Only reason I can think of and it looks pretty odd not to have minutes on a clock face. styles to organize them 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. Stahlbergs company goes bankrupt not once, but twice, within its first several years. Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. Contact the Webmaster for perceived copyright infringement (DMCA Registration Number 1010287). 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. Thanks, I have come across a mantle clock that has been in my husbands family for as long as he can remember He estimates his bother purchased the clock around 1950. 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. 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. Through it all, Peru remained the companys home base, as over 3,000 employees now enjoyed the rapidly expanding space of the factory and its attached campus, with gardens, tennis courts, a bowling alley, and other things worthy of a Matthiessen estate. But this is not how the story of Westclox began. I have been purchasing these clocks as and when I got an opportunity. They were, incredibly enough, instructed to ingest a radioactive poison all day, every day, and never properly warned of any potential hazards. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. Omega stopped using radium around 1963. I also need it repaired so that it will be functional and need to find someone that will do that for me. Radium Girls - Wikipedia 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I cant find out anything about him or any other clocks by him. Sometimes getting parts is tough, too, although it turns out Westclox made lots and lots of spare parts. She was 18. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. England. [citation needed] After about 20minutes this delivers the equivalent of one whole day's worth of normal background radiation. 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. $26.95. Also Telechron, which was a big maker of electric clocks. Just remember, old luminous clocks are full of 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. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. Inhaled or ingested particles may deposit a high local dose with a risk of radiation-caused lung or gastrointestinal cancer. Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. The clock can still give considerable amounts of radiation about 2-3 inches from the Crystal measured with a Geiger counter. when did westclox stop using radium; when did westclox stop using radium. 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. 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. It is 3 diameter with Westclox on the back and PAT.APLOFOR. 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. 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. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. So, does Westclox really belong in the Made In Chicago Museum? I took it back and the repairman told me it was like a large Timex watch and just not worth being fixed. The clock is shielded From the glass crystal. 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]. I think we threw it away. Penetrating gamma radiation produced by some dials also represents a significant health risk. . . There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. The radium isotope (226Ra) used has a half-life of about 1,600years,[6] so radium dials remain essentially just as radioactive as when originally painted 50 or 100 years ago, whether or not they remain luminous. When did the use of radium stop? I was told it was long ago before even my aged family was servicing watches. Their factory in LaSalle, Illinois closed down in about 1980 when they moved all their production down south, but the building is still there. About 1931 they made the first electric Big Ben, and they were plug ins. It was put away for years and last year it was given to me as I have small collection of United novelty clocks. We thought it was 1890 or older. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. That summer at an antique store I came across one that wasnt even in the book, and I thought that was exciting. . 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. 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. As radium luminosity came under attack in the 1930s, Westcloxs other updates to the Big Ben design were far more practical and uncontroversial. American manufacturers were quick to see that the millionaires are a negligible quantity as consumers, and that, not chronometersnot marvels of intricacy and originalitywere needed, but timepieces within the reach and want of all. WECKER (CW arrow)/UHR (CCW arrow) knob with ring: CW winds alarm; CCW winds clock. When did Junghans stop manufacturing Westminster Chimes, and when did Keinzle stop manufacturing Westminster chimes. It sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. 1888. Before we get to that, though, we have to start with the issue of geography as it concerns the business in question. I met somebody then who told me about the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and then I joined that and in their bi-monthly magazine I found a man looking for early Westclox information, he is now one of the foremost Westclox researchers. 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. Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, and I added even more in 2012. How do you set a manual alarm clock? - AnswersAll In a way theyre preventing clocks from being thrown away so I cant totally condemn it, but it still seems like a funny thing to do. These efforts, combined with an ahead-of-its-time factory welfare department and employee benefits packages, led to a lot of workers spending their whole lives with Westclox. i use a 1980s I believe westclox pocket ben sweep 2nd hand, I actually had a westclox bullseye from the early 1990s when I was in elementary school. 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). 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. Some people just want one or two that they remember from childhood in good condition, so thats just the thing for them. There is a small dial inside of the clock face that has roman numerals like another clock face. Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. Don Spayer, volunteer and former Westclox employee, said the bulk of the museums collection was built through donations. On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolate radioactive radium salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris. 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. 