I think I found a minor treasure on eBay and wanted to share it with the rest of the club. It is a Model 1 private label sold by G. Heitkemper of Springfield, Ohio. According to Shugart's, serial #18,849 places the watch during first year of production (1872) (if anyone has date information to the contrary, please let me know). The owner of the watch was C. Bahin of Springfield, Ohio, and his name is inscribed on the dust cover. The following is a short history of G. Heitkemper and Cornelius Bahin of Springfield, Ohio:
G. Heitkemper History
Frank A. Heitkemper is a well known figure in commercial circles of Portland, conducting business at 324 Alder street under the name of Frank A. Heitkemper, Inc. His is the third oldest jewelry establishment in the city, having been in continuous existence since 1888, and throughout the entire period of four decades the house has maintained a reputation as one of the most reliable and progressive jewelry establishments of Portland. Mr. Heitkemper came to the coast from Ohio, his birth having occurred in Springfield, that state, on the 8th of January, 1871. He is a son of G. and Mary (Burger) Heitkemper. The father, who was a native of Germany, came to the United States in 1854, settling in Winneshiek county, Iowa, which was then a largely undeveloped district, his father establishing a home there. In his boyhood G. Heitkemper went to Preston, Minnesota, where, observing a watchmaker at work, he decided that he would like to take up that line of business, and with this end in view, he entered upon an apprenticeship to the jewelry firm of Duhme & Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he thoroughly acquainted himself with the business. There he worked in a shop with John C. Dueber, who later owned one of the largest watch and watch-case manufacturing plants in the United States.
Subsequently Mr. Heitkemper removed to Springfield, Ohio, where he engaged in business, and during his residence there he met and married Miss Mary Burger. Because of his wife's health he sought a change of climate, going to Iowa, where he remained for a time, and later establishing his home in Nebraska. He did not find a favorable business field in the latter state, however, and in 1884 came to Portland, Oregon, on a prospecting trip. In May, 1888, he brought his family to this city, which at that time was undergoing a boom, so that it was with considerable difficulty that he found a house and store. Finally, however, he rented the property at 151 Third street and improved the old building by putting in a new front and making other necessary alterations, after which he opened his stock of jewelry there and entered upon what proved to be a profitable business. Owing to the steady increase in his trade he sought larger quarters in 1890 by a removal to a new building at Third and Morrison streets.
In 1899 another removal was made to 286 Morrison street, where the business was profitably conducted under the name of the G. Heitkemper Company, for he had admitted his son, Frank A., to a partnership. The death of the founder of the business occurred in 1911, after he had long been associated with the commercial interests of the city and had made for himself a most creditable position among the merchants of Portland.

Cornelius Bahin History
C. Bahin was born in Ireland in 1840. He married Mary Leonard of Springfield, Ohio 10/26/1879. Mary had a previous husband, Timothy Kenny. They were married from 1860 to 1868, but then Mr. Kenny died. In the 1880 Census, Cornelius Bahin was listed as being 40 years old and working as a carpet weaver. I don’t know if that means he owned a carpet weaving company, or he was a worker in the factory.
I have 8 photos of this watch and the first will be the movement.

Close-up of the Ohio inscription.

This is the hand painted dial.

Here is a close-up.

This is the inscription on the dust cover.

This is a close-up of the original dent-free coin silver.

This is an overall view of the case. Nothing on this watch has been cleaned before shooting these photos. I plan to send watch to Chris for restoration and wanted to have before and after shots.

This is a photo of the underside of the cover. Both outer covers have the same markings. The thing that is really interesting is that this is a Dueber case, and during his early years G. Heitkemper worked in a shop with Dueber.

Nice pick, Bruce - beautifully gilded movement in great shape .

Beautiful watch & nice research, congratulations.

I show that serial number as being from June of 1874 according to the Illinois Encyclopedia & Price Guide by Meggers & Ehrhardt.

Tom

One of my questions concerning this watch is, how early did the Illinois Watch Co. produce private label watches, and is there a database showing or listing early examples. Another question I have is what size key would this take. I don't even know if this watch runs yet because I haven't been able to wind it! I do know the balance and hairspring are in good shape. If it doesn't run, my guess is it will only need a good cleaning and oil. What really amazes me is the overall conditon...especially the case. The cases has no dents, dimples, or depressions. The hinges are like new, the bow is still stiff, the covers spring open and don't quite reach 90 degrees...the only real wear is on the original crown. Worth noting is I found a private label listing for Heitkemper in the "Gold Bible" by Megers and Ehrhardt. If anyone would like to correct their books, the spelling is wrong on page 301...they have the name as G. Heltkemper and it should be Heitkemper. If any of the Illinois experts out there can share further observations about my watch, your comments would be greatly appreciated.

Tom, I kind of had a feeling Shugart's was wrong. I think 1874 is more like it. Thanks.

Nice watch Bruce, I too like the private label watches as it's fun to research the owners / retailers of them, and learn their story.

Ray

Still a very nice watch, he type I try to collect. I enjoy watches that you can actually place into someone's hands at certain points in history.

I was reading your research thinking maybe I could find more for you but it sure looks like you covered all the bases.

If you ever decided to auction it off I will be watching.

Tom

Bruce

My model 1 takes a size 4 key.

I am not aware of any data base for private labels, according to the Illinois book again, they state the earliest known private label for Illinois was during their 1st year of 1872.

They go on to state that by 1882 there were 51 different private labels that had been recorded & they average remained high of better than 20 a year until 1900. It then drops abruptly & remains low for the remainder of the company.

Tom

Tom

Great find, Bruce! I am partial to the early key winds and to find one with the provenance that you did is wonderful. It is in very good condition considering it's age. A COA from Chris and it will look and run like it did for Mr. Bahin! Well done!

Bruce

You did get a deal on that auction, the case alone is worth what you paid.

Tom

Tom, I actually bid 4 times that amount because I wanted to be sure I ended up with it. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. By the way, thanks for the size information for a key. I am sure I will find one on eBay now that I know what I am looking for.

Bruce

I will contact you by email, I should have an extra one you can have.

Tom

Tom, with a serial number of 7057, do you think this watch case was made during the first year of Dueber production? I think it is really cool that Heitkemper and John Dueber worked together as young men prior to starting each of their own businesses. I would bet that early in his business Heitkemper purchased a lot of Dueber cases based on his previous affiliation with John D. Cool stuff

Tom, thanks for the key offer. Can't wait to see if my watch works!!!

Bruce

I couldn't answer your question about the case, I am just not that up on there numbering system, but your theory sure sounds good to me.

Tom

A great find Bruce, and a great job of research as well....

I, too, love those big old silver cases and you have one of the nicest and Chris will make it look like new all over again....

Good luck with your new addition....

Regards,
Jerry

Bruce

The key went out to you today.

Tom

Tom, thanks a bunch. Your kind gesture is greatly appreciated.
I have one question for all who are following this post. Would the original value of this watch help us to speculate on what Mr. Bahin's social status would have been, and at what level in the workforce was he a "carpet weaver?" In other words, based on the original value of the watch would he be more apt to be a factory worker, or functioning more on a management level? I have no idea if this watch was considered a major extravagance in 1874, or if it was typical of what most guys on the street would be carrying. Your thoughts, comments and speculation would would be of great interest to me.

Good question Bruce, I have done alot of research on my families geneology and I have yet to find any photos of my relatives pre 1940's with a watch.
The photos I have of my gg grandfather who was Cavalry SGT in the Civil war show no watch chain so I presume he owned no watch.
My g grandfather was a life long farmer in Nebraska and i've found no pictures of watches or watch chains so again, I presume no watch, and even my grandfather who operated lumber mills in Colorado most of his life didn't own a watch until the late 1940's.
I guess if you were a basic laboror you just woke up and went to work with the sunrise and went home when the sun set.

Ray