when did westclox stop using radium

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). I would like to find the value of it. 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 reading, studying, and learning more about the Westclox. When did clocks stop using radium? . Just remember, old luminous clocks are full of radium! So I swapped them, and its worked perfectly ever since. They were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) George Kern died on July 27, 1918 from a ruptured appendix, but his basic clock design lived on for years. That way I got myself another Baby Ben, bringing my collection to three by age 12. Seeking the Big 3 goals of convenience, cleanliness, and cheap production, Dreyfuss rolled out his new-look Big Ben in 1931. The Crystal blocks a significant amount of The radiation. Was just trying to find out any information on this clock or if you may have ever come across one like it I am pleased that I came across your article. Richard Tjarks introduced var today = new Date() Stoddard: Some of the old American pocket watches are just beautiful so I have several in my collection. When did Westclox close? When I got out of college I started going to the watch and clock conventions and met a man who was giving a program about the history of Big Bens and Baby Bens. Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? 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. 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. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. Contact the Webmaster for perceived copyright infringement (DMCA Registration Number 1010287). 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 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. 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. $26.95. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. 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. . At the start of the decade, the company brought in a skilled new industrial designer named Henry Dreyfuss; a true modernist. Frank Baker. It is too large (wide). 5 17 15 is May 17, 1915 . I think we threw it away. Read more about "Radium Girls" here. Collectors Weekly: When did you discover that there were other clock collectors? The phosphor deterioration means you can't see a glow anymore, but . 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 have an Pine State Ice Cream Milk clock that I would like to find out how much it may be worth. 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. If you do not expect to work hard and carefully, you are in the wrong place. credit: Northern Illinois University]. 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 Big Ben Style 1a Alarm Clock Date Summary: 1918 - 1935 (and a reproduction was made in 1970) Characteristics: Ring on top, two legs in front, no screws through the front of the bezel. 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. At this moment I study horology at West Dean College in the UK. 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. Westcloxs Manual for Employees read, We expect you to work hard, and the pay is accordingly large . 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. So I brought it home and left it hanging and would wind it up every once in a while. We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. Above all else, though, the rise and fall of Westcloxand the deeper history of these Big Ben clocks, in particularis simply far too intriguing to dismiss just because of a long-distance commute. "Westclox" in italics, double hexagon legs: 1918, "Westclox" in italics, regular legs: 1918 -1922, "Westclox" in italics, very narrow lettering at bottom: "MADE BY WESTERN CLOCK CO., LA SALLE, ILL., U.S.A.", ca. 1968 Who made westclox? I just had it repaired & it works & looks great. I would like to know the value of a #4 black, #321(in original cardboard Christmas box), mint condition, Baby Ben alarm clock is. I think the clock was electric but could have been a wind up or maybe even a pendulum. All Rights Reserved. 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. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. Question: Are both 1) and 2) marriages of Style 2 mechanisms put in a Style 1A Big Ben and Style 1 Baby Ben. I recently added the Big Ben Style 1 and Baby Ben Style 1 Dial and Back types. Based in Flora, Indiana, Bill can be reached via his website, clockhistory.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame. 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. Westclox - An Identification and Price Guide, and I added even more in 2012. the knobs have foreign words ie wecker & UHR.would like to know about his clock Theyre making some really nice reproductions of it in China and if you dont know what youre looking for you could be fooled easily. It would be greatly appreciated. They had one in Brazil for a while and I think also in Hong Kong. A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. 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. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? It also says that the patent was re-issued March 31, 1868. 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. She was 18. [left to right: F.W. Jessie, good observation. Westclox began as the United Clock Company in Peru, Illinois in 1885. Thank you. It still works. They worked in unvented rooms, they wore smocks that they laundered at home. Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book Could you please try to help me find out what kind of clock this is. 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. The only problem is a standard size D battery does not fit. 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. 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. I would like to find out about this clock. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. The movement was mounted to the inner case back. Their factory in LaSalle, Illinois closed down in about 1980 when they moved all their production down south, but the building is still there. Medical researchers extended the use of radium to cure impotence in men and women by creating fertility drugs with the element to "stimulate" reproduction. The clock can still give considerable amounts of radiation about 2-3 inches from the Crystal measured with a Geiger counter. In all my research I can not confirm that The Style 1 models every had 1) and 2) above. $38.00. 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. [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. Next to the original Westcloxes I have an interesting collection of European copies by a.o. They were officially Americas preferred wake-up call provider. Richard Ristau Jr., former plant manager, said hes happy to see the space being used for the museum. (All images in this article courtesy Bill Stoddard, www.clockhistory.com), I found this article very complimentary to the Westclox company and an intriguing piece to read. Company in 1888 and installing another talented German, Ernst Roth, as the general manager. Dave, Your question about a Big Ben containing radium, and in fact about which clocks actually do contain radium, is a good one. Safety He also recalled playing in the factory. They call it Shabby Chic and sell it on eBay for 60 to 80 dollars. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. It would be very interesting if you could provide me with some pictures of the clock. 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. They arent hurting it permanently, its just kind of weird. Handle on top: down alarm off; up alarm on. It is a Medbury-4W #4910. They are just gorgeous watches and very well made. Site of the Old Westclox factory 211-201 Hunter Street, Peterborough Ontario. Created with WordPress. Westclox Wrought Iron Look Wall Clock 12" 32021A. It is something that we should know before everyone starts throwing away every luminous dial clock they own. 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. 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. AD x Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. While most of our Big Ben dials are black with luminous numbers, there were also white dials with black numerals in production at the same time. Can you confirm? Something about them has always been ingrained in me. 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. Required fields are marked *. Thank you It sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. Buy Now. 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. Omega stopped using radium around 1963. The other thing is reproductions. I was told it was an antique at that time. Up until this point in time (pun intended), quality time pieces had been considered a rich mans game. When did they stop using radium for watches? It has a removable bottom decorative piece as well as a top rounded top flat piece of wood with a verticle wooden slat on the back extending to become a peg-like extension to fit and secure the decorative piece into the top of the clock. I thought, oh boy, I just need four more and Ill have them all! 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. I have a collection of alarm clocks, but slowly selling many. Henry Warren invented a little synchronous motor that could go inside a clock. 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. Style Information: Plain dial: 1918 - 1935 Black luminous dial: 1921 - 1935 There are variations in the lettering on the dial and back. . How can people be exposed to Radium? 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. On March 31, 1980, the Peru-LaSalle plant was officially closed, narrowly missing its 100-year anniversary. 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 style 8 Big and Baby Bens were introduced in 1964. As the 1960s began, over 50 million Big Ben clocks had been produced in total, and additional Westclox plants were now in operation everywhere from Athens, Georgia, and Ontario, Canada, to Scotland and Australia. 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. 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 new features, according to a synopsis from the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, included: 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.. WECKER (CW arrow)/UHR (CCW arrow) knob with ring: CW winds alarm; CCW winds clock. Stoddard: The first Big Bens and Baby Bens went on the market in 1910 and they were wind ups. It has a cracked front lens that I would like to replace. 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. Ive been trying to compare lots of different clocks to find out what original parts go together. She was 107 when she died on March 1 in Middlebury, Conn . It is stamped on the back of the casing DRP&GM. 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. 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. The thing I remember most is working with the people, Ristau said. Thank you, i have a pocket watch that says (inscribed inside) g. falconer ,,,rona & london or kona & london i dont know its in old english and says kona or hona it has 1243 all inscribed on the inside where when u open it u can see the gears, looks like an a8 and a crown with a 18 on the middle inside cover (that covers the gears) and also a 1243 and what looks like an 8 or an infinite symbol (sideways 8)then again on the part that clasps over everything on the inside an A3 or A8? England. Yet Mrs. Keane was a survivor who later conquered colon and breast cancer. Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. 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. Thank you. I would also like photo and more details of his clock, since I intend to write a follow-up article. From that time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the plain or luminous dial. Radium dials were typically painted by young women, who used to 'point' their brushes by licking and shaping the bristles prior to painting the fine lines and numbers on the dials. knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. 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. 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? We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. Can someone get back to me as to what it is and possibe age of it. The company later changed its name to the United States Radium Corporation. 1888. 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. When Did They Stop Using Radium On Clock Hands? 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. Inhaled or ingested particles may deposit a high local dose with a risk of radiation-caused lung or gastrointestinal cancer. Westclox 0.9" LED Plasma Screen Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port 71014X. 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, read another. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Now I know that theres probably 14 basic shapes, but a lot more variations than that depending on how far you want to take things. Any information would be very helpful. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. . So yes. 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 Radium Dial Clock. Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage. 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. Could you suggest how I could go about finding out this information. [citation needed] The use of radium to provide luminescence for hands and indices on watches soon followed. 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. . 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 is in good condition and has the original pendulum and key. It emits alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. My father (Richard Ristau Sr.) worked here for 48.. Style 10 is the last numbered Debbie Blake, I have a small Westclox wind up clock dating around 1937. I am a retired mechanical engineer, the quality has floored me, hats off to this company. These clocks were produced in the thousands and many can be bought on eBay for under $10. 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., In this particular branch of the clock industry the Western Clock Manufacturing Company has achieved great results in the last twenty years. Advertisement: Illustrates crackle green Tiny Tim, crackle blue Big Ben and crackle pink Baby Ben clocks. These styles constitute the 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. The first style 1a cases had double-hexagon legs, but after about a year they were changed to standard single hex form. They made them with wooden works until about 1840, then with brass gears and I like some of the early brass-geared American clocks.

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