The Bytown Times

VOLUME 39 NO. 5 NOVEMBER 24, 2019 ISSN 1712—2799 SEPTERMBER MEETING HIGHLIGHTS INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Forty members and guests arrived for the September club September Meeting Highlights 1-3 meeting, despite the beautiful Fall weather! September Meeting Photos 4

Feature Presentation Montreal Horological Mart & sale 5 Gary Fox gave the feature presentation titled A Brief History Clock Museum News 6-10 of the Elgin Watchmakers’ College. According to Gary’s research, the Elgin National Watch Company threw open the Antiquarian Book Show 10 doors to its new school for watchmakers in January 1922, in a Carp Fair 11 building designed solely for that purpose. It was strategically placed just down the road from the factory on Grove Street in Fall Clock Repair Course 12 Elgin, Illinois. Unlike schools run by Waltham and other watch Editor’s Corner 12 manufacturers, this school was intended to teach watch repair to individuals who would ply their trade servicing customers’ President’s Corner 12 watches. It was not to develop workers for the factory.

But why do that? The Elgin Watch company was in the business of making watches, not teaching repair. There were a number of prov- en schools al- ready filling that need. On top of that, watchmaker schools were per- The Elgin Watchmakers’ College ennial money los- was very close to the Factory ers. On the other hand, there was an established shortage of qualified watch repairers in the USA and abroad. Apprenticeships were not meeting the need whereas well-equipped schools with knowledgeable teachers seemed to be the answer. Elgin was a profitable business Gary Fox presenting some of his research and could afford the cost. Then too, as Gary pointed out, into the Elgin Watchmakers’ College there was a distinct business advantage to having a cadre of trained watchmakers fanning out across the country with fond Our next meeting…. memories of their time at the Elgin school! Just whose watches would they recommend to their clients?!? Pinecrest Recreation Centre 2250 Torquay Ave, It is a little-known fact that the school’s first Director and Pres- Ottawa, ON ident was NOT William Samelius, but rather Henry Playtner, 1:00 PM, November 24, 2019 who had owned and operated the successful Canadian Horo- logical Institute (CHI) for 23 years. Samelius was hired as an ********* Colchester Clock and Watchmakers Assistant Director about fourteen months after the school had 1710-1850; Provincial Clockmaking opened. in The Oldest Town in England Robert St. Louis The school program saw many changes over its thirty-eight years of operation. Playtner’s program was very similar to ********* that at the CHI, except that he expected a student with no ex- Show and Tell perience to stay for three full years. Cont’d P. 2 Anything Horological

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CHAPTER OFFICERS

President : Auditor: Don Purchase [email protected] Jean Paul Tourigny

Vice President: Immediate Past President: Kevin West [email protected] Daniel Burgoyne

Editor ByTown Times Treasurer: Gary Fox [email protected] Ray Springer

Secretary Education & Workshop Chairman: Paul Sonnichsen [email protected]

SEPTEMBER MEETING HIGHLIGHTS (CONT’D)

From P. 1 Playtner’s course continued to encourage students to make a watch to demonstrate their skill and the quality of the program. When Playtner retired and William Samelius became Director in the fall of 1923, he retained much of Playtner’s program. Students continued to make watches, with over seventy produced, along with numerous escapement models and clocks. Interestingly, the watches all appear to have been made from ebauches from the Elgin factory—none from the raw metal as Playtner had encouraged at the CHI.

In the later part of the 1930’s, the scope of the program was gradually reduced. Watches William Samelius were no longer made and students took shorter courses, aligned with the exams of the Horo- Circa 1924 logical Institute of America. After a year, the students were able to pass the exams and qualify as a Junior Watchmaker. After two years, they could qualify as a Certified Master Watchmaker.

The war years saw the College deeply involved in support of the Ordinance Corps. Approximately five hun- dred Ordinance Corps personnel took one of the two courses offered. The program was designed to support specific watch repair functions by the troops, but the students were not trained to be qualified as a Junior Watchmaker. The courses were designed to teach the students specific and simple repairs. Serious watch and clock damage still had to be done by a trained watchmaker.

