases, but some were made in gold plated cases. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. Medical researchers extended the use of radium to cure impotence in men and women by creating fertility drugs with the element to "stimulate" reproduction. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses were being caused by internal contamination from the radium they ingested. 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. 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. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. when did westclox stop using radium; when did westclox stop using radium. It is made by The Sessions Clock movement, appears to be brass, a bucking horse with cowboy riderjudgeing from the clothes design of the cowboy it is quite old. 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 sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. It is in working order and chimes on the hour and half hour. Omega stopped using radium around 1963. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. Style 1a has four holes in the back to access the movement cap screws; Style 1 has the legs and pendant riveted to the case, on style 1a they screw on. I am pleased that I came across your article. Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. I would like to find out about this clock. 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. Production was back in full force and at an all-time high by 1956, with 3,000 employees on staff. It emits alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Stoddard: Some of the old American pocket watches are just beautiful so I have several in my collection. At one time they employed about 3500 people, making about 35, 000 clocks and watches per day. US radium dial painting factory. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. Don Spayer, volunteer and former Westclox employee, said the bulk of the museums collection was built through donations. When did they stop using radium for watches? I am looking to get an approxmiate value of this clock. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. 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. Company in 1888 and installing another talented German, Ernst Roth, as the general manager. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. This particular clock is made in China while other similar Westclox alarm clocks at the time were made in Taiwan. They worked for the United States Radium Corporation painting the numbers and hands on watch. . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 1919 -1922, Luminous, Westclox in Roman text: 1923 - 1927, Luminous, projection on the "x": 1928 - 1935. Junghans, Kienzle,Mauthe,Kaiser, Peter, (all from Germany) Veglia (Italy), CNIS ( France), Ingersoll (UK) as well as some Hong Kong made items. [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. Theres a clock called a Crystal Regulator which is about a foot tall with a brass case and glass on all four sides. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. I think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. I spent many an evening here, watching him bowl.. That summer at an antique store I came across one that wasnt even in the book, and I thought that was exciting. According to Chemistry Explained, radium is extracted today from uranium ores in much the same way that Marie and Pierre Curie did in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, and I added even more in 2012. My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? 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. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. they played a deep rich tone. 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. var today = new Date() They have meetings every two months, and educational programs, so thats a really great way to meet collectors and get all kinds of advice. From 1917 to 1926, the United States Radium Corporation used radium to produce wristwatches and clocks. Advertisement: Illustrates crackle green Tiny Tim, crackle blue Big Ben and crackle pink Baby Ben clocks. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. Big Ben style 1a continued in production until its discontinuation in 1935. 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. Westclox Classic Alarm Clock Full Size 47602. 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. I am trying to determine the age. I believed it was manufacturing tag. Dave, Your question about a Big Ben containing radium, and in fact about which clocks actually do contain radium, is a good one. 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. 1888. 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. dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. 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. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. England. It is in good condition and has the original pendulum and key. Can anyone tell me the meaning or significance of this eye? But this is not how the story of Westclox began. They can be identified by having the modern type of flat head screws Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, The Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide, Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. I'll start with a 19j Bunn, Looking for Somebody with Some Bandwidth to do a Repair. 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 . 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. Created with WordPress.
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