Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. With alarm clocks, they were so common that when people repaired them they did whatever they could to get them going. How can people be exposed to Radium? Any information would be very helpful. The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . It is in good condition and has the original pendulum and key. 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. 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. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. A lot of the American Shelf clocks from the 1820s up to 1900 have reverse paintings in the door, on the backside of the glass. 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. There are some blemishes on the wood on the right side. You do not want to open them up, lest you breath radioactive dust from old paint or spread it around. It looks like you mount it to the wall. Am I missing something here? Up until this point in time (pun intended), quality time pieces had been considered a rich mans game. After several changes of ownership, it became . Stoddard: Its really hard to say. I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA. I am trying to determine the age. Not to mention theres the Big Bens so that doubles it right there. 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. However, there`s no easy way for you to tell; there were no labeling requirements then as we have now. I know very little about clocks in general. var today = new Date() Thanks, Paula. At one time they employed about 3500 people, making about 35, 000 clocks and watches per day. Your email address will not be published. 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. 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. [3] The Radiolite series, made in various sizes and models, became a signature of the Connecticut-based company. By the 1970s, radium was no . I know that it is electric and it requires a dime deposit to set the alarm on it. "[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. How do you date a Westclox Baby Ben? A key point to bear in mind is this: the dial is still highly radioactive. Can you confirm? There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. 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. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the Saturday Evening Post in 1910: Big Ben is a thin, beautiful and punctual sleepmeter with a silent motor that will not annoy you on your lie-awake nights and a deep musical voice that will call you on your sleepiest mornings. Right and Below: A style 1A Big Ben from our museum collection, circa 1920s.]. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE THE CLICK ON A WESTCLOX MANS WRISTWATCH MODEL A-201? I think we threw it away. Origin of the eye, forklore or legends surrounding????? 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. Similarly, On the Style 9, they went back to actual minute markings. But for years the majority were wind ups, they were so popular. About 1931 they made the first electric Big Ben, and they were plug ins. The alpha particles emitted by the radium, which is taken up in bone, will kill off surrounding bone tissue, resulting in a condition loosely referred to as radium jaw. The company made luminescent paint. Westclox closed its Peru factory 35 years ago. I have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? Thanks for any info you may be able to supply In terms of my own collection, Im still trying to find some of the really early Big Bens. As seen below, the company made something of a symbolic gesture out of honoring the last Big Ben to roll off the assembly line on July 31, 1942, the day when all production shifted to government contracts for the duration of the war. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. Was this done so the alarm could be more easily set on the quarter or half hour? Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. I had developed some sort of fascination for Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks. According to Periodic. I think it is a clock made by Sessions. These clocks were produced in the thousands and many can be bought on eBay for under $10. when did westclox stop using radiumcapricorn and virgo flirting. Can anyone direct me on how to find this clock? 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? The new company tripled in size by the turn of the century, employing 232 people at its growing Peru plant (145 men, 73 women, 14 children) and producing 500,000 clocks annually. Theyre making some really nice reproductions of it in China and if you dont know what youre looking for you could be fooled easily. Good old fashioned branding played a major role, as well. 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. . 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. Is radium still used on watches? Debbie Blake, I have a small Westclox wind up clock dating around 1937. 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. . If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place. credit: Northern Illinois University]. 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). Also, its not just Americans who collect, its worldwide. Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. 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. Not everyone involved with the manufacturing of Westclox products was employed directly by Westclox, however. Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. . dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. Production was back in full force and at an all-time high by 1956, with 3,000 employees on staff. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. [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. It would be greatly appreciated. . It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. Which is interesting because many of the electrics are scarcer but people just arent into collecting electric clocks. 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. Luminous Processes employees interviewed by a journalist in 1978 stated they had been left ignorant of radium's dangers. . The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. Stoddard: Ive been there several times. 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. Buy Now. Westclox Wrought Iron Look Wall Clock 12" 32021A. Thank you. 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. Theres a seller on eBay now whos doing some really outstanding restorations of Big Bens. It is a Medbury-4W #4910. i have a large ansonia wall clock 32 1/2 x 32. During the early 1900's, the effects of radiation exposure were not well understood, and radium was frequently . $38.00. In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. 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. Advertisement: Illustrates crackle green Tiny Tim, crackle blue Big Ben and crackle pink Baby Ben clocks. 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.

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