Info on watchmaker Ross Larrabee; Macon, MO

[JLarrabee]

I was wondering if anyone had any info on a Watch Maker, Ross Larrabee from Macon, Mo. There have been several of his watches on Ebay; I bought one, I think he may be a distant relative so I would like to know more info on him and his watches. Thanks, Jon Larrabee

[JLarrabee]

I was wondering if anyone had any info on a Watch Maker, Ross Larrabee from Macon, Mo. There have been several of his watches on Ebay; I bought one, I think he may be a distant relative so I would like to know more info on him and his watches. Thanks, Jon Larrabee

[Kent]

Hi Jon:

Welcome to the NAWCC Pocket Watch Message Board!

Your watch sounds like a 'private label,' or 'contract,' watch. Just about all the watch companies, including the Swiss firms, would mark both the watch movements and/or the dials in just about any manner for any customer who wished to pay for the service. I don't have any exact references for the costs, but I've heard (read?) that, for some companies, if five or more watches were ordered, there was no charge for marking the movements. Special dials were said to cost 25 or 50 cents each. Some watch manufacturers were more liberal. Private label watches were contracted for by a large range of companies, from Sears, Roebuck down to the smaller jewelers in the little towns. The Illinois Watch Co. probably produced the largest number of private label watches, a number of which, mostly those with names associated with railroads, are considered to be highly collectable.

It would be helpful if you could post a picture of the movement (the "works"), the clearer and sharper, the better. We may be able to identify it by the shape of the plates. In trying to open the watch, you might find the information in "How To Open A Pocket Watch Case", or Opening the Case useful.

For an open-face, screw back & bezel cased watch you can get good results by placing the movement on a flatbed scanner. A hunting-case movement, or an open-face movement in a hinged case would have to be removed from the case for this to work. Otherwise, it’ll have to be a digital camera, or a scan of a photograph.

Larry Jones has written up a useful article on Image Posting, which may be helpful.

Currently, Tom Chaudoir, the NAWCC Message Board Administrator, is recommending that those who do not have web space in which to post pictures register for a free account at flickr.com. This may now open a Yahoo page, but it will still let you register to post pictures. Their menu-driven procedure for loading pictures is about as easy as it gets. After you enlarge the picture, using flickr's magnifying glass icon (the magnifying glass icon appears in a toolbar above the loaded & saved picture once you've clicked on the picture), scroll down below the picture to find the field labeled "1. Grab the photo's URL:" The link in that field is the one to post on the NAWCC Pocket Watch Message Board. Vic Rose has posted an excellent old ref:escription on How to Post a Picture on the NAWCC Clock Message Board.

Its also helpful if you can post all the markings that are on the movement (the "works") in case they can't be seen in the picture(s).

Good luck,

[Wes]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Ross Larrabee </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

FWIW, I found this Private Label Waltham on eBay, labeled "Ross Larrabee, Macom, MO"
Certainly from the same store in Macom...

Here is another, possibly a Private Label Hamilton, supposedly with some relation to Larrabee, but the photos are not loading.

[JLarrabee]

Thanks Wes, I bought the Hamilton off ebay and that is want started the whole inquiry. As the description says it is a simple lever set size 18 Hamilton. The case is not origional and housed another movement at one time due to markings from other mounting screws. As for the second watch I have been in contact with the seller but I wanted to know if these two watches were real and not some misc parts assembled. I have been collecting watches since I was 12, and I have never seen a Larrabee. Now two! (I really started watches at age 7 when I got a Baby Ben for Christmas, that I promptly dismantled, put back together and it ran!) Doing a little research, there was a Ross Larrabee in Macon, Mo who was 12 in the 1880 census; Could this be the maker/assembler? I'll pull out the books later and date the serial number. If anyone has info on Ross Larrabee, history of his company, and Private Label watches, I'd love to hear from you. Jon Larrabee

[Wes]

Technically, the private label watches were not made by the jeweler/jobber or person whose name is on it. They were made by the factory with the jeweler/jobber marked dial and/or movement. The jeweler/jobber would normally just fit the watch movement to a case and put a price tag on it.