I have an Pine State Ice Cream Milk clock that I would like to find out how much it may be worth. 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. Entertainment & Pop Culture; Geography & Travel; Health & Medicine; Lifestyles & Social Issues; Literature; Philosophy & Religion; Politics, Law & Government Soon, he was running the Western Clock Co. advertising department, and proving his worth with some clever marketing strategies. . Has the mechanics of the clock been changed/upgraded or could there be another issue at play? 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. Museum Artifacts: Luminous Big Ben & Baby Ben Clock Dials (1940s) and Style 1A Big Ben Alarm Clock (1920s), Made By: Western Clock MFG Company, aka Westclox, 350 5th St., Peru, Illinois [LaSalle]. About 1931 they made the first electric Big Ben, and they were plug ins. Advertisement: Illustrates crackle green Tiny Tim, crackle blue Big Ben and crackle pink Baby Ben clocks. The first Big Bens and Baby Bens in 1910 were wind ups.. It can be found with some other clocks in a case in the second floor hallway. 400-day clocks are also known as anniversary clocks, they would run 400 days on one winding. Ristau said he remembered when the Westclox factory was the heart of the city, and recalled enjoying his time with Westclox. Even today, with the considerable help of a thing called Interstate 80, its still about a two-hour journey from LaSalle Street to LaSalle County. In 1931 it merged with Seth Thomas Clock Co. and both became divisions of General Time Corp. They were told that eliminating lip-pointing had ended earlier problems. Ruth Spayer at the Westclox Museum tracked down a newspaper story from the Daily Post-Tribune on March 21, 1944, describing a scene in which 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.. its a Gold coloring and the bottom is well worn like it was slid into something regularily. Radium was even used in medical applications during the 20th century. Among the rarities on display is a Westclox-made National Emergency Alarm Repeater. It would be very interesting if you could provide me with some pictures of the clock. This 1964 Westclox Christmas ad describes their features. The women also left a legacy to science that has been termed invaluable.. Their use in prostate brachytherapy dates from 1926. Posted on 1 second ago; June 24, 2022 . 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. 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. Through a friend I purchased an apparently antique key wind up long wooden and glass cased clock. Did Westclox use radium? [citation needed] The use of radium to provide luminescence for hands and indices on watches soon followed. You must log in or register to reply here. People did some bad things over the years just to get them running. Would you please direct me to someone that can do this for me? This has probably been discussed before but my search turned up nothingdo the luminous hands on a Big Ben alarm clock contain painted radium? Can anyone tell me about this? It still works. His ideas were patented on as US patent #326,602. I have been collecting, repairing, and restoring mostly Westclox Big Bens for several years. We are very proud to be living in this building and would love to know more about this specific site. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.. 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. Columbia, PA 17512 . They can be identified by having the modern type of flat head screws with shoulders instead of round head screws, and by having a 1910 patent date on the back even though the case is style 1a. 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.. The front is in Roman Numerals with a dome shaped raised glass. 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. You just cant imagine the size of this factory its just gigantic. lds missionary clothing stores; June 24, 2022 . A Big Ben typical of those made from late 1910 to mid-1915. I am pleased that I came across your article. It sits on a small brass stand with Westclox on it. Then, on New Years Eve, as 2011 became 2012, the unthinkable happened. Im trying to determine if it is a legit or reproduction that someone made. These styles constitute the Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide , Remembering the Great War and The Clock That Caused a Near Riot . This classic clock is known for its loud and distinct bell-like . JavaScript is disabled. Dave, Your question about a Big Ben containing radium, and in fact about which clocks actually do contain radium, is a good one. Safety So I brought it home and left it hanging and would wind it up every once in a while. Geiger counters could pick up readings from pants returned from a dry cleaner and from clothes stored away in a cedar chest. Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. I have a mantel clock,its floral in color,made by Ansonia Cock Co.USA.New York. Theyre making some really nice reproductions of it in China and if you dont know what youre looking for you could be fooled easily. Debbie Blake, I have a small Westclox wind up clock dating around 1937. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. Charles Stahlberg had an idea for making a better, but less expensive alarm clock. I bought a 1970s Westclox pocket watch with a Hotwheels face that says authorized seller on it. its about 2 inches long maybe 1/2 in thick with holes on either end to be worn on a key chain perhaps? But it had always just been a matter of time (pun less intended) before industrial mass production made a wide-scale phenomenon like the Big Ben possible. [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. [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. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of. [7], Ingestion of radium has been linked to anemia, cataracts, broken teeth, and reduced bone growth.[8]. Only reason I can think of and it looks pretty odd not to have minutes on a clock face. 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. The Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock Vintage is an iconic timepiece that has been around since the early 1900s. Ive recently acquired a New Haven decorative wall clock. Stoddard: The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) is headquartered in Pennsylvania but has chapters throughout the country. I was told it was long ago before even my aged family was servicing watches. I have a Seth Thomas Mantle clock that my older sisters husbands Aunt had on her mantle for years. 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. This particular clock is made in China while other similar Westclox alarm clocks at the time were made in Taiwan. When did Westclox close? Westclox Clock Construction and Quality. These folks here that are responsible for this are doing a marvelous job, Ristau said. My clothes, hanging in a dark closet, gave off a phosphorescent glare. 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 . I have never seen this mentioned anywhere. Radium was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898[1] and was soon combined with paint to make luminescent paint, which was applied to clocks, airplane instruments, and the like, to be able to read them in the dark.[2]. . When did they stop using radium for watches? England. i have a large ansonia wall clock 32 1/2 x 32. From that point on I really liked those. First, if your clock is for display only, I think it is harmless if the paint on the hands is not disturbed. How did I get interested in clocks? Richard Ristau Jr., former plant manager, said hes happy to see the space being used for the museum. At the end of one hand is a star and the other hand is the moon. It has a patent June 18-1882 and says Dakota on the back,can you tell me more? Behind the light, theyd been left in the dark. Helen. I would like to find out about this clock. 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. Westclox Model 66 Movement Series Welcome to the Westclox Clock and Watch History Database. Your response or advice would be much appreciated. it has a picture of a huck finn type boy,carying 2 bottles of coke& a fishing pole,with his dog. Charles Stahlberg headed a group from Waterbury, Connecticut, who came to Peru in 1884 to build clocks based on a new idea by Stahlberg. From 1942 to 1945, Westclox ceased all production intended for domestic civilian sale and dedicated its production resources to the war effort. The use of radium was discontinued since the 1960s. My love is for the style 1 peg leg Big and Baby Bens; mostly Baby Bens. Most importantly, they were forbidden to point the tip with their lips, and they avoided to ingest or inhale the luminous paint. 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. Radium dials were produced throughout most of the 20th century before being replaced by safer tritium-based luminous material in the 1970s and finally by non-toxic, non-radioactive strontium aluminatebased photoluminescent material from the middle 1990s. I Have a small brass alarm clock,which is 1-3/4 Hieght Length & Width. During the early 1900's, the effects of radiation exposure were not well understood, and radium was frequently . In the early 1920s, when the company introduced a new series of Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks with luminous dials, the work of painting on this special, glow-in-the-dark element was outsourced to the Radium Dial Companyan independent business located just up the road in the neighboring town of Ottawa, IL. 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. The Canadian Clock Museum (http://www.canclockmuseum.ca/) may have some information. 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. Westclox did make a couple of documented advertising clocks, but very few. [Westclox advertisements from WWII period, ft. 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.