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Style 1 and Style 1a Big Ben Alarm Clock HIstory
Style 1 and 1a Big Ben Models and VariationsNote: There are many variations in the patent dates stamped on the backs of these clocks. The Big Ben style 1 has some particularly interesting logos on their backs. I plan to illustrate them.
Model Introduction SummaryTooling was being made for the Big Ben alarm clock by 1908, the first Big Bens were sold in 1909, and they were first nationally advertised in the Sept. 24, 1910 Saturday Evening Post. Gaston LeRoy's report to the Westclox board of directors in 1908 outlines his proposed advertising campaign for the Big Ben. Sales figures for the first years of the Big Ben and Baby Ben
Trademark registrations pertaining to Baby Ben
We have never seen a clock marked "Little Ben" (except for a much later clock made in the 1970's). A pocket watch labeled "Little Ben" dated 1914 has been reported, and perhaps the "LITTLE BEN" trademark in the above table refers to that watch. Historical NarrativeBig Ben Style 11909 to 1918 George Kern was born and raised in Germany and went to work at the Junghans clock factory. He came to the United States to avoid army conscription and found work in a New York machine shop. “Ernest Roth, general manager of the Western Clock Mfg. Company, was in a New York restaurant about 1905 when he overheard a stranger speaking in German. Able to understand, Roth began a friendly conversation with Kern that resulted in Kern being hired to head the clock works’ old experimental department, called the ‘model shop.’ His first order: Design a dependable and sturdy alarm clock. “Kern went to work on it. Everyone agrees, including Ernest Roth, son of the senior Roth, that Kern deserves complete credit for the invention of the clock that was to make the company phenomenally successful. The new clock was named Big Ben.” Tooling was being made for the Big Ben alarm clock by the first quarter of 1908, the first Big Bens were sold in 1909, and they were first nationally advertised in the Sept. 24, 1910 Saturday Evening Post. U.S. Trademark #72,178 for “BIG BEN” contains the statement “The Trade-mark has been continually used in our business since Mar. 16, 1908.” That is the date of Gaston LeRoy’s advertising department report in which he proposed the name “Big Ben”, as discussed in the following section, “Big Ben Advertising and Promotion”. On June 9, 1908, Kern was granted patent #890,066 entitled “Alarm
Clock”. The patent’s two drawings show an ordinary Western Clock
Mfg. Co. movement housed in a new style case invented by Kern. The significant
feature of this case is the large bell-back which completely envelopes the
inner case back and is an integral part of the case, while on other early
bell-back alarm clocks the bell was placed there almost as an afterthought. Kern was granted patent #958,930 on May 10, 1910 for improvements to the alarm mechanism. With several major and many minor changes this movement was used in the Big Ben leg model alarm clock from 1908 to 1935, and in the Big Ben Loud Alarm from 1935 to 1956. It was also revived in 1970 for the Big Ben leg model reproduction. The Big Ben case is covered by design patent Des. 41,725 issued to Kern on August 29, 1911. Big Ben clocks made from 1908 to mid-1910 have a dial different from that usually seen. In mid-1910, the dial was changed to have the familiar type of numeral. A significant change was made to the Big Ben movement in late 1912. To make it easier to repair the clock, the back plate was redesigned so that removable bridges held the mainsprings. The time mainspring barrel assembly was changed again in 1913 when a new ratchet and click arrangement was implemented. Kern’s patent #1,086,719 issued February 10, 1914, covers the removable alarm mainspring assembly. Big Ben Advertising and PromotionThe success of the Big Ben was due not only to steadily improving construction but also to the unique advertising campaign carried out by advertising manager Gaston LeRoy. LeRoy’s advertising report dated Mar. 16, 1908 proposed the name “Big Ben” for the new clock and outlined possible advertising strategies. LeRoy recognized that The Western Clock Manufacturing Co. was associated with cheap alarm clocks and recommended that the new clock carry the trademark “Big Ben” and not the company name. LeRoy’s advertising referred to Big Ben as “he” and made the clock appear as a friend or a part of the family. A Western Clock Co. advertising booklet from 1912 states the following: “Big Ben was on the market a year before he was advertised and dealers then said he could not succeed. After less than a year of advertising he was pronounced the biggest clock success of years. He is known wherever people live.” It was during this period that the trademark “Westclox” first appeared. It was used on the backs of Big Bens from 1910 through 1917, and at the bottoms of a few dials as early as 1911. From 1917 on the dials were consistently marked “Westclox Big Ben.” “Westclox” was registered as a trademark on January 18, 1916. The registration contains the statement “The trademark has been continuously used in the business of