Object Details
associated institution
Allegheny Observatory
Gold and Stock Telegraph Company
associated person
Bentley, Henry
manufacturer
E. Howard & Co.
Description
Most nineteenth century American clocks were cheaply made for the mass market and domestic use. But a few firms made finely finished precision clocks for applications where accuracy was vital: determining the time of scientific observations, for example, or regulating other clocks and watches. One such firm was E. Howard and Company of Boston, specialists in quality clocks, watches and scales since 1842.
This high-quality clock, made by the firm in 1874, distributed Philadelphia time for the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company in that city. Subscribers to the firm’s service of telegraphed gold prices and stock quotations could also receive a time service to set their clocks. Fitted to the mechanical movement of this Howard timepiece are assemblies that interrupt an electric telegraph circuit to indicate every half minute, full minute, five minutes and the hour.
Before 1883, towns across the nation set their own times by observing the position of the sun, so there were hundreds of local times. Instead of Eastern Standard Time, for example, there was Philadelphia Standard Time or Charleston Standard Time. Beginning in the 1850s, railroads operated on regional times, each set to an agreed-upon, arbitrary standard time. By the 1880s, there were about fifty such regional railroad times.
In November 1883, most North American railroads voluntarily agreed to adopt a standardized railway time based on zones, a system from which the time zones in use today originated.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Western Union Corp.
date made
1874
associated date
1874
ID Number
ME.333468.01
catalog number
333468.01
accession number
294351
Object Name
regulator
Other Terms
regulator; Wall Regulator
Physical Description
glass (case material)
glass (door material)
mahogany (case material)
walnut, burr (case material)
carved (case production method/technique)
carved (pedestal production method/technique)
reverse-painted (dial production method/technique)
silvered (beat scale production method/technique)
silvered (case production method/technique)
veneered (case production method/technique)
Measurements
regulator clock case: 79 in x 36 in x 17 in; 200.66 cm x 91.44 cm x 43.18 cm
weight #1: 10 in x 2 1/2 in; 25.4 cm x 6.35 cm
weight #2: 10 in x 2 1/2 in; 25.4 cm x 6.35 cm
weight pulleys, #1, #2: 3 13/16 in x 2 1/2 in x 1 1/4 in; 9.652 cm x 6.35 cm x 3.175 cm
weight pulleys, #3, #4: 1 1/2 in x 1 1/2 in x 1/2 in; 3.81 cm x 3.81 cm x 1.27 cm
case key: 2 in x 3/4 in x 3/16 in; 5.08 cm x 1.905 cm x .508 cm
winding crank: 4 in x 2 13/16 in x 3/16 in; 10.16 cm x 7.112 cm x .508 cm
case fragment: 1 13/32 in x 1 in x 13/16 in; 3.556 cm x 2.54 cm x 2.032 cm
movement thumbscrews, 2: 2 1/4 in x 3/4 in; 5.715 cm x 1.905 cm
part, jewel setting: 5/16 in x 3/16 in; .762 cm x .508 cm
part, electrical wire and contact: 5 in x 2 in x 3/32 in; 12.7 cm x 5.08 cm x .254 cm
beat scale and stand: 12 in x 8 in x 3 in; 30.48 cm x 20.32 cm x 7.62 cm
beat scale screws, 2: 3/4 in x 5/16 in; 1.905 cm x .762 cm
movement: 15 1/2 in x 11 1/2 in x 5 1/2 in; 39.37 cm x 29.21 cm x 13.97 cm
dial: 13/16 in x 17 1/2 in; 2.032 cm x 44.45 cm
dial hand, minute: 7 1/4 in; 18.415 cm
dial hand, hour: 2 1/2 in; 6.35 cm
dial hand, seconds: 4 1/4 in; 10.795 cm
dial screws, 4: 5/16 in x 3/16 in; .762 cm x .508 cm
dial washers, 4: 1/2 in; 1.27 cm
movement thumbscrews, 2: 2 1/4 in x 3/4 in; 5.715 cm x 1.905 cm
location of prior holder
United States: New York
associated place
United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
United States: Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh
See more items in
Work and Industry: Mechanisms
Measuring & Mapping
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_856687