Post WW II, the regular school program was shortened further. With watch manufacturers making supplies of replacement parts available for repairs, much of the skill needed by earlier watch repairers was no longer necessary.

Gary’s presentation, provided biographical sketches of William Samelius and Raymond Soucie, who took over the school when Samelius retired in 1952 at the age of 80! Soucie made more changes to the program, formalizing the curriculum and publishing course material. Students could complete the course in 14 to 18 months depending on their skill.

Many notable students were trained at the school. Gary mentioned three as examples: • Tsunekichi Saito, an experienced watchmaker of Japanese origin came to the school and graduated after making a watch in 1924. He returned to Japan and opened his own very successful school for watchmakers. Ray Soucie Circa 1954 • James Thomas Jr. graduated in 1926 after making a watch which apparently was in the top ten watches rated by the Bureau of Standards in Washington. Thomas went on to divorce his wife and murder his girlfriend in 1934! He was sentenced to prison but returned to a useful life when his sentence was commuted in 1937! • Archie Perkins, well known for his three volume set of books on Antique Watch Restoration, graduated from the school in 1946 and went on to become a Certified Master Watchmaker and a Fellow of the American Watchmakers and Clockmakers Institute.

The school closed in 1960. State based schools were drawing in more students every year so enrollment was down.

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SEPTEMBER MEETING HIGHLIGHTS (CONT’D)

There was a lively discussion upon the completion of Gary’s presentation. He is currently writing a book about the college, a follow up to his book on Playtner and the Canadian Horological Institute.

1923 Class Photo: Playtner is on the left and Saito is second from the right T. Saito and his watch

Show and Tell Don Purchase kicked off the Show and Tell with a wooden works clock movement where the plates have been replaced with plexiglass, there- by showing all the wheels. The clock is intended for display to the public, showing the working parts of an antique wooden works movement. As an interesting detail, the clock has a replaced tooth on one wheel! The display was created by a team of Don, Paul Sonnichsen, Daniel Burgoyne, Paul Devey and Gary Fox. It was shown at the Carp Fair where it created a lot of interest.

Kevin West next displayed the movement from a Sanga- mo electric mantel clock that he is restoring. The Sanga- mo clock was developed with the support of the Bunn family, owners of the Illinois Watch Company. Illinois made the mechanical parts while the electric components were made by the Sangamo Electric Company. The movement, made circa 1927, was very high quality—the clock cost about $140 at the time. The movement was wound by the electric motor, and it could operate for 24 hours without power.

Bernie Murphy came next with a clock which he made for his grandchildren—one for each. The movement was battery powered, but the dial was laser engraved using the cutter at the Ottawa Public Library. The background cross hatching took 30 minutes on the laser cutter to complete. Bernie noted that he used the Inkscape software to create the clock dial. He said that the Help function was critical to his success! He noted that the laser cutter is heavily used and you should book time slots one month in advance but check for cancelations!

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SEPTEMBER MEETING PHOTOS

A warm welcome to Paul and Sean Byron Zahi Mueller brought this Always great to see J.P. and Lucie Tourigny who visited us at our September meeting. interesting electric clock Past President. enjoying a moment at The Byron’s were the guests of Nick Sidor with automata for display Daniel Burgoyne the meeting

It was great to see so many friendly faces! From the left: Bernie Murphy, Paul Devey, Jan Selles, Corrie Pyl, Marc Vanasse and Erin Fox

It was also great to see: From the left: Kevin West, Paul Devey, Bill Jarvis, Jordan Renaud, Robert Lamothe and Past President, Maynard Dokken

Page 5 V 39 N . 5 N 24, 2019 OLUME O OVEMBER

MONTREAL HOROLOGICAL MART AND SALE

It was a dark and stormy night… well the whole day was too! Nonetheless, the intrepid band of Maynard Dokken, Kevin West and Gary Fox, drove to Montreal on Sunday October 27 to participate in the Montreal Chapters’ Annual Horological Mart and Sale. The three of us filled a table with clocks, watches, tools and ephemera but spent most of our time circulating the other tables in search of goodies to bring home. The rain seemed to have kept some of the dealers and many buyers away which was good for the few of us with funds to buy the aforementioned goodies and sad for the sellers! Regardless, we did sell about $200 worth, which made the day worthwhile. While there, we saw fellow Ottawa members, Laurent Bernier and Michel Menard. Check the photos to see some of the items for sale! And have a look at the old English watch in a wood case that Laurent Bernier was showing!