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. Ref comment #10 from Frank Baker. This has probably been discussed before but my search turned up nothingdo the luminous hands on a Big Ben alarm clock contain painted radium? So, rather than having the classic oversized bell or double-bell on top of the unit (to smash with your palm at 6am), the ringing mechanism was housed inside the back of the case, and a big winding key occupied the summit. the clock face is 16, ca 1900. the clock belonged to pheobe appersons family at their ranch in sunol california. Radium - Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. Westclox Big Ben Luminous Hands | NAWCC Forums Never underestimate the value of an alarm clock when yours broke two years ago and nobody has manufactured a new one since. 0 Comments; Uncategorized newark advertiser obituaries 2021 . Frank Baker. when did westclox stop using radium old restaurants in lawrence, ma . They managed to extract 1 mg of radium from ten tonnes of the uranium ore pitchblende (uranium oxide, U 3 O 8), a considerable feat, given the chemically methods of separation available to them.They identified that it was a new element because its atomic spectrum revealed new lines. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. 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. So I brought it home and left it hanging and would wind it up every once in a while. thank you, My Husband and I just purchased an antique mantle/shelf clock at an estate sale. 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). When did westclox stop using radium? This dustproofing is accomplished by fittings around the set knobs and winding keys and on the regulator. Good old fashioned branding played a major role, as well. But for years the majority were wind ups, they were so popular. As my first name is Ben, I started to collect these alarmclocks since about 1970. About 1920 the luminous dial using radium paint was introduced. into groups of similar models. Required fields are marked *. [Left: The first national Big Ben advertisement appears in the. At one time they employed about 3500 people, making about 35, 000 clocks and watches per day. Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. 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. Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. 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. $25.99. Old Rose (pink) crackle finish Baby Ben with luminous dial: 1929 1930. Radium was even used in medical applications during the 20th century. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. 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. $38.00. [left to right: F.W. Can you help Radiums luminosity was part of its allure, Moore writes. 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. This past weekend, thanks to the Westclox Museum, its doors were opened and former workers were welcomed back for Homecoming Day. Radium is highly radioactive. I was given an Elias Ingraham Clock many years ago and would like to know a bit more about it and its value. I first saw the clock in 1957. Radium dial - Wikipedia Chronic exposure to high levels of radium can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, or breast cancer. If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place. credit: Northern Illinois University]. All Rights Reserved. Before OSHA was set up, 14,000 people died on the job every year; today, it is just over 4,500. Condition is important, but clocks can be restored. Its hard to fathom in retrospect, but in the early 20th century, it was generally believed that small amounts of radium were perfectly harmless to humans, and thus, the substances natural, long-lasting glow actually made it something of an attractive novelty of the time periodnot just on clock dials, but in the worlds of quack medicine, fashion, cosmetics, and even a proto version of energy water, called Radithor.. Theyll take an old Big Ben from 1930 and make a new dial that says Indian Motorcycle or Victola, and put it on eBay. Created with WordPress. The Canadian Clock Museum (http://www.canclockmuseum.ca/) may have some information. I wonder if the younger generations are as interested in the older things as we are, although there are some younger collectors out there learning how to do clock repair. Here you can see production dates, original retail prices and other when did westclox stop using radium - Fashionexclusiveuae.com Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. 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 that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. They asked me to give some programs myself at some of the chapter meetings so I became a little bit better at being a public speaker, and its been great meeting people. 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. For example, Big Ben Style 1 and Style 1a are the leg model, and Style 2 is the first base model. We are looking for any Westclox photographs, memorabilia etc between 1927- 1980s of the factory. A lot of American clocks have veneer over the base wood so if thats starting to peel it can be really expensive to get fixed. Up until this point in time (pun intended), quality time pieces had been considered a rich mans game. [6] Decaying radium also produces the gas radon, recognized as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States[6] and the United Kingdom. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. when did westclox stop using radium - Dev.decourbaine.com UHR (CW arrow) knob sets clock time. People did some bad things over the years just to get them running. I have an antique mantle clock given to my Aunt & Uncle for a wedding gift (approximately 1949) FROM my great grandparents. LandmarkHunter.com | Westclox clock factory, La Salle, IL The pioneering spirit is there, but the business skills soon appear lacking. In 1914, Dr. Sabin Arnold von Sochocky and Dr. George S. Willis founded the Radium Luminous Material Corporation. We have photos of all the employees between 1927-1945 at the Peterborough Ontario Location but not much else. The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. 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. As stated it is working and keeps time. I thought, oh boy, I just need four more and Ill have them all! It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. This was a wonderful article to read. I would like to know the value of a #4 black, #321(in original cardboard Christmas box), mint condition, Baby Ben alarm clock is. 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. Both the Big and Baby Bens were housed in a newly refined bell-back clock case. 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. Without a crystal poses a serious Health risk because the Radium paint flakes off and can become airborne. