I purchased this as a "Waltham 8 Day 7 jewel open face Model 1910 car clock" but why would a car clock be in a brass tub with gimbal indentations? I believe this is a pre WWII chronometer (it keeps Great time). I looked up the serial number 23898312 but found nothing worth noting. I also can't find a box for it. Any help on background and/ or where to get a box?

Thanks in advance.

Skip

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Skip, the case is the Waltham case for their marine timepiece however the movement does not have the proper jeweling, regulator not any "adjustments". I have never seen a black dial nor a non WI on one though I believe they were used without the WI. The proper box is a difficult find. You really need the proper grade of movement also.
Paul

Hi Skip. In looking up the movement the records show it is a 1910 Style OF, 7 jewel Waltham. These kinds of timepieces are called either automobile clocks or traveling clocks since they were used in both dashboard mounted applications in old cars and also in small carrying case applications for carrying along in your baggage to have a clock for wherever you go.

When they were used in autos they were aftermarket items. The early cars of that era did not normally come with a clock and so most car owners simply went to the nearest auto supply store and bought whatever aftermarket clock suited them and their pocketbook, then went out to their car and mounted it on their dashboard. Cars were so much simpler back then. These auto/travel clocks came with either a white or a black dial and there is no real difference in the meaning of one over the other as to how they were used.

They are not military other then perhaps there may have been a few soldiers who bought a travel clock from some commercial store to take with them when they went off to war.

Thank you Paul and Jim,I purchased it as a car clock, I had never seen a black dial either. I got it for far less than the seller started at and it looks great on my car clock shelve, plus it keeps great time after Mr.Paul Davis fixed her up for me.

Thanks again.

Skip

There is a general rule that the ones with the short stems were usually travel clocks that were carried in small leather cases in one's luggage when one went somewhere, or that they were used as desk clocks mounted in some kind of frame or holder; and that the ones with the long stems (couple of inches) were the ones that were more commonly used in autos since the long stem allowed the stem to come down below the edge of the instrument panel where it could be easily wound, but I personally am not sure that this is always the case.

This lot sold recently for $120.

It would be nice to get a look at those catalogues.

JIm - My dad's car was a 1933 Plymouth rumble seat coiupe. It had a Waltham clock mounted on one side of the rear-view mirror, with a clip that snapped over the edges of the glass. That end of the mirror was of course untreated, so the glass formed the front of the clock case. It had a short winding stem. Before I lost my house (and my watch and clock collection) I had a long stem white dial with black bakelite bezel, like the one in the posted auction lot, that my grandfather told me came in his 1919 Saxon. He bought that car new, but perhaps the clock was a dealer add-on. I also had a short stem, black dial one, with luminous numbers and hands, and with a sub-seconds hand that my grandfather told me came out of his 1922 Franklin Four Door Sedan. He said that clock came with the car also.

Thanks, David.

Yes, by 1922 some cars were coming with clocks. My comment was aimed at the cars from 10 years earlier when most did not and when they were a popular aftermarket item.

Franklins such were upscale autos and by 1922 they were well equipped such as coming with nice clocks. Less expensive cars of that time still did not come with clocks and aftermarket clocks were a big market. For example, depending on the model of 1922 Franklin (there were 7 that year) a Franklin would set you back between $2,300 to $3,800. By comparison, a 1922 Ford (there were 6 models of Fords that year) would cost you between $364 and $725. In other words you could buy 6 or 7 new 1922 Fords for the same price as just 1 1922 Franklin.

Given your auto clock collection, do you have an example of the aftermarket clocks that were mounted in the center of a steering wheel and were wound by the action of the steering wheel being rotated back and forth while the car was driven? I am not sure of the age of those but I think it may have been around the late 1930s to 1950s or so. I think those are really interesting.

I have often thought that would be a nice addition to a collection of car clocks, but I don't have one. My uncle had a Hudson from about 1936 that had one of those in the steering wheel. It didn't work, though - this was in the early 1950's - I was about six or seven. I asked him about it, and he said there were a lot of other things the car needed more than that clock.

I think most of the ones I have seen were made by Benrus.

Here are two Waltham size 37 s day car clocks. The one on the left is from my grandfather's 1919 Saxon Runabout; the one on the right is from his 1922 Franklin Four Door Sedan. (He told me he purchased both of those cars new, and the clocks came in them.)