President's Message - January 2016

KEN MCWILLIAMS - We've just said goodbye to 2015, and now we say hello to a fresh, practically unused, 2016. The world we live in is changing rapidly and not necessarily for the better. Fortunately, we do have a safe place where we can still go to relax and be among friends that share a common interest. That place is Chapter 190’s monthly meeting at Ventura College.

Our chapter begins its 10th year this month. I guess it's true, time flies when you're having fun, and for the most part, our chapter has been fun. The reason that 190 has been enjoyable is because of a very dedicated Board of Directors and general membership. We have a Board of Directors meeting at 10 AM prior to our mart and meeting the third Sunday of each month. It is open to all members, so if you would like to see how our chapter is run, come a little early and sit in. We welcome your comments and ideas.

One of the building blocks of our chapter has always been education. We hope to continue expanding Chapter 190 designed, one and two-day workshops. Lex Rooker has done a fabulous job in creating a very successful two-day workshop titled "Introduction to Antique Clock Collecting, Repair and Maintenance". While Lex has set the bar quite high, we will be looking for additional subjects and people who would like to be trained as instructors. Please see me if you have any interest or suggestions for future workshops.

We also have a free workshop prior to each meeting starting at around 11 a.m.  These are always well attended and great learning opportunities for our members. George Antinarelli has been leading these workshops for many years, with the help of a supporting cast of many clock and watch experts from our membership. George has often said that the hardest part of the workshop is coming up with topics. We have a wealth of knowledge within our chapter and he can always find experts to support whatever subject we want to examine. So members, let's help George out by giving him some ideas for the workshop. What would you like to learn about?

January, on even numbered years, also brings a changing of the guard. I will be your president for the next two years. I am succeeding George Gaglini (2014 – 2015) and Mike Schmidt, our founding president. We also have many new board members and they will be introduced to you at our January meeting.

Remember, Chapter 190 belongs to all of us and will succeed or fail, based on our support. Hope to see you all at the January meeting.

A Slight Oversight - Tales From The Bench

FERDINAND GEITNER - Round French clock movements have several different means of attachment to the dial plates. Most have plenty of space to clear all the gears and levers on the front plate of the movement. Some also have an extra plate between the movement and dial plate, especially visible escapement movements.

Rear view of the dial and additional backing plate showing
holes for center wheel, winding arbors and rack post

Recently a colleague brought in a movement he had very diligently serviced and tested on a stand. It performed flawlessly for several days, keeping good time and striking accurately. He then attached the dial and fitted it into the case.

Suddenly it would only strike one time at any position of the minute hand. Puzzled by this sudden issue, he removed the dial to determine the problem. Suddenly it struck correctly again on moving the minute hand. What could possibly be causing this?

View of the rack post and taper pin

While working on watches and clocks for almost fifty years, I’ve come across many different, initially confusing, situations.

This one was simple but also easy to miss. In the dial plate are the holes for the center wheel and holes for the winding arbors which is normal. But in this instance, on the added plate there was an extra hole close to one winding hole. Its purpose is to clear the post of the striking rack.

Close-up of the excessively long taper pin

If you look closely, you can see the pin securing the washer and the rack to the post. The problem was isolated to the pin which was a little too long in this case. When the dial was secured to the movement, it pushed one end of the pin against the rack thereby locking it. After removing the dial, it sprung back just enough to allow normal rack movement. This effect was so subtle that it was difficult to trace. After clipping both ends of the pin, it fit cleanly within the hole in the dial plate and left the rack completely free to move and count the correct hours.

Watch your pins!

Governor’s Historic Preservation Award

DAVID PEREZ - Last November, the State of California’s Office of Historic Preservation presented the prestigious Governor’s Historic Preservation Award for 2015 to those involved in the Santa Barbara Courthouse Clock Project. Mostyn Gale of NAWCC Chapter 190 spearheaded the effort with fellow chapter members to resurrect this beautiful tower clock. They were instrumental in providing the expertise and many thousands of man-hours needed to successfully accomplish this seemingly insurmountable effort to refurbish, rebuild , modify and fabricate the components and mechanisms for the rare Seth Thomas model 18 tower clock which was built and installed in 1929.

