when did westclox stop using radium when did westclox stop using radium

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. At the start of the decade, the company brought in a skilled new industrial designer named Henry Dreyfuss; a true modernist. It is in working order and chimes on the hour and half hour. Big Ben: butler nickel case, gold leaf numeral dial 1930 1932. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. The front is in Roman Numerals with a dome shaped raised glass. With alarm clocks, they were so common that when people repaired them they did whatever they could to get them going. 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. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. Your email (will not be published) (required), The Timeless Appeal of the Westclock Big and BabyBens, The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Not Your Grandmas Cuckoo: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. When did westclox stop using radium? 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. 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. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. 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. We thought it was 1890 or older. So yes. I try to get all the pictures I can and keep them all chronologically and study the history. Buy Now. Through a friend I purchased an apparently antique key wind up long wooden and glass cased clock. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. Buy Now. It still works. When did westclox start making clocks? Stahlbergs company goes bankrupt not once, but twice, within its first several years. 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. 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. 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. Was westclox ever manufactured in germany and if so when? I am pleased that I came across your article. 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. 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. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Teri. How did I get interested in clocks? Soon, he was running the Western Clock Co. advertising department, and proving his worth with some clever marketing strategies. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. . Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. But he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. 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 spent many an evening here, watching him bowl.. 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. Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. Up until this point in time (pun intended), quality time pieces had been considered a rich mans game. They made them with wooden works until about 1840, then with brass gears and I like some of the early brass-geared American clocks. At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. 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]. Company in 1888 and installing another talented German, Ernst Roth, as the general manager. 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. Thank you. These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. On the Style 9, they went back to actual minute markings. . I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government The story begins with a Connecticut clockmaker named Charles Stahlberg getting a patent for a new alarm clock design in 1885. 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 Canadian Clock Museum (http://www.canclockmuseum.ca/) may have some information. . Collectors Weekly: When did you discover that there were other clock collectors? the knobs have foreign words ie wecker & UHR.would like to know about his clock The company made luminescent paint. The company later changed its name to the United States Radium Corporation. 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. dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width. The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. When did they stop using radium for watches? Its basically all forward momentum from here. They were officially Americas preferred wake-up call provider. The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. [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 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. 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. As stated it is working and keeps time. 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. There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. It started early in the 20th century, around 1910, when some companies began to use radium on watch dials and hands to create a "glow in the dark" effect. Did westclox stop using radioactive paint by the 1960s? 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. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Former employees showed up to view a collection of watches, clocks, tools, photographs of the old factory, a short black and white film of the factory in action and remember working for Westclox. 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. Thank you 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. 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. 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. I was looking at it and said, aha! Same as the nickel version but in a gold-plated case. But this is not how the story of Westclox began. 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. Luckily for Charles, however, he is living in the same small town as Frederick William Matthiessena fellow German, but one with a hell of a lot more money and business experience. 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. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. 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. Sep 6, 2008. potz said: Afaik Radium was used right up to the 1950's. Some sources even say it was used up to 1968 in watches and 1978 in clocks. 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. Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. Many thanks. In a few short years, thanks to Dr. Douglas's efforts, the amount of radium available in the US more than quintupled. Your response or advice would be much appreciated. I took it all apart and asked my dad to help me put it back together, but he cut his finger on the spring. July 17th, 2008. On 3rd January 2099, Terry Shields asked if anyone had information regarding his clock signed G .Falconer, Hong Kong. Radium is highly radioactive. At the end of one hand is a star and the other hand is the moon. This will broaden my view in the clock. 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. Theyre just scattered in different places all over the country, little collections of hands, springs, screws, and things like that. Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? When did Westclox stop using radium? when did westclox stop using radium; when did westclox stop using radium. A few years later my grandma gave me one that worked, and my aunt gave me another one. 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 was told it was long ago before even my aged family was servicing watches. styles to organize them So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. I know very little about clocks in general. It is too large (wide). Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? Among the rarities on display is a Westclox-made National Emergency Alarm Repeater. Penetrating gamma radiation produced by some dials also represents a significant health risk. They arent hurting it permanently, its just kind of weird. I believed it was manufacturing tag. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. 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. About 1931 they made the first electric Big Ben, and they were plug ins. Over time, she contracted terrible cancerous tumors, lost most of her teeth, and suffered countless other health problems. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. Another thing people do is make fake advertising clocks. knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. 7&a half X 6..desk clock. The other thing is reproductions. I have a quite a few pieces of both of them I have even one big Ben pocket watch which is still working after , I do not know how many years. Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. 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. Copyright Radium dials held near the face have been shown to produce radiation doses in excess of 10Sv / hour. Also, its not just Americans who collect, its worldwide. Matthiessen, 1904 Western Clock MFG Co. catalog cover, and the original Peru factory in 1905]. The Westclox building remained there in all its glory well into the 21st century, as plans were tossed around for some sort of repurposing of the huge, historic facility. they played a deep rich tone. Big Ben style, and there are other styles with names instead of numbers. It is and Elias Ingraham Brass Clock with a patent stamp of September 30, 1862.