Stock Ledger, 1886-1887

A valuable source for the study of late nineteenth and twentieth century industrial firms, the Westclox, Incorporated Records document the establishment and history of this clock manufacturer from 1885 to 1971. The collection comprises six major record series: minutes; correspondence; financial records; department reports; company newsmagazines; and visual material. Board of Directors minutes, resolutions, and reports (1887-1937) constitute the first series in the collection. These records detail the actions of the Board regarding property and equipment purchasing, stock issues, and employee benefit programs. In addition the minutes contain stockholder’s annual meeting minutes, quarterly production figures, sales reports, financial statements, and general manager’s reports on factory conditions and problems. Sale and advertising meeting minutes (1930-1943) provide complementary information on new products, price schedules, and marketing techniques. A major strength of the collection, this record series furnishes substantial information pertaining to the corporate policies pursued by Westclox from its founding through the 1930’s. Domestic and foreign correspondence (1888-1942) dealing with sales and distribution problems in America and abroad reveal the difficulties encountered by sales agents attempting to collect payments from wholesalers. The company’s export personnel corresponded heavily with Westclox representatives in Mexico, South America, Cuba, and South Africa, directing agents toward closing accounts and liquidating debts. The domestic correspondence includes orders and reports from several wholesalers as well as directives from General Time Corporation headquarters in New York. Unfortunately, the collection contains little correspondence illustrating Westclox’s large national distribution network utilizing jobbers to connect the manufacturer to scattered retail outlets. Series three encompasses financial records (l886-l96l) yielding extensive information on the economic growth and development of the company. Audit reports, general journals and ledgers, profit and loss statements, and budget and expense reports illustrate the firm’s yearly financial condition and reflect the effects of national economic policy on the American manufacturing sector. In addition, stock registers, journals, and subscription books provide data on stockholders’ investments and stock issues to increase capital resources for production expansion. Supplementing the financial records, quarterly department reports (1904-1923) from the manufacturing, export, sales, and auditing departments, contain the plant’s production figures and operating expenses incurred during the early twentieth century. The company’s newsmagazine, Tick Talk (1913-1971), provides a general account of Westclox’s history and details changes in methods of production and organization as the firm expanded steadily after 1900. Tick Talk includes news of interest to factory workers and management such as product innovation, department summaries, company sports team standings, and feature stories on various employees. These newsmagazines not only document the evolution of the Westclox factory and product development, but also the changing working conditions in manufacturing plants since the First World War. In addition to historically valuable news articles, Tick Talk contains numerous photographs of employees, products, and the LaSalle factory. Additional photographs, as well as product shots and graphical charts, constitute the sixth series in the collection. Although few photographs depicting the plant’s interior and employees are dated specifically, they provide an excellent visual record of the American worker in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Included are photographs and some negatives of each department and employees from the early 1900s.s Over 200 product shots accompany the photographs and depict the changes in Westclox product design since the 1880’s. Finally, graphical charts (1889-1930) illustrate progress in production, sales, employment, and advertising through the company’s first forty years of operation. Persons interested in the growth and development of northern Illinois industry, particularly in the manufacture of goods for national and world markets, will find useful information in the Westclox, Incorporated Records. Researchers should note that company histories are included in Box 1, Files 1 and 2, and also that Box 8, Files 5 to 10 contain records documenting Westclox’s role during the Second World War.