The clock can still give considerable amounts of radiation about 2-3 inches from the Crystal measured with a Geiger counter. Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. Required fields are marked *. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. The trademark "Westclox" which had appeared on their Big Ben alarm clocks as early as 1910 was officially registered in January 1916. For my 14th birthday I got a book called The Treasury of American Clocks and there was a picture showing the seven types of Baby Bens. 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. It is encased in hard polymer Plastic and the ends have rivets . If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. Stoddard: Some of the old American pocket watches are just beautiful so I have several in my collection. The Crystal blocks a significant amount of The radiation. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. 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. But hes taken some that are really rusty and had the backs replaced beautifully and reproduced some dials, and hes actually had some selling for several hundred dollars, so thats a totally different thing. Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. 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. 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. 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. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other It was put away for years and last year it was given to me as I have small collection of United novelty clocks. Buy Now. 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. Production was back in full force and at an all-time high by 1956, with 3,000 employees on staff. This was a wonderful article to read. Immediately after, substances like promethium and tritium were used as a luminous material, and they're still being used today. 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. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. 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. I am pleased that I came across your article. Patton, had joined Charles Stahlbergs original start-up back in 1886 at the age of just 13, and he was still on board in 1936, 50 years later. I like to find the ones before that and study their history. When did Junghans stop manufacturing Westminster Chimes, and when did Keinzle stop manufacturing Westminster chimes. thanks for your time, was doing research.. Appears from search engine a conversation about D batteries but cant find it in the text.. Can anyone inform me of the different size of D? Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. then 4 symbols a crown an 18 and to unkown symbols in a square patern but on its side square pattern. 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. The center is in the shape of the world map. 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. Collectors Weekly: When did you discover that there were other clock collectors? They call it Shabby Chic and sell it on eBay for 60 to 80 dollars. It sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. In a few short years, thanks to Dr. Douglas's efforts, the amount of radium available in the US more than quintupled. But he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. Read more about "Radium Girls" here. 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. 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 read (but cant remember where) that about 40,000 were made. The front is in Roman Numerals with a dome shaped raised glass. It is in the manufacture of alarm and one-day clocks that these results are the most noticeable, because in this field the quality of the product had always been subordinated to the market value, and the general feeling was one of let good enough alone., [Automatic machinery certainly sped up the manufacturing process, by plenty of human skill and attention was still required to make the Big Ben. Dave, Your question about a Big Ben containing radium, and in fact about which clocks actually do contain radium, is a good one. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. These styles constitute the 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. [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. In the United States there does not seem to have ever been prohibitory legislation passed banning the use of radium in clocks and watches. 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]. when did westclox stop using radium; when did westclox stop using radium. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. 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]. Style 5 dial design]. 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. This will broaden my view in the clock. Well, the company certainly maintained some major salesrooms here, and many of their employees came from the city and its suburbs. My husband has a Big Ben clock that he inherited, it was took down from a mill and given to his grandma. I am trying to determine the age. I have a small westclox alarm clock. 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. 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. "[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. 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. When did westclox start making clocks? Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. Clock Repair and Hermle Chime, Mantel and Wall Clocks for Sale at Bill's Clockworks. 514 Poplar Street Baby Ben and other Westclox clocks and watches have been assigned styles. I would like to find out about this clock. 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). 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. According to Periodic. 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.. Thank you for your input. 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. Before we get to that, though, we have to start with the issue of geography as it concerns the business in question. 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. When did clocks stop using radium? Advertisement: Illustrates crackle green Tiny Tim, crackle blue Big Ben and crackle pink Baby Ben clocks. Big Ben style, and there are other styles with names instead of numbers. 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. They were, incredibly enough, instructed to ingest a radioactive poison all day, every day, and never properly warned of any potential hazards. They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) Good old fashioned branding played a major role, as well. Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide , Remembering the Great War and The Clock That Caused a Near Riot . who can refurbush big ben still runs good perfect time purchased in 1950 cataloge #885(885). Westclox began as the United Clock Company of Peru, Illinois in 1885. Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. 1888. Through a friend I purchased an apparently antique key wind up long wooden and glass cased clock. 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 company made luminescent paint. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. Did Westclox use radium? . I have a Westclox Big Ben 1910 style 1a and have not been able to find out the present value/worth. I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. . It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. 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. It was a gift from him to her the year before they were married. I am a retired mechanical engineer, the quality has floored me, hats off to this company. I will be watching for more articles from Bill Stoddard He corresponded with Westclox General Manager Ernst Roth over the weeks that followed, but after a final letter that September, he went silent. 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. The style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. Your email address will not be published. Theyre making some really nice reproductions of it in China and if you dont know what youre looking for you could be fooled easily. 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.