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CLOCK MUSEUM NEWS

Harry Snider’s Many Unique 1950s Clock Designs

Harry Snider’s first clock company, the Snider Clock Corporation, was set up in Toronto around 1950 at 229 Yonge Street. The business name was changed in 1957 to the Snider Clock Mfg. Co. Ltd, for tax reasons.

The Snider companies were ‘designers and assemblers’. Several Toronto area businesses made the various components based on Harry’s designs. These were then assembled in the Snider factory that was located upstairs in a two-story building at 466 Bathurst Street in Toronto from about 1953 to the mid 1960s.

Older museum visitors remember two classic 1950s colours for various home items: pink and turquoise. These were used often by Harry for many different models. By the early 1960s, the focus of Harry and his younger son, Michael, who joined the family business in 1962, had changed to just wall models.

The full story about the twenty-seven year reign of The House of Snider can be found online in the Communi- ty Memories section of the Virtual Museum of Canada. The museum gratefully acknowledges a 2007 grant from Heritage Canada, and very detailed input from Michael Snider, for completion of that project.

Below from the museum’s vast collection of Snider clocks is a cross section of the many unique designs created by Harry Snider in the 1950s. Look for the script name Snider on the dial. The model number is often found in ink stamped on the back. The museum does not yet have a company catalogue from that decade, so the occasional discovery online or in an antiques shop of an unknown-to-me 1950s model is still exciting. That most recently happened in late October!

Alarm Clocks: The windup movements appear to be from the Ingraham company, based on the shape of the winding keys (not Westclox). These were likely sourced from the Ingraham Canadian factory also in To- ronto at that time. The boudoir model is found with blue and pink cases, and also with an 8-day time only movement.

Ceramic-cased boudoir Ship’s wheel wind up Cast metal cowboy wind up alarm clock alarm clock alarm clock

Desk / Shelf Clocks: These models could be placed on a desk or shelf.

Ceramic children Wood-cased electric Brass-plated rods wind up clock fireplace clock electric desk clock

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CLOCK MUSEUM NEWS (CONT’D)

Metal Wall Clocks: There were many models, including the Snider ‘Spider’, that were available with black, white, brown, pink, and turquoise finish. Nine are shown here. Many model numbers are currently unknown.

‘Spider’ model, Pink metal ‘popsicle ‘Model 900, black version turquoise version sticks’ design

Metal cups markers, Model 1700, brown version ‘Model 600, black version white version

Tapered wood tips, ‘Double metal dome, brass / white white version ‘Brass half rings, turquoise version

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CLOCK MUSEUM NEWS (CONT’D)

‘Basket’ Clocks: According to Michael Snider, these were introduced in 1955-56. The metal wire cages were brass plated. The dials varied from glass-covered to painted metal, including turquoise.

Dome ‘basket’ wall clock, Square ‘basket’ wall clock Model 800 ‘basket’ wall / desk clock black version

Horses and Boats with Clocks: Many of the Snider cast-metal horse and horseshoe clocks turn up for sale today. Chrome, brass, and copper-plated finishes were used. Both wood and metal bases are found. I sometimes wonder if there was a connection with the many popular cowboys and Indians programs on television during that decade.

Harry Snider made at least three versions of a ‘boat’ clock with chrome-plated sheet metal sails. All used an electric motor movement from Lanshire in the United States. Some also had cabin lights with an on/off switch. Occasionally an example of a sailing ship is found with the original factory rigging still in place.

Electric sailboat clock Rigged sailing ship clock (two lights) (with cabin light) Electric sailing ship clock (no lights)

A Telephone (not really) Lamp Clock: This strange model (See P.9) has three features in one design. The lamp and the clock are obvious. But this is not a functioning telephone – in the handset is a pushbutton ciga- rette lighter! The serious health hazards related to smoking tobacco had not yet been confirmed by the late 1950s when Harry brought this unusual model to market.

The museum has two complete examples: white with a black speckle (shown on Page 9) and light green with a black speckle. It also has a bright red telephone with white speckle that is missing its lamp shade. The chances of ever finding the matching shade are minimal!

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CLOCK MUSEUM NEWS (CONT’D)

Three-function lamp clock Golden Goddess with windup Electric ‘gold’-plated horse / horseshoe clock on wood base (not a working telephone) movement, wood base

The Golden Goddess (above): This mid 1950s molded nude model looks as if it dates to the 1920s-30s. It is found with both an 8-day windup movement and also with an electric motor whose power cord detracts from its classic design.

Ceramic Wall Clocks: Three colourful models with hand-painted ceramic cases are known, two with a windup movement. Several colours of the birdhouse design seem to be the most common one of these found today.

Ceramic birdhouse Ceramic baker Ceramic birdbath electric wall clock windup wall clock windup wall clock

TV Lamp Clocks: Television lamps were very popular in the early days of dim black and white television sets. The TV buyer was often convinced to add one, typically a cast ceramic animal with a low wattage light bulb behind to ease the strain on the TV viewer’s eyes. Those ‘retro’ TV lamps are very collectible today. Being a designer of clocks, Harry Snider included a clock in his TV lamps. Both cast ceramic animal and sheet metal versions were produced. His 503, 504, and 505 model designs were registered in 1957; details are available online at the Canadian design patents web site. There were also several models of ceramic animal clocks without a lamp. Cont’d P. 10

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CLOCK MUSEUM NEWS (CONT’D)

From P. 9

TV Lamp Clocks (Cont’d)

Black panthers Brown horse Pale green panther windup clock ceramic TV lamp clock ceramic TV lamp clock

Model 503 electric TV lamp clock, Model 504 electric TV lamp clock, Model 505 electric TV lamp clock, turquoise version (five colours) black version, light switch on back brown version, tripod legs

Allan Symons, Curator The Canadian Clock Museum

ANTIQUARIAN BOOK SHOW

Erin and I have been attending the Antiquarian Book Show in Ottawa for years. This year, the organizers were celebrating their 39th annual show and nothing could keep us away! Better yet, the organizers kindly set us up with a free “new authors” table so that we could put my Hen- ry Playtner book on sale. I didn’t expect any sales, because this is not an antique book, but nonetheless, we met a lot of friendly folk who were interested in the display AND, we sold a couple of copies!

Sadly, the show attracted fewer tables this year and fewer buyers, most of whom were closer to my age than Erin’s. We are fortunate that our clock and watch club has been able to attract many younger people who are interested and ac- tive members! Gary Fox

Page 11 VOLUME 39 NO. 5 NOVEMBER 24, 2019 CARP FAIR

The Club hosted a promotional booth at the Carp Fair late in September. The booth was an experiment as the executive didn’t know how effective Community Fairs would be at spreading the word about our Club. The Fair ran for four days, September 26 – 29, and turned out to be a great success. The booth was attend- ed by (in alphabetic order): Maynard Dokken, Don Purchase, Jan Selles, Paul Sonnichsen and Kevin West. Thanks to these gentlemen for their participation. The weather cooperated for the most part and, interestingly enough, the most interest was experienced on the rainy day!

The booth displayed a number of historical clocks as well as novelty clocks and laser-created clocks. These attracted a great amount of attention from passers by and a lot of comments were made. Some visitor comments recalled having clocks, like the ones on display, in their family homes. Others were whether or not the Club repairs clocks. Our standard response to this question was to forward any request to Paul Sonnichsen who will then circulate the request to the club membership for anyone interested in the repair job.

Another interesting response was that folks had watches, mantle clocks and tall case clocks that they had inherited but didn’t want anymore and wanted to donate them to the Club! Our standard response was for them to take a Club business card and e-mail us the details of the item(s) for donation. What ever was donated would be auctioned off within the Club at our January meeting, with all funds going to support Club activities such as guest speakers. To-date we’ve had one tall case clock donated I expect our web site and Fa- cebook site will list this and any other items donated and available for auction in January. Who would have thought the booth would turn out to be a great fund raiser for our Club, and people are happy that the time pieces they donate are going to people who would appreciate them.

Five new Club members were attracted by the booth and all were keen to participate in the Club training ses- sion this Fall. I would like to welcome: Brian & Carol Bean, Patricia McElroy, Bill Helmer, Doug Griffith and Paul Champron-Domers to the Club.

In addition, 15 contact e-mails were obtained of other people interested in the Club but didn’t want to join up at the Fair. We look forward to possibly of seeing them at our November meeting. If anyone sees unfamiliar people at our November meeting, please take the time to introduce yourself and answer any questions they may have.

Finally, congratulations to Bill Helmer, who won the booth’s door prize, a free pass to the Clubs Fall training course.

Kevin West, Don Purchase and Paul There was little time to pull a booth Maynard Dokken pulls the winning Sonnichsen at the booth together , but Don made it look easy! name for the door prize

THE BYTOWN TIMES Page 12 FALL CLOCK REPAIR COURSE

The Club provided a four day training course this Fall, over October 6, 20, November 3 and 10. We had 12 students participating in the introductory course, including one student (Bill Helmer) who won free attendance as part of the Carp Fair door prize! A big thanks goes out to Dan Hudon, whose past training expertise and material contributed greatly to this year’s course. You left big shoes to fill and are greatly missed!! Finally I’d like to thank the family of Bill Pullen for providing many tools for the course, from Bill’s estate.

The course was held at our regular meeting location and addressed topics such as: clock parts, part names, tools needed for taking clock apart; part inspection and cleaning; typical repairs required, tools required for repairs; clock re-assembly and diagnostics.

A big thanks to our trainers (in alphabetical order): Daniel Burgoyne, Tom Clifford, Don Purchase, Paul Son- nichsen, and Kevin West for your support.

Don Purchase

EDITOR’S CORNER PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Far be it from me to gloat, but we have one heck of a great club! Look at the activities we had since Sep- All I want for Christmas are tember! There was our first meeting of the Fall sea- more clock repair skills! son; then Don Purchase and a number of our mem- Just because I’m the Presi- bers pulled together a booth (like magicians pulling a dent of our Club doesn’t rabbit out of a hat) for the Carp Fair, and finally; the mean (obviously) I’m an ex- new clock repair course started in October! On top pert on clock repair. I’ve of all this, the Annual Wine and Cheese party is on benefitted from past training schedule for November 16! There are even rumours courses provided by Dan that a course will be held in the spring on wood Hudon, seen expert Club works clock repair! It is amazing and gratifying that meeting presentations, and so many members of the club are becoming actively talked to Club members involved AND that most of them aren’t “grey beards” about repairs. But it never like yours truly! (Check the story on the Antiquarian fails to amaze me how some clocks can be taken Book Show!) apart, cleaned, repairs made, and put back together (with no left-over parts) and they work. While others This issue of your newsletter owes much to our regu- defy all logic and refuse to work. What am I missing? lar and new contributors for their stories and photo- I’ve filed, burnished, measured and diagnosed, but to graphs: Allan Symons, Don Purchase and Erin Fox. no avail. I can only conclude that some time pieces Nevertheless, I am always looking for an interesting are haunted. They’ve passed from hand-to-hand story, so if you have an idea or two, let me know. If over time and picked up some bad ‘karma’ that inhib- you hate writing, just tell me the tale and I will write it its their natural nature to, ‘work’. No, it can’t be me. up for your approval. We all have something to They’re haunted. Really! They must be. Right? share! Don Purchase Gary Fox