From left to right: Rodney Baker- Santa Barbara Courthouse Legacy Foundation,
Robert Ooley- Santa Barbara County Architect, Maryan Schall- Principal Financial
Support for the Bisno-Schall Clock Gallery, Mostyn Gale- Principal Clock Restorer
and Julianne Polanco- California State Preservation Officer

Reassembly was then completed after many more hours of cleaning, polishing and paint touch-up where necessary while preserving the original workmanship and finish as much as possible. Mostyn and his crew then precisely adjusted the mechanism so that it ran just as it did when new—some would argue better than new. Brian Mumford provided his digital expertise in instrumenting real-time monitoring of the clock’s performance. Philanthropists David and Fay Bisno and Richard and Maryan Schall financed the creation of the Bisno-Schall Clock Gallery in which the clock resides to make it available for public viewing.

Congratulations to all those involved. Well done!

Letter from Julianne Polanco, California State Preservation Officer to
Robert Ooley, Santa Barbara County Architect

A Look Behind the Private Label – Part 1

DAVE COATSWORTH - As many of you know, my collecting focus for the last several years has been private label watches and, specifically, those made by the Illinois Watch Company. A 'private label' is, simply put, a watch (or clock) that has the name of the retailer or distributor on the dial and/or movement instead of that of the manufacturer. (As with any simple statement like this, there are exceptions and variations which we will discuss further as we encounter examples.)

One facet of collecting private labels that is particularly enjoyable is researching the firm or individual for whom the private label watch or clock was produced. This research quite often reveals an interesting history. I will present a few of those stories here and will continue this thread in future issues as time and space permit.

The R. W. Sears Watch Company

Born in Stewartville, Minnesota in 1863, Richard Warren Sears began his working life as a telegraph operator for the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway in North Branch, Minnesota. From there, he trans- ferred to North Redwood Falls, Minnesota to become the station agent. It was at this station that he encountered a shipment of gold pocket watches that was being returned to a Chicago wholesaler after being refused by a Minnesota retailer. Sears, then 23 years old, made an arrangement with the wholesaler to sell the watches and to keep any proceeds above $12 per watch. He quickly sold the watches at $14 to other station agents along the line.
After continuing this practice for about six months, he had netted a sum of about $5,000. He quit his position with the railroad and formed the R. W. Sears Watch Company. He moved his company to Chicago in 1887 and hired a watch repairer named Alvah Curtis Roebuck to repair any watches that were being returned to the company. Roebuck was Sears' first employee and would eventually join with Sears to found Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1893.

The Rail Road Magnet watch shown on the previous page is one of a series of watches produced by the Illinois Watch Company with the R.W. Sears Watch Company name on the movement. It is an 18-size, model 2, grade 99, 11 jewel movement manufactured in 1886. These Sears watches typical- ly had blank dials. Other watches in this series are named Famous, Defiance, Timecard, Lawrence and Richard. A couple of these names are relatively scarce and collecting the entire set can be a challenge. Elgin watches with the R. W. Sears name on them have also been reported.

Sears continued to retail private label watches, made by several different manufacturers, for many years under the Sears, Roebuck and Company name. We will discuss Sears, Roebuck and Company further in a later installment.

J. Herbert Hall

Canadian born optometrist J. Herbert Hall started a small optical and jewelry store in Pasadena, California in 1899. The store was located at 43 E. Colorado St. and was a cozy 480 square feet. There he sold his first diamond ring for $22. Business took off after that as his store became known as the place to buy engagement rings, watches and china.

In 1914, Mr. Hall made a big bet on the wristwatch, stocking heavily and profiting greatly on the new trend. The store, also known as “The Tiffany of the West”, moved several times to larger and larger quarters. Mr. Hall passed away in 1951 at the age of 79, at which time his brother Walter took over. By 1960, they had moved to a new 15,000 square foot facility. Soon after Walter died in 1967, the firm was sold to Gordon Jewelers who expanded it to a 19 store chain. Today, a few stores remain in Arizona and Texas.

 18-size, grade 926, 17 jewel movement made by the Hamilton Watch Company for J. Herbert Hall’s Pasadena store

The watch shown is an 18-size, grade 926, 17 jewel movement made by the Hamilton Watch Company and sent to the finishing department on October 11, 1907. It bears the ‘Hall’s Special’ designation in addition to the typical Hamilton 926 markings. It has been recased in an Illinois Watch Case Company rolled gold plate open face case. The dial is double sunk and bears the J. Herbert Hall name. I also have in my collection a 16-size Illinois with ‘J. Hebert Hall, Pasadena’ on the dial and ‘Hall Special’ on the movement.

Bailey, Banks and Biddle Co.

