107-T-0299

WESTCLOX "BABY BEN" ALARM TIMEPIECE
INDEX # : 107-T-0299

circa: 1964-1975

CLOCK STYLE Alarm Clock

CLOCK NAME Baby Ben

MANUFACTURE Westclox, LaSalle, Illinois.

CASE MODEL # 8-535-32, marked on bottom of case "4 / 58056"

MOVEMENT TYPE Brass, 30 hour, lever escapement, alarm.

CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION Base=3 1/2", Height=3 1/2", Depth=1 3/4"

LABEL INFORMATION Stamped on back of case "Westclox / LaSalle, Ill. / Made in U.S.A. / U.S. Patent / DES 201895"

DIAL INFORMATION Black dial with White luminescent Arabic numerals, luminescent hour and minute hands.

MISC. FEATURES

Has loud/soft switch for alarm. Case is black metal with silver band around dial.

ACQUIRED FROM Received from grandparents estate.

CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED Case in good condition, timepiece in running order.

RESTORATION N/A

HISTORICAL DATA

The Western Clock Company factory in La Salle-Peru, Ill c. 1910

The Western Clock Company factory c. 1909
This timepiece originally belonged to my grandparents (fathers side of family).

Charles Stahlberg founded the United Clock Co. in 1884 in La Salle-Peru, Ill. He was originally from Waterbury, Conn. The company went bankrupt in 1885, after which F.W. Matthiessen acquired the plant and formed the Western Clock Manufacturing Company. Sometime after 1925 the company changed it's name to the Western Clock Company. They became a division of the General Time Instruments Division in 1930. In 1936, the company was again renamed to Westclox (a name that was formerly their trademark). The first Westclox pocket watch was produced around 1899, but the Westclox name did not appear on their watches until 1906. By 1903, the company boasted over one million alarm clocks were being produced each year, and in 1920 it is said their production was about 15,000 watches a day. Operations continued as Westclox under General Time Instruments Corp., (which is a subsidiary of Talley Industries of Seattle, Wa.) and I believe they manufactured Westclox timepieces in their factory in Athens, GA. as well as the plant in LaSalle, Ill. The company was famous for their "Big Ben" and Little Ben" alarm clocks.

REFERENCES 1. "Official Price Guide to Watches" by Cooksey, Shugart & Tom Engle, 1990, page 267.
2. "A Treasury of American Clocks" by Brooks Palmer, 1967, picture of similar clock on page 307.
3. "Illinois Horology - A Brief View into the Land of Lincoln", Andrew Hayes Miller & Dalia Maria Miller, 1977.

NOTES N/A

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CLOCK STYLE	Alarm Clock
CLOCK NAME	Baby Ben
MANUFACTURE	Westclox, LaSalle, Illinois.
CASE MODEL #	8-535-32, marked on bottom of case "4 / 58056"
MOVEMENT TYPE	Brass, 30 hour, lever escapement, alarm.
CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION	Base=3 1/2", Height=3 1/2", Depth=1 3/4"
LABEL INFORMATION	Stamped on back of case "Westclox / LaSalle, Ill. / Made in U.S.A. / U.S. Patent / DES 201895"
DIAL INFORMATION	Black dial with White luminescent Arabic numerals, luminescent hour and minute hands.
MISC. FEATURES	Has loud/soft switch for alarm. Case is black metal with silver band around dial.
ACQUIRED FROM	Received from grandparents estate.
CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED	Case in good condition, timepiece in running order.
RESTORATION	N/A
HISTORICAL DATA The Western Clock Company factory in La Salle-Peru, Ill c. 1910 The Western Clock Company factory c. 1909	This timepiece originally belonged to my grandparents (fathers side of family). Charles Stahlberg founded the United Clock Co. in 1884 in La Salle-Peru, Ill. He was originally from Waterbury, Conn. The company went bankrupt in 1885, after which F.W. Matthiessen acquired the plant and formed the Western Clock Manufacturing Company. Sometime after 1925 the company changed it's name to the Western Clock Company. They became a division of the General Time Instruments Division in 1930. In 1936, the company was again renamed to Westclox (a name that was formerly their trademark). The first Westclox pocket watch was produced around 1899, but the Westclox name did not appear on their watches until 1906. By 1903, the company boasted over one million alarm clocks were being produced each year, and in 1920 it is said their production was about 15,000 watches a day. Operations continued as Westclox under General Time Instruments Corp., (which is a subsidiary of Talley Industries of Seattle, Wa.) and I believe they manufactured Westclox timepieces in their factory in Athens, GA. as well as the plant in LaSalle, Ill. The company was famous for their "Big Ben" and Little Ben" alarm clocks.
REFERENCES	1. "Official Price Guide to Watches" by Cooksey, Shugart & Tom Engle, 1990, page 267. 2. "A Treasury of American Clocks" by Brooks Palmer, 1967, picture of similar clock on page 307. 3. "Illinois Horology - A Brief View into the Land of Lincoln", Andrew Hayes Miller & Dalia Maria Miller, 1977.
NOTES	N/A