said corporation since the Month of November, 1909.” In 1917, the name “Westclox” started appearing on the dial above the words “Big Ben”. From 1917 to ca. 1922, “Westclox” was in italics; from ca. 1923 – ca. 1927, “Westclox” appeared in Roman font with a flat-top “X”, and starting ca. 1928 the “Westclox” had a loop-top “X”. The first of many nationwide Big Ben advertisements was carried on page 39 of the Sept. 24, 1910 Saturday Evening Post. From that time on, Westclox regularly advertised in the Post, many times with a full-page ad on page one. Westclox advertisements also appeared in Good Housekeeping, McCall’s, Delineator, Pictorial Review, Collier’s, The American Magazine, The Farm Journal, The Literary Digest, and other publications. The advertising campaign certainly proved successful. In January of 1911 only 7,000 jewelers were selling Big Ben, but by March of 1914, 20,000 jewelers were selling Big Ben with 3.5 million sold. Big Ben continued to sell very well and 40 million had been made by 1956. The first Big Bens had “MADE IN U.S.A.” stamped on the lower left of the back. In 1910 a circular logo with “MADE BY WESTCLOX, LA SALLE, ILL, U.S.A.” was used. From 1911 to 1914 the same words (without the circle) were placed at the bottom of the back, partially obscured by the rear leg. In addition, clocks made for the U.S. market from 1911 to 1913 have a circular logo stating “PAT’S INFRINGED IF RESOLD UNDER $2.50”, “REG U.S. PAT. OFF”, “BIG BEN”. Westclox was enforcing a retail price of $2.50 for BIG BEN at this time. A sales pamphlet states: “BIG BEN is a handsome, well built, refined and bright looking fellow with a clean-cut open face and a deep cheerful voice—a well-dressed, steady and punctual chap, up to the minute and always on the job. “Works 36 hours at a stretch, runs overtime when needed—guarantees to wish you a good morning when you want and either way you want—continuously for eight minutes, intermittently for fifteen. “Kind of p’ticular and very exclusive. Works only for jewelers and then only for certain jewelers—those that agree to sell him for at least $2.50. Will never work again for those that break their pledge. “Big Ben is without exception the finest sleepmeter made—the best looking, the best built, the best running—he is handled by the best dealers, under the best policy, at the best profit. “Big Ben always comes to you straight from home, LaSalle, Illinois—but he only comes upon receipt of signed price agreement. We pay his railroad fare on all orders for a dozen or more, we brand him with your name in lots of 24.” The wholesale price of BIG BEN in 1911 – 1912 was $1.50 each. In
case lots of 24, BIG BEN was $1.45 including freight and dealer name imprinting
on the dial. Big Ben Style 1a1918 to 1935 In 1918 the Big Ben case was improved to make it dustproof, as described in patent #1,300,278 issued to Kern on April 15, 1919. This dustproofing is accomplished by fittings around the set knobs and winding keys and on the regulator. The style 1a can be distinguished from style 1 in several ways:
The movement was changed for style 1a so that the mounting nuts were on the back. The movement was mounted to the inner case back. George Kern died on July 27, 1918 from a ruptured appendix, but his basic clock design lived on for years. About 1919 the luminous dial using radium paint was introduced. From that
time on, Baby Bens first and then Big Bens were available with either the
plain or luminous dial. Big Ben style 1a continued in production until its
discontinuation in 1935. The movement was then used with minor changes in
Loud Alarm models until 1956. Style 1a Big Ben Reproductions1970 Westclox made an excellent, almost exact, reproduction of the style 1a Big Ben in 1970. Most are in nickel finish cases, but some were made in gold plated cases. 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 were sold in a very attractive hexagonal box which has pictures of antique items on the sides (tricycle, telephone, carriage, etc.) The movement is a windup almost identical to the original. ReferencesSales figures: "Westclox Annual Sales Statistics Ledger", Collection 116, Box 28, held by the the Regional History Center at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. Information about the Baby Ben with two inch movement, and information about tooling up for Big Ben and Baby Ben production: "Westclox Department Reports, 1904 - 1922", Collection 116, Box 7, Files 3 - 14, held by the Regional History Center at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. Jeffrey R. Wood, personal correspondence. Jeff is gathering detailed information about variations of early Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks. Westclox, An Identification and Price Guide, Gary Biolchini, Schiffer Publishing, 2003. Big Ben and Baby Ben Identification Guide, by Richard Tjarks and Bill Stoddard. |
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| Westclox and Big Ben are registered trademarks of Salton, Inc. ClockHistory.com is concerned with the history of clocks and watches, and is not affiliated with the manufacturers of new products. | |||
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