. 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. Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? Stoddard: I was pretty much on my own until college. I thought, oh boy, I just need four more and Ill have them all! 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. These clocks were produced in the thousands and many can be bought on eBay for under $10. Gary Biolchini added more style series in his book knowledge about vintage and antique Westclox clocks and watches. Over time, she contracted terrible cancerous tumors, lost most of her teeth, and suffered countless other health problems. When I went home and washed my hands in a dark bathroom, they would appear luminous and ghostly, an original Ghost Girl named Catherine Donohue (nee Wolfe) later testified. Charles Stahlberg had an idea for making a better, but less expensive alarm clock. I have never seen this mentioned anywhere. 2023 by Andrew Clayman. Radium paint itself was eventually phased out and has not been used in watches since 1968. 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? then 4 symbols a crown an 18 and to unkown symbols in a square patern but on its side square pattern. 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. 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. It was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. Thank you. I try to get all the pictures I can and keep them all chronologically and study the history. Jessie, good observation. Westclox set up a factory in England in the 1940s and also in Scotland. Radium dials are watch, clock and other instrument dials painted with luminous paint containing radium-226 to produce radioluminescence. Charles Crow Penn Valley, Ca, I have run across and old clock that I would like to know something about. I would also like photo and more details of his clock, since I intend to write a follow-up article. 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. It is battery operated and takes a D battery. Not everyone involved with the manufacturing of Westclox products was employed directly by Westclox, however. Any information would be very helpful. "[5] However, radium is highly radioactive, emitting alpha, beta, and gamma radiation the effects of which are particularly deleterious if inhaled or ingested since there is no shielding within the body. Thanks very mutch, I just acquired a sir w.h. A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. 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). 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. The policy of the company is one of highly specialized production. Eventually, scientists and medical professionals realized that these workers' illnesses . 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. 1980 By the early 1950s, Westclox employed thousands of LaSalle-Peru residents. But for years the majority were wind ups, they were so popular. Art and Mary Ann Windy [pictured] have been married for 49 years, met as Westclox employees and were present for the open house. 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. WECKER (CCW arrow) knob sets alarm time. Theres a clock that came down the family, my great great granddad bought it used in about 1885, it was actually sold new in about 1839, one of the first of the weight-driven brass clocks. A 'radium cow' or sample of radium would continually yield a supply of the nuclide. 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. Buy Now. Westclox Scotland produced its first clock on 21 September 1948; a spring wound alarm with a 4-inch (10cm) dial. The drinking fountain worked.. Big Ben: butler nickel case, gold leaf numeral dial 1930 1932. I am looking to get an approxmiate value of this clock. Required fields are marked *. 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. Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? I know Bill Stoddards name from other publications on Westclox. It emits alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. I have an antique mantle clock given to my Aunt & Uncle for a wedding gift (approximately 1949) FROM my great grandparents. 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. As stated it is working and keeps time. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. Because it was one degree removed from the radium business itself, Westclox seems to have largely dodged the controversy and lawsuits altogether. 1919 -1922, Luminous, Westclox in Roman text: 1923 - 1927, Luminous, projection on the "x": 1928 - 1935. Can anyone tell me the meaning or significance of this eye? July 17th, 2008. I live in Scotland but my clock was made in USA. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. and again 1243 is this an antique its gold but looks brand new but also an antique at the same time does anyone know what kind of pocket watch this is or if its gold or a replica of something or what it might be worth?? In 1931 it merged with Seth Thomas Clock Co. and both became divisions of General Time Corp. Which is interesting because many of the electrics are scarcer but people just arent into collecting electric clocks. For the town of Peruwhich had tied much of its identity to Westclox for the better part of a centurythe damage went beyond financial. Created with WordPress. First, if your clock is for display only, I think it is harmless if the paint on the hands is not disturbed. I have a Westclox Bachelor alarm clock from probably the 50s as it was always there when I was growing up. 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. 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.. Westclox Classic Alarm Clock Full Size 47602. $38.00. Technically speaking, though, Westclox did still produce clocks during the gap years that followed. 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. Were finally at a point, where were ready to do more than just sit here, said Ruth Spayer, curator for the museum. In the production of ordinary clocks adapted to the needs and means of the millions, America produces results of remarkable excellence. It still works. Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. In this interview Bill Stoddard talks about collecting antique Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks, and discusses clock collecting in general. 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. 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 is a wind up. $26.95. Both the Big and Baby Bens were housed in a newly refined bell-back clock case. Penetrating gamma radiation produced by some dials also represents a significant health risk. It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. Lynda Hinshaw, At this moment I am research a clock by Falconer& co HongKong. Same as the nickel version but in a gold-plated case. The Canadian Clock Museum (http://www.canclockmuseum.ca/) may have some information. Im trying to determine if it is a legit or reproduction that someone made. Debbie Blake, I have a small Westclox wind up clock dating around 1937. Thanks, Teri. Thanks so much They were, incredibly enough, instructed to ingest a radioactive poison all day, every day, and never properly warned of any potential hazards. 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. dated:1990 ,decorated :hong cong.made in japan.cocacola tradmark. Luminous Processes employees interviewed by a journalist in 1978 stated they had been left ignorant of radium's dangers. It has ingraved on it 2-20-31. Leg model with ring on top, dustproof case. When did they stop using radium on clocks? Hi I need the face plate for a black face big ben with the alarm dial on its face do you have any you could sell me alonf with the radio dials, it was probably outsourced meaning westclox sold some watches to hot wheels, I had a westclox electric dialite like that. So, does Westclox really belong in the Made In Chicago Museum? Westclox Radium Dial Clock. 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 only thing I found is the word Germny engraved on the back. thank you, My Husband and I just purchased an antique mantle/shelf clock at an estate sale. "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. 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. There are many Westclox alarm clock models named Big Ben. Did westclox stop using radioactive paint by the 1960s? When did clocks stop using radium? . I believed it was manufacturing tag. 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. Theyre just scattered in different places all over the country, little collections of hands, springs, screws, and things like that. Dont know if someone ingraved date on when took down or if the original. 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. Can anyone tell me about this? By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. Credit: pinimg. I read (but cant remember where) that about 40,000 were made. 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. Old Rose (pink) crackle finish Baby Ben with luminous dial: 1929 1930. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. How do you set the time on a old fashioned alarm clock? About 1931 they made the first electric Big Ben, and they were plug ins. In the United States there does not seem to have ever been prohibitory legislation passed banning the use of radium in clocks and watches. I have been searching for one like as the clock went with the house after my Grandmother passed away.

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