E. Howard watchmans clock

[Joedy860]

Hello all
I posted this over on the “new acquisitions” thread but I think it needs to be here.
I have an E. Howard watchmans clock but I am not sure if all watchmans clocks are No.89 or if the watchmans clock is a whole different animal.
This clock is weight driven and the weight hangs on the right side, the dial is 16” and there are bronze (brass ?) rings behind the dial that have electrical connections on them.
On the dial there are a series of holes that I believe held pins in them and as the hands came around and contacted each pin it would ring a bell somewhere in the building.
If anyone has any information about this clock I would greatly appreciate it, thank you

 

[MartinM]

Maybe a time clock?
"Watchmen's" clocks are carried by security personnel to various stations where a key is used to frank a disc or tape inside the portable clock. The clock was turned in at the end of the shift/day/week to be analyzed by management to see if the guard made their appointed destinations at the assigned times.
There was a system where the stations had key-locked switches that franked a disc in a central clock. I'm not sure what their nomenclature was.

 

[Joedy860]

Thank you Martin
This clock is definitely the latter - it was the one hanging in the office.
My question really was, has anyone ever seen the setup for sending signals (like a master clock) like this one has ?

 

[Toughtool]

This forum is the best! That's a cool looking clock. Wonder what the thing that's missing looks like that is mounted to the center mechanism. Maybe this clock punches a hole in a paper disk mounted on this thing when a key is turned at a location somewhere in the facility. Like this watchman is not carried around but is stationary and a guard makes his rounds, turning keyed switches located in different locations.

 

[D.th.munroe]

There is a pic of that watchmans part here toughtool
5th picture and farther down.
I't doesn't help for the dial stuff though havent seen anything like that
E. Howard Electric Clocks

 

[Joedy860]

D.th.munroe
A friend of mine came over yesterday and this individual is extremely knowledgeable about the history of clocks, he said that this clock was most likely custom built by
E Howard for the customer. From what I have learned this was a common practice for this company.

 

[Jmeechie]

Hi,
Yes, it’s a watchmans clock! It’s missing the paper recording disc that was marked every time a guard accused a remote checkin point. Check out E. Howard Electric Clocks like D.th.munroe said. They have a lot of info on these clocks.

 

[Toughtool]

OK, So there isn't anything missing. All you need to do is find a copy of the paper disk to make it complete. What a cool find. I suppose this is a two guard recording clock.

From what I have learned this was a common practice for this company.

Back when this clock was made a lot of companies would make what ever the customer wanted, and with a high quality product as well.

 

[Joedy860]

Hi toughtool
Personally I haven’t seen many of the watchmans clocks and have yet to see another configured this way - doesn’t mean there aren’t more out there just means I haven’t seen any, lol
I would dearly love to know what business or building the clock came out of.
E.Howard doesn’t still have sales records does it ?

 

[mxfrank]

First of all, is this really a #89? I can't tell from the photos, but it seems a bit wider and shorter than the usual 89. At one time, they sold #26 and #37 watch clocks, not sure if they consolidated everything to the 89 case later on:

https://amhistory.si.edu/media/NMAH-AC0776-07-01.pdf

And then there's this monster:

https://timesavers.com/images/F87752720.jpg

So there were clearly other styles used for this type of clock. The movement is interesting, very different from the usual E Howard movement, and nicely machined. I gather it's not self winding?

 

[Joedy860]

mxFrank
That as a very interesting question, I had “assumed” it was an 89 because of the case style and the others of this style I have seen pictures of were referred to as an 89
One of the things I was wondering about is the physical size of the clock, I have seen a number of watchman’s clocks with a smaller case and a 12” dial face, as an example this clock is advertised on EBay right now.
The clock I have has a 16” dial face and the case is 77” tall which leads me to wander if the 89 came in two sizes or is this something else ?

 

[Joedy860]

I have found a couple examples of the large and smaller versions of the clock - this is an example of the larger one comparable to the one I have.
E. Howard, Boston, Electric Watch Clock, Regulator - May 30, 2015 | Wickliff Auctioneers in IN

 

[mxfrank]

Here's a photo of my #89. It's 59"x20", with a 12" face. I see various clocks online designated as 89's, but with more ornamentation. I'm always wondering if these were optional ornaments, period variations, or misattributed model numbers.

 

[Joedy860]

That’s beautiful and I love the location.
Must admit I am even more confused now.
Your clock is a totally different case.

 

[mxfrank]

I know...odd. Here's a page from an mid-1890's catalog. The 89 was always 20 inches wide, but seems to have lost about six inches of gingerbread somewhere along the way. However, the faces were always 12".

 

[Joedy860]

Any idea where one might be able to find or gain access to E. Howard catalogs or records ?
I know, I know - remember I am new to this, lol.
Would the NAWCC have any material ?
I will check with the New England clock and watch museum in Bristol CT and see if they have anything

 

[mxfrank]

NAWCC had reprinted one or two of them, and you find the reprints on E-Bay from time to time. You might call down to the Nawcc Library in Colombia, PA and see what they have. There's an extensive collection of documents at the Smithsonian, some of which are available online:

E. Howard Clock Company Records - contents · SOVA

The catalogs I've seen are all pre-1900, which leaves out a great deal of production (I suspect my clock dates from the late teens or 20's) Remember that E Howard is still a somewhat going concern to this day, although the present iteration is very far removed from the original. The brand is owned by LaCrosse Technology in Wisconsin, and they make stuff like this:

EH-23SA E Howard Stainless Steel Atomic Watch

It's nice that the name still lives, although it's not nearly the same product.