Pocket clocks or Pocket watches of the 1870s and earlier

[JoyceAlliene]

My name is Joyce A Halvorsen - I am a writer of history and fiction books based on historical times or events - especially the American Midwest and West. My novel in progress is set in Dakota Territory 1873 in what was to be Todd or Webster County.  My characters are riding at night and arrive at a stage coach depot.  At some point they need to know the time.  How did cowboys on the prairie tell the time if they did not carry time-pieces?  What models of time pieces were worn at that time ?  Just looking for good information.  Thank you.   

[Shawnee McGrutt]

I am not an expert on time pieces, but I would assume if a cowboy did not have a watch, time didn't really matter.  They started their day at first light and finished when the work was done or they couldn't see to work any longer.   During the day they might have guessed the time by the position of the sun.  In the SASS's publication "The CowboyChronicle", there is usually an ad for old style pocket watches, it hasn't been in the past few issues.  I am sure that you will get a better answer then mine from some of the others.  But if all else fails there is a jeweler on the "Antique Roadshow" that seems to be on top of all things in old time pieces.  One might be able to find him on the web.  Time is relative , I will get there,when I am there. Good luck.
Keep your powder dry.
Shawnee

[St. George]

There were only a couple of folks who actually 'needed' a pocket watch during the era - one was a railroader.

The rest of the time, regular folks got by by 'reckoning' and by the position of the moon and stars ( and we're not going in to a 'cloudy night' scenario) - they were far more in tune with nature than folks are, today.

Pocket watches were in use, though - they were by no means a rarity - they just weren't as common as timepieces are today, and weren't used much by the cowboy, but more by the townsman and businessman, so pick which of your characters would be the most likely to possess one.

Remember - they weren't waterproof and quite as reliable as they'd become, and outdoor life was hard on them.

Your characters could easily own one, though stage lines didn't abide by a set timetable, due to unforseen circumstances encountered on the route.

Good Luck!

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

Here's something that may help:

St. George's Notes I - Pocket Watch Protocol...
« on: May 30, 2004, 09:31:43 am »
   
Sooner or later, a cowboy will want to begin to look more closely at his impression, wondering how to refine it a little.
As I write these, keep in mind that the notes are designed to do just that.

In C&WAS, you see the basic outfit - the boots and hats and vests and all.
Those  vests held all manner of things deemed important to a man at the time - tobacco, a Tally Book and pencil, and sometimes, even a pocket watch.

We'll talk about those today.

First off, not everyone had one.
They were relatively expensive, delicate and weren't really needed, since everybody could tell time by the sun.
Who'd need one?
Maybe a Foreman, most definitely a Railroader, a Banker or perhaps a Lawyer and maybe even an Army Officer.
Not the average cowhand, since most likely, he couldn't afford one and if he really needed one - most likely, the outfit would loan it to him for those duties he'd require it for.

Early pocket watches found in the West would've had what was known as a "Hunting Case" - meaning that the glass crystal was covered by a hinged cover that was a part of the case, as a protector.
It's that cover that you see being snapped shut with great finality.

Don't do that.

It may look "cool" in a Western for dramatic effect, but it doesn't do the watch any good at all.
The metal that serves as a catch is a fairly thin base metal and the catch itself is made of steel, so you can readily see how a hard metal - against a softer one will eventually damage the watch case.
If you're going to close the case, first push in on the latch and then close the cover completely with thumb pressure and relieve pressure on the latch in order for it to catch.
Your watch case will benefit and you'll look like you know what you're doing.

Now, there were several styles of pocket watch - Key-Wind, along with Stem-Wind, with the latter being the latest model.
Key-wound watches were wound by the use of a small key - carried on the watch chain.

The watch could be built by American Horologe Company - later Waltham Watch Company - first started in 1850 - and they were the innovators of mass-produced machine-made interchangeable parts for the industry - lowering prices for watches and many other mechanical things as well.
That key may have wound an "Eight-Day" movement - and you'd wind it on Sunday.
It could be a B.W. Raymond - a "Railroad Watch" first built by the National Watch Company - later the Elgin Watch Company - first built in 1867, or - it could be Swiss, since Swiss watches were common at the time.
If you really have something interesting - it could also be a "Repeater" where a button could be pressed to hear a chime striking to the nearest quarter-hour.
A "Railroad" watch was a watch known for superior accuracy  and was calibrated and regulated periodically to ensure such.

The watch face would feature the numerals in the Roman style, with the earlier version of "4" being read as "IIII" and later, "IV".

Incidentally - these watches were pretty good-sized affairs - the size acting as a shock absorber.
Smaller ones would be for dress and for the guys in town.

In order to accurately date your watch - you need the serial number from the watch movement - not from the watch case.
Gently pop the catch or unscrew the back cover and look at the movement's number.
Then, go to your Search Engine and type in the brand of watch and "serial numbers" and you should see one of the many collector and factory sites that have the lists available.
The serial number list for Elgin will give you movement size, number of jewels, number built, and date of manufacture.
Nice stuff to know and easy, besides.

A pocket watch was carried on a chain and on a fob.
Watch chains had a toggle on one end for a button hole and a spring-loaded hook on the other for the watch itself.
They came in both base metal as well as precious metal, with the plated metals being most common and practical, since they were the strongest, but when you do find a nice gold-plated one, a bit of polish will quickly restore it to its former glory, so keep your eyes open.
There are a lot of styles, so pick one you really like.