On September 20, 1832, Joseph Trowbridge Bailey and Andrew B. Kitchen entered into a partner- ship to form the Bailey & Kitchen Jewelry Company at 136 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. This firm was dissolved in 1842 and a new partnership was formed under the name of Bailey and Company by Eli Westcott Bailey, Jeremiah Robbins and James Gallagher. The company moved to 819 Chestnut Street in 1859 and then to Chestnut and Twelfth in 1869. A third partnership was formed on March 1, 1878 by Joseph Trowbridge Bailey II, George Banks (of J. E. Caldwell) and Samuel Biddle (of Robbins, Clark & Biddle). The name of this new partnership was the name we know today – Bailey, Banks, and Biddle. The firm went public on March 2, 1894, adding a ‘Co.’ to the name. In 1904 they moved to a new showroom and eight floor factory at 1218-20-22 Chestnut Street.

The firm is notable for producing the current design of the Great Seal of the United States in 1904, as well as several military medals, including the Purple Heart and the Medal of Honor. They also designed class rings for West Point and Annapolis.

After expanding to over 100 stores in 31 states, Bailey, Banks and Biddle was acquired by Zale Corporation in 1961 and then by Finlay Enterprises in 2007. Finlay entered bankruptcy in 2009 and liquidated the remaining 67 Bailey, Banks and Biddle stores. In 2010, Bailey, Banks and Biddle reemerged as a private company, under the management of Smyth Jewelers, with nine stores and an online presence.

The watch shown is an American Waltham Watch Company 14-size model 1884 made in 1890. This 15 jewel, Hillside grade, non-magnetic movement bears the Bailey, Banks and Biddle name on both the dial and movement, as well as the American Standard designation on the movement. It is cased in an American Watch Company coin silver hunting case.

Truman Reeves

Truman Reeves was born in Chardon, Ohio in August of 1840. In 1858, he began a watchmaker’s apprenticeship at the firm of King and Brothers. When the Civil War began, he enlisted for the Union and attained the rank of lieutenant. He was wounded three times, the last resulting in the loss of his left arm at the battle of Cold Harbor. He was discharged in 1865 after spending seven months in the hospital.

Upon his return from the war, he served as postmaster, then as recorder for Ashtabula County, Ohio. In 1875 and in poor health, he came to California, settling in San Bernardino and reestablishing himself in the trade of watchmaker and jeweler. By the use of an ingenious device that he invented to replace his lost arm, he was said to be the only successful one armed watchmaker in the world.

During this time, he was active in Republican Party politics. In 1882, he was elected to the state legislature, representing San Bernardino County. In 1890, he was elected treasurer of San Bernardino and held that office for eight years. From 1898 to 1906, he served as California state treasurer. Truman Reeves died sometime between 1920 and 1930 according to census records. The movement shown is an 18-size, model 2, grade 100, 15 jewel movement produced by the Illinois Watch Company in 1886. It is uncased.

Biography: Walter Pickett

DAVID PEREZ - Walter Pickett was born in Port Gibson, Mississippi but grew up in the Chicago area. Shortly thereafter he joined the Air Force and was stationed here in Southern California. After the Air Force, Walter attended UC Irvine and enrolled in the Social Ecology-Criminal Justice Program from 1977 through 1980. He then started a career in sales for about 30 years. He is now working in Contract Security for Boeing Corporation in Long Beach, CA. Among his many hobbies he also enjoys the role of Assistant Basketball Coach of the Varsity Team at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, CA.

Walter has had a 20 year long interest in clocks and their repair all the while collecting them whenever he can. Clocks and vintage pocket watches are his favorite. Swap meets, garage sales and es- tate sales are especially fun and occasionally one can get a “great find” while on the hunt.

He is looking forward to retirement and Barbara, his lovely wife, encouraged him to find a local NAWCC chapter to join. Especially important, she said, was to have the ability to repair clocks to keep his hobby interests alive and well long into the future—well into retirement.

Walter has taken Barbara’s direction to heart and has completed the Chapter 190-sponsored Field Suitcase Workshops 101 and 102. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Chapter 190.

Horology Trivia

BY GIORGIO PERISSINOTTO

Time and Language or Language and Time
There is no question that we have segmented our existence into measurable units. Minutes or millennia, seconds or decades, hours or centuries. And the everyday language reflects this in at times surprising ways.

The word “time” seems to be at the center of it. Many languages have a word like “time”: tempo, tiempo, temps, etc. which come from a Proto-Indo-European TEMP meaning “stretch”, though experts suggest also “cut” as in “divide.” They all make sense.