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. Westclox did make a couple of documented advertising clocks, but very few. Eventually we became best friends and started researching together. Thank you. By the 1960s production went offshore to achieve economies of scale . Style 5 dial design]. Over time, she contracted terrible cancerous tumors, lost most of her teeth, and suffered countless other health problems. He corresponded with Westclox General Manager Ernst Roth over the weeks that followed, but after a final letter that September, he went silent. The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. Can anyone tell me about this? They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) The clock is several houndred pounds, and keeps great time. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. The style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben (1956 to 1964, the first Bens with concentric alarm hand) has minute markings. 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. My dad was one of the top bowlers here, Ristau said. About the only. It is too large (wide). Lynda Hinshaw, At this moment I am research a clock by Falconer& co HongKong. 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. On the Style 9, they went back to actual minute markings. I am trying to determine the age. 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. Im trying to determine if it is a legit or reproduction that someone made. Instead, it would be better to take the box outside and remove the lid there, which would allow any built-up gas to rapidly dissipate." The watches tested were produced from the 1920s through the '60s, and are a mix of British, Swiss, and American origin. 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 was about 3ft high and recessed into the wall. Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. [3] The Radiolite series, made in various sizes and models, became a signature of the Connecticut-based company. [5] Indeed, the body treats radium as it does calcium, storing it in bone where it may cause bone degeneration and cancer.[5]. It is in working order and chimes on the hour and half hour. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. Facts About Radium | Live Science I have purchased 1) Style 1 Baby and Big Ben with the Gold Leaf dial (seller stated raised letters); and, 2) a Style 1 Baby Ben with Baby Ben De Luxe on the dial. 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. How To Turn Off The Loud And Persistent Big Ben Alarm Clock The movement was then used with minor changes in Loud Alarm models until 1956. At the start of the decade, the company brought in a skilled new industrial designer named Henry Dreyfuss; a true modernist. 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. 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. Westclox also made about 5000 gold-plated reproductions. The center is in the shape of the world map. 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. When did they stop using radium on clocks? July 17th, 2008. Can you confirm? Ristau said he remembered when the Westclox factory was the heart of the city, and recalled enjoying his time with Westclox. While promoting Westclox products in Europe, the breakout of World War I and the laws of mandatory military service in his native France forced Le Roy to get his affairs in order and head for the front in 1914. All the aforementioned to ask you if you know how many of the 1970 style 1As were made. In her 2017 book, The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of Americas Shining Women, author Kate Moore notes that many of the new girls at the Radium Dial factory started out painting the famous Westclox Big Ben clocks before moving on to the smaller and more challenging Baby Ben, and finally the Pocket Ben and Scotty pocket watches, all produced at the Westclox Works. Stoddard: Pay attention to quality. Any information would be very helpful. Kind regards, Ben van Vliet. The massive success of the Big Ben design wasnt just about function and style. Although old radium dials generally no longer produce light, this is due to the breakdown of the crystal structure of the luminous zinc sulfide rather than the radioactive decay of the radium. Eventually, safer options were discovered, and the use of radium was discontinued in the 1960s. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. From 1917 to 1926, the United States Radium Corporation used radium to produce wristwatches and clocks. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. Thank you. At the end of one hand is a star and the other hand is the moon. 226RA has a half life of about 1600 years and the glow of the paint used on dials and hands decreases because of the damage the alpha particles emitted by the Radium do to the ZnS . American manufacturers were quick to see that the millionaires are a negligible quantity as consumers, and that, not chronometersnot marvels of intricacy and originalitywere needed, but timepieces within the reach and want of all. When did they stop using radium for watches? I read (but cant remember where) that about 40,000 were made. Copyright Radium is an almost pure white alkaline radioactive earth metal, and is found in nature in uranium ores. I have never seen this mentioned anywhere. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that watches with radium dials should not be taken apart[5] without proper training, technique, and facilities. Westclox History Database Main Menu All I really want to know is about the raised horizontal single eye type decoration on this top removable piece. [Workers assembling Big Ben alarm clocks at the Westclox plant, 1910s. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. 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. I have a collection of clocks, and amongst my collection are Westminster chime wall clocks, I have two Keinzle and two Junghans. 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. It emits alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. It had beneath that four long tubes and they were the chimes for the door bell. 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. On March 31, 1980, the Peru-LaSalle plant was officially closed, narrowly missing its 100-year anniversary. There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. I just had it repaired & it works & looks great. A Westclox Museum has been opened within the original facility, showing off rare collections from the millions of timepieces once manufactured there. You must log in or register to reply here. I never realized, even working here, they made so many different models.. 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. Radium Baby Ben by Westclox ( Still Glows) : r/clocks - reddit Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book