120-T-0499

WESTERN CLOCK CO. NOVELTY TIMEPIECE
INDEX # : 120-T-0499

circa: 1888-1894

CLOCK STYLE Novelty

CLOCK NAME Savoy

MANUFACTURE Western Clock Mfg. Co., La Salle, Illinois

CASE MODEL # N/A

MOVEMENT TYPE Brass, 30-hour, spring driven, Time only, pin lever escapement.

CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION Base = 3 ¾", Height = 7 ½", Depth = 2 ¾"

LABEL INFORMATION No label: - original.

DIAL INFORMATION

Paper label with black Arabic numerals, 1 ½" chapter ring.

MISC. FEATURES Gold ormolu finish.

ACQUIRED FROM Online internet auction, seller was from British Columbia, Canada.

CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED Clock running, case in fair condition.

RESTORATION N/A

HISTORICAL DATA

This clock listed for $1.20 in a 1902 Western Clock Co. catalog and in a 1905 "Butler Bros., New York" catalog. According the the 1902 Western Clock Co. catalog, this model was their most popular Gold clock. Another tidbit of info obtained from this catalog was that the E.N. Welch Mfg. Co., based out of New York City, was the Eastern Selling Agents for the Western Clock Mfg. Co.

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.
The top image is a hand drawn picture of the Western Clock Company factory in La Salle-Peru, Ill c. 1910

The bottom image is a photograph of the Western Clock Company factory c. 1909.

REFERENCES 1. "The Book of American Clocks" by Brooks Palmer, 1967, brief company history on page 306.
2. "Illinois Horology - A Brief View into the Land of Lincoln", Andrew Hayes Miller & Dalia Maria Miller, 1977.
3. "The Western Clock Mfg Company" 1902 Catalog.

NOTES N/A

Continue with selection:

Previous ClockNext Clock

Back to Pictorial Index

Back to Text Index

Please note, that our interests are in preserving and restoring horological items, we do not sell pieces from our collection or provide online appraisals. Any emails requesting values will be discarded. Sorry, but I am not an appraiser nor do I have time to provide this service. If your questions are of a historical nature, I will be happy to respond.

Legal Stuff: I have made every effort not to infringe on any copyrighted material. The images contained within these pages were either taken by myself, scanned by myself from engravings, or historic literature, or were available on the web. If you feel that a copyright is being infringed upon, please notify me by email. No part of these pages may be reproduced without the express written consent of the author ©2005-2009 Clocks Are Us

CLOCK STYLE	Novelty
CLOCK NAME	Savoy
MANUFACTURE	Western Clock Mfg. Co., La Salle, Illinois
CASE MODEL #	N/A
MOVEMENT TYPE	Brass, 30-hour, spring driven, Time only, pin lever escapement.
CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION	Base = 3 ¾", Height = 7 ½", Depth = 2 ¾"
LABEL INFORMATION	No label: - original.
DIAL INFORMATION	Paper label with black Arabic numerals, 1 ½" chapter ring.
MISC. FEATURES	Gold ormolu finish.
ACQUIRED FROM	Online internet auction, seller was from British Columbia, Canada.
CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED	Clock running, case in fair condition.
RESTORATION	N/A
HISTORICAL DATA	This clock listed for $1.20 in a 1902 Western Clock Co. catalog and in a 1905 "Butler Bros., New York" catalog. According the the 1902 Western Clock Co. catalog, this model was their most popular Gold clock. Another tidbit of info obtained from this catalog was that the E.N. Welch Mfg. Co., based out of New York City, was the Eastern Selling Agents for the Western Clock Mfg. Co. 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. The top image is a hand drawn picture of the Western Clock Company factory in La Salle-Peru, Ill c. 1910 The bottom image is a photograph of the Western Clock Company factory c. 1909.
REFERENCES	1. "The Book of American Clocks" by Brooks Palmer, 1967, brief company history on page 306. 2. "Illinois Horology - A Brief View into the Land of Lincoln", Andrew Hayes Miller & Dalia Maria Miller, 1977. 3. "The Western Clock Mfg Company" 1902 Catalog.
NOTES	N/A