“I’ll clean your clock” –a common expression heard in the United Kingdom–does not mean that you will take your timepiece to Ferdinand. It means that you will receive a good licking. The explanation is that the blow will be to the face, the dial of a clock.

The practice of saying “o’clock” is simply a remnant of simpler times when clocks weren’t very prevalent and people told time by a variety of means, depending on where they were and what references were available.

Generally, of course, the sun was used as a reference point, with solar time being slightly different than clock time. Clocks divide the time evenly, whereas, by solar time, hour lengths vary somewhat based on a variety of factors, like what season it is.

Thus, to distinguish the fact that one was referencing a clock’s time, rather than something like a sundial, as early as the fourteenth century one would say something like, “It is six of the clock,” which later got slurred down to “six o’clock” sometime around the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries. In those centuries, it was also somewhat common to just drop the “o” altogether and just say something like “six clock.”

Strike and Chime
A striking clock marks the hours, the half hours and sometimes the quarters. A chiming clock marks the segments by playing a melody. The melody that the vast majority of grandfather clocks use for their chimes is Westminster Quarters. This little tune of four notes is thought to have been borrowed/inspired by Handel’s Messiah during the 5th and 6th measures of “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth.” As to the person who first put this little ditty in a clock, Dr. Joseph Jowett was hired to make the tune, possibly with the help of Professor of Music, Dr. John Randall and/or one of Jowett’s students, William Crotch.

Whatever the case, the piece of music was written in 1793 for the St. Mary the Great clock at the University Church in Cambridge. It was later adopted for the “Big Ben” clock at the Palace of Westminster, which is what spawned its widespread popularity. It may not be superfluous to again remind us that Big Ben refers to the bell and not to the clock itself.

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England showing
the time ball above the tower (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

A time ball or timeball is an obsolete time-signaling device. It consists of a large, painted wooden or metal ball that is dropped at a predetermined time, principally to enable navigators aboard ships offshore to verify the setting of their marine chronometers. Accurate timekeeping is essential to the determination of longitude at sea.

Although the use of time balls has been replaced by electronic time signals, some time balls have remained operational as historical tourist attractions.

The US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC
(photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

But the word “time” is also used to signal large and unspecified segments of the human existence. Consider “It is time to leave,” which indeed can be accompanied by a quick glance at your time piece, and compare it to "These are the times that try men's souls," a simple quotation from Founding Father Thomas Paine's The American Crisis which describes the beginnings of the American Revolution, a much larger time segment. Or consider Medieval Times, or, for perhaps the vaguest of them all “Time is of the essence”.

And to conclude with a timely question: What's the difference between “It is time to do something” and “It is a time to do something”?

Time for me to go.

(From a variety of sources)

Highlights of November's Meeting

Dave demonstrating the need to support the
chimes at precisely 22.4% of the overall length
to ensure undamped resonance

DAVID PEREZ - Dave Weisbart was gracious enough to bring his skeleton clock to the meeting to discuss how he was inspired to build such a strikingly beautiful and unique time piece. His masterpiece won first place in the Class 5— Experimental Timepiece Designs and the People’s Choice Award at the 2015 Crafts Competition at the 71st Annual National Convention in Chattanooga, TN.

His idea for the clock came from a set of Energy Chimes. The chimes consisted of 3 metallic rods of particular lengths mounted to a common wooden platform. The exact lengths dictate the resonant frequency produced. When designed properly, these three metallic rods produce a lovely harmonic sound.

Exceedingly important to his design was that these rods must be suspended at exactly 22.4% of the length from each end. This ensures that the rods can vibrate at their resonant frequencies without being damped. If they were suspended incorrectly, the rods would simply make a “thud” when struck—not very pleasing to the ear to say the least.

Dave’s beautifully conceived and executed timepiece.

For those of you who are familiar with the piano, felt dampers are utilized to stop the strings’ vibrations when lifting one’s finger from the key. This prevents notes from blending into subsequent notes or measures. Dave’s term for this is articulation. He designed dampers to articulate the sounds of the chimes at precisely the right time so as to prevent this from happening.

For the chime, Dave wanted to use a musical piece that would fully utilize all 14 chime rods and emphasize the articulation capabilities of his clock. After much research, he settled on a piece by F.J. Haydn titled “Haydn in Plain Sight”.

Dave activated the chimes at the end of his presentation. The music from his masterpiece was truly impressive.