The History of Westclox Big Ben, Baby Ben and Related Clocks

The Big Ben alarm clock was first sold in 1909 and has evolved through many case style and movement changes. The Baby Ben was first sold in 1910 and has evolved in a similar way.

The pictures below illustrate the 10 "mainstream" case styles of windup Big and Baby Bens and the years in which they were made. Style 1 was the first model made and style 10 is the last model. To identify a Ben, find out which of the case styles it matches. Pay particular attention to the shapes of the cases since various case colors were available in styles 2 through 10, and the dial on your clock might be different. For more exact dating, look on the movement - a date will be found on almost any Big Ben or Baby Ben made up until mid-1970's. The Big and Baby Bens up through style 9 were made in USA (and some some other countries). The style 10 is made in China.

Additional case styles that have names but not numbers are illustrated below the numbered styles. Also shown below are some relatives of the Bens: Bingo Style 1, Dura Case (LaSalle series), Clock of Tomorrow, and the Seth Thomas 'Baby Bens".

In 2001, General Time (owner of Westclox) declared bankruptcy and sold the Westclox name to Salton, Inc. Since then, the name "Big Ben" has been used on several redroduction models of clocks that were not called Big Ben in the past. These reproductions may be identified by being battery operated and made in China.

Reproductions of some of the earlier Big Ben styles are now being made in China. They are included in the detail pages for the various styles.

Numbered Styles (1 - 10)
Big Ben Style 1 and 1a Big Ben Style 1 1909 - 1918 Big Ben Style 1a 1918 - 1935 (style 1 has three screws through the front, style 1a does not)	Baby Ben with 2 Inch Movement 1910 - 1912	Baby Ben Style 1 1912 - 1930	Style 2 Big Ben and Baby Ben Nickel finish 1927 - 1932 Crackle finish 1928 - 1930 Solid finish 1930 - 1932
Style 3 (concave curves on base) Big Ben Style 3 Chime alarm 1931 - 1934 Baby Ben Style 3 1932 - 1934	Style 4 and 4a (convex curves on base) Big Ben Style 4 Chime alarm 1934 - 1939 Big Ben Style 4a Loud Alarm 1935 - 1939 Baby Ben Style 4 1934 - 1939	Style 5 and 5a Big Ben Style 5 Chime Alarm 1939 - 1949 Big Ben Style 5a Loud Alarm 1939 - 1946 Big Ben Style 5 Loud Alarm 1946 - 1949 Baby Ben Style 5 1939 - 1949 (Style 5 is thinner than style 5a)	Style 6 Big Ben and Baby Ben 1949 - 1956
Style 7 Big Ben and Baby Ben 1956 - 1964	Style 8 Big Ben: 1964 - 1981 Baby Ben: 1964 - 1980 Little Ben: 1976 - 1980+	Style 9 Big Ben and Baby Ben: 1979 - 2000	Style 10 Big Ben and Baby Ben: Starting in 2001 Made in China
Miscellaneous Big Ben and Baby Ben Styles (Not Numbered)
1931 Wood Case Electric Big Ben 1931 - 1935	1931 Bakelite Case Electric Big Ben 1931 - 1934	1948 Bakelite Case Electric Big Ben 1948 - 1952	Plastic Pedestal Base Electric Big Ben 1976 - 1980+
Futura Spherical Case 1973 - 1981	Big Ben Sculptura (Looks like style 8 on a pedestal) 1975 - 1978	Big Ben Solid State 1974 - 1978
George Kern designed the style 1 Big Ben including the case. The style 2 Ben case was designed by August Schierholtz, and Max Schlenker was responsible for the design of the base. The style 3, 5 and 6 Ben cases were designed by Henry Dreyfuss. The style 4 is a modification of style 3 and may also have been designed by Dreyfuss. The Style 7, 8 and 9 Ben cases and the Clock of Tomorrow case were designed by Ellworth Danz. Dates Stamped on Big Ben and Baby Ben Movements Dates were stamped on a movement plate of most Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks. Numbers are used for the month, day and year; or just the month and year (e.g. 5 17 15 is May 17, 1915; and 7 34 is July 1934). Baby Bens have month, day and year from the beginning through the end of 1928; just the month and year from 1929 through 1932; month, day and year from 1933 through 1944; and then just the month and year again from 1945 on. Big Ben style 1 clocks have the month, day and year stamped on the movement. Big Ben style 1a and 2 clocks have month, day and year through 1928; and just month and year from 1929 on. Big Ben Loud Alarm clocks have the month and year stamped on the movement. Big Ben Chime Alarm clocks have the month and day up through 1932; month, day and year from 1933 through World War II; and just month and year from WWII through the end of production (1956). Big Ben single key wind clocks (1956 on) have the month and year stamped on the movement. Actual transition dates I have obvserved on clocks: Baby Ben Month, Day and Year up to 12-15-28 Month and Year from 3-29 to 3-32 Month, Day and Year from 1-26-33 to 19-2-44 Month and year starting 5-45 Big Ben Style 1, 1a, 2, 4 and Loud Alarm Month, Day and Year up to 10-16-28 Month and Year starting 2-29 Big Ben Single Key Wind (styles 7 and 8) Month and Year Big Ben Chime Alarm Month and Year from 5-31 to 12-32 Month, Day and year from 1-25-33 to 12-5-41 Month and Year from 2-46 to the end (1956) Clock of Tomorrow Month and Year
Clocks Related to the Big Ben and Baby Ben
Non-luminous Dura Case series 1930 - 1934		Luminous Dura Case Series 1931 - 1934
Bingo style 1 1914 - 1925		Clock of Tomorrow 1955 - 1959 Made with white case and white dial, and black case with black dial

Seth Thomas "Baby Bens" These clocks are labeled Seth Thomas on the dial and use the same movement as the Westclox Baby Ben alarm clock. They were made from the 1930's through the 1950's. Here are some examples. For larger photos and more details, see our Seth Thomas Baby Ben web page.

Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Advertising History

See this web page for an overview of the history of the Big Ben and Baby Ben alarm clocks using original magazine advertisements starting with the September 24, 1910 Saturday Evening Post. This series of ads shows you the various styles of Bens that were made.

Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide

In 1984, my friend Richard Tjarks and I published the "Westclox Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide" to go along with the display of Westclox clocks and watches at the NAWCC National Convention in Indianapolis.

I have added recent research findings and more material to the guide, and it is available for download in PDF form. It is available free of charge, although donations are welcome! Jeff Wood and I are continuing our Westclox research. Jeff is particularly interested in early baby Ben and Big Ben history, while I am putting together information about Big Ben and Baby Ben variations.

The ID Guide may be downloaded from this page.

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