Pocket Watch Database

The Story of my First Watch (1894)


In April 1894, the New York Standard Watch Company distributed a promotional booklet, “The Story of my First Watch.” Undoubtedly the creation of advertising expert Willis B. Musser, the publication offers brief anecdotal stories about the first watch obtained by famous personalities of the era including Grover Cleveland, Frederick Douglass, and Thomas Edison. The booklet closes with brilliant advertisements showcasing the merits of owning a New York Standard watch, especially as a “first watch.”



Copyright Status: Public Domain (+95 Years)

Digitized Date December 17, 2020


77/fil W7, ,, ”w? M W, www», u'”., ifThe t ' m e for the times. avery Singular American who, nowadays, should buy other than an American-made watch. The reflec‐ tion would not beupon hispatriotism, of trash and extravagance. Wherein America excels is in her provision for the everyday w a n t s of everyday people; iwherein she is' pre-eminent, in watch produc‐ tion, is in making the best watch in the world for the money. The “ time ” for the times is, therefore, an American-made watch; and of American-made watches, the one which most strongly commends itself to the discriminating buyer is that which has earned for itself among jewelers the undisputed title, “ the best watch in the world for the ,) money. THE NEW YORK STANDARD WATCH is, first and foremost, an a c c u r a t e and reliable timekeeper; is strongly built and beautifully finished; is easily repaired; embodies in its construc‐ tion the latest ideas of the best authorities; is the product of the ablest watchmaking skill in America; can be bought at a lower price than all competing values, by reason of the economies afforded by wonderful automatic machinery, skilful business management and judicious adapta‐ tion of modern facilities in every direction; and is fully guaranteed for accurate performance. It is essentially “ T H E T I M E ” for the times. Mmmm The Original “First” Watch. THE PROGENITOR OF T H E GREAT FAMILY OF TIMEPIECEs. A SIXTEENTH CENTURY INSPIRATION. ' . N THE following pages a score or more of eminent American men and women relate the history of their First Watch‐the emotions which came upon them in their first sense of owner‐ ship, the afi'ection implanted by the long association with this faithful monitor of time, the appreciation excited by this mar‐ vel Ofman’s skilful handiwork. L e t us. stand for a moment on the threshold of this unique symposium, and call to mind the FIRST Watch‐the original effort to put a time-keeper in such portable form that it might be carried by a man upon his person. We find ourselves in the quaint old German town of Niiremburg, with its thousand-gabled‘ fronts and many-dormered roofs. It is ABOUT the year 1510‐for history took no special note at the time of a clumsy contri‐ vance which has since developed into such a marvel of mechanical construc‐ tion. One Peter Hele bends over a table by a little lozenged window in an humble home, with his ear to a device which he holds tremblingly in his hand, and on which he has spent months of patient toil and sleepless nights of mingled hopes and forebodings. IT com! The First Watch is an accom‐ plished fact! _ ' Hele' called his contrivance a pocket-clock. It would be much too large for the modern vest-pocket, and its, shape would excite the amuse‐ ment of the modern wearer. Externally it resembled a large egg‐and the time-pieces subsequently made in this old city were long known as “ Niirem‐ burg eggs.” Every part, inside and out, was made of iron. It ran about eight hours w i t h one winding. A description of i t s curious mechanical features would involve technical detail which would be interesting only to the jeweler. Peter Hele’s original “First Watch” has long since disappeared from the knowledge of men. Could it have been shown at the World’s Fair, among the interesting collection of watches there displayed as once owned by the great, the wise and the good‐the watches carried by kings, philos‐ ophers and prophets‐it would have deserved an exalted place in that matchless collection; for it stands as the initiative in, a n e w era of mechanical progress, an exponent of the potentialities of human skill. And we of the nineteenthcentury can well afford to stand for a moment in congratulating ourselves upon our wonderful attainments, while we raise our hats in respect‐ ful hOmage to the ingenious Old clock-maker of Niiremburg, Peter Hele] where it was my fortune to conduct religious servicesforseveralmonths. Thegiftwasan exceedingly fine one, of American manufac‐ the interior the motto : “ Now is the time.” The watch was a treasure to me for its asso‐ ciations, and can never be replaced. After I had carried it for years, it was stolen from me at the crowded door of, a Pullmansleep‐ ingcar which I was