Watch Fobs are another matter entirely.

Quickly, they featured a thin leather strap, with doubled ends - one for the watch - the other for a small metal (usually) charm or advertising piece, and were carried in the vest pocket or watch pocket of the trousers - the strap allowing for easy removal to check on the arrival of the Stage.

We'll talk about those at a later time, along with the small watch charms.

Scouts Out!

[flyingcollie]

. . . if a cowboy did not have a watch, time didn't really matter.  They started their day at first light and finished when the work was done or they couldn't see to work any longer . . .

That's pretty much the case, although cowboys driving herds of 3,000 head on the big trails did as sailors did. Night guard changed through the night, they told time (at night) by the stars . . . you almost need a calendar to tell time by the moon.

[GunClick Rick]

Also victorian gals would make watch chains for thier beaus going of to war and such,they had hair art tables,if i remember right a strand was 10 hairs..

http://www.victoriangothic.org/the-lost-art-of-sentimental-hairwork..   A few fob samples of what they may have looked like.Don't pay much attention the the watches.







These were from the 50s mostly.Leather strap fobs.

[Kinchafoonee Kid]

Good afternoon, Miss Joyce.  Glad to see you on the forum.  I am an amateur Old West novelist myself, and love historical accuracy.

Pocket watches are an interest of mine, and I recently authored an article on pocket watches intended for publication in an upcoming edition of the NCOWS magazine, The Shootist.  Please PM me and I will send you a copy if you are interested.

St George, as always, provided an excellent overview of pocket watches in the Old West.  Not everyone had them, but quite a few did, depending on their job.  People very accustomed to life in close contact with nature, tended to live by its rhythms, and worked from "can see to can't see" and had a rooster to provide their wake up alarm.  Everyone could make a fairly accurate estimate of time from the position of the sun during the day and the orientation of the Big Dipper in the evening.  According to the surviving accounts of cattle drives, horses knew almost to the minute when their "shift" was complete, and their cowboys took note of their remarkable sense of time.

As the western towns developed, most towns had a noon whistle, and locally, until the implementation of standard time at the behest of the railroads, people set their watches and clocks according to sunrise and sunset tables contained in the ubiquitous almanac.

During the War Between the States, The American Watch Company (referred to as Waltham) made many watches, and their William Ellery grade became known as the soldiers watch, due to its popularity (even President Lincoln owned one) and the soldiers market complied the bulk of Waltham sales during the war.  E Howard and Company of Boston also made watches during this period, but they were aimed at the high end market.  Many English and Swiss watches were also carried by soldiers during the war.  Confederate soldiers also had watches, mainly from battlefield capture.  General Stonewall Jackson used a pocket watch regularly, and was known to march his men quickly for 50 minutes, followed by a 10 minute rest.

Waltham manufactured their excellent model 1857 through the 1870s, and their Model 1870 was the first watch specifically marketed to railroad men.  As St George mentioned, the National Watch Company (Elgin) began making very good watches in the late 1860s.  Waltham made some very good watches, as well as basic watches.  Elgin made neither the best nor worst, but made so many, they became known as the working mans watch.

During the 1880s, many other companies began making quality watches.

Period photographs show many men with watch chains in their waistcoats.

Good luck with your novel.  Yes, pocket watches were present during 1873, and the great thing about writing fiction is that you can use historical fact and tailor the circumstances to achieve what you want to convey.

Kinchafoonee Kid

[Tsalagidave]

The guys here have shared their insight and I'd like to contribute :

I've actually done some pretty extensive research on period time keeping. I discovered that following 1850, (as demonstrated at the Crystal Palace expo of 1851 in London), America rose into prominence with its advancements in interchangeable parts manufacture. These advancements in the manufacturing process led to the greater affordability of everyday items to the average income. Among these were various tools, watches, firearms, sewing machines & etc.
The two items that were heavily used and documented for time keeping were the printed almanac and the timepiece. The almanac is how people told time before there were time zones (introduced for rail travel). It marks what time of day the sun will rise and set. You would set your watch to the data found in the almanac based on the date. It often includes lunar cycles as well. This is how time was maintained with a general sense of uniformity from town clocks to pocket watches. Its gradual setting based on the curvature of the earth is more precise for foot/animal borne migration but unsuitable for the high speed deployment of modern transportation. Keeping time was important to travelers so that they could gauge the progress of their trip and organize the activities of their day the way we do still. Staring into the sky gave one an approximate time and it worked well for primitive civilizations and early frontiersmen. However, evidence shows that the modernized people of the mid 1800s onward generally carried watches.
The example I included here is a common working man's variant. It has a nickel silver case and a thick crystal covering on the laminated card-stock watch face. The tight-fitting covers are moisture resistant and it has weathered many monsoon seasons in my pocket without a hitch. That being said, you should wrap it in a gum rubber or fresh painted cloth when attempting a ford; saturation is likely imminent and you should take measures to keep it dry as you do with your ammunition.
The Almanacs featured here are all originals from my collection. Note the cord loops at the top near the spine? This was a common practice for people to hang it in a convenient spot where it can be readily accessed without being mislaid. The almanac was part of the daily routine in marking the date and time. It typically carried advertisements along with bits of useful information, jokes or entertaining short articles.

[Tsalagidave]

BTW, if you are looking for the most typical for the 1870s, avoid the expensive gold watches and get a key wind variant. The others were more expensive and less common.

-Dave