![]() From that time on, Westclox regularly advertised in the Post, many times with a full-page ad on page one. ![]() The first of many nationwide Big Ben advertisements was carried on page 39 of the Sept. 1927, “Westclox” appeared in Roman font with a flat-top “X”, and starting ca. In 1917, the name “Westclox” started appearing on the dial above the words “Big Ben”. The registration contains the statement “The trademark has been continuously used in the business of said corporation since the Month of November, 1909.” From 1917 on the dials were consistently marked “Westclox Big Ben.” “Westclox” was registered as a trademark on January 18, 1916. 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. It was during this period that the trademark “Westclox” first appeared. After less than a year of advertising he was pronounced the biggest clock success of years. 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. LeRoy’s advertising referred to Big Ben as “he” and made the clock appear as a friend or a part of the family. was associated with cheap alarm clocks and recommended that the new clock carry the trademark “Big Ben” and not the company name. LeRoy recognized that The Western Clock Manufacturing Co. 16, 1908 proposed the name “Big Ben” for the new clock and outlined possible advertising strategies. The 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. 10, 1914, covers the removable alarm mainspring assembly. The time mainspring barrel assembly was changed again in 1913 when a new ratchet and click arrangement was implemented. To make it easier to repair the clock, the back plate was redesigned so that removable bridges held the mainsprings. In mid-1910, the dial was changed to have the familiar type of numeral.Ī significant change was made to the Big Ben movement in late 1912. 41,725 issued to Kern on August 29, 1911.īig Ben clocks made from 1908 to mid-1910 have a dial different from that usually seen. The Big Ben case is covered by design patent Des. It was also revived in 1970 for the Big Ben leg model reproduction. 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. Kern was granted patent #958,930 on for improvements to the alarm mechanism. The Big Ben movement incorporates an intermittent alarm feature that is an improved version of the “repeating” alarm described in patent #855,775 issued June 4, 1907. This patent was granted Novemas #904,333. Kern designed a new alarm clock movement, and applied for a patent on July 1, 1908. 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. movement housed in a new style case invented by Kern. The patent’s two drawings show an ordinary Western Clock Mfg. On June 9, 1908, Kern was granted patent #890,066 entitled “Alarm Clock”. ![]() 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”. Trademark #72,178 for “BIG BEN” contains the statement “The Trade-mark has been continually used in our business since Mar. 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. 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. 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. Company, was in a New York restaurant about 1905 when he overheard a stranger speaking in German. “Ernest Roth, general manager of the Western Clock Mfg. He came to the United States to avoid army conscription and found work in a New York machine shop. George Kern was born and raised in Germany and went to work at the Junghans clock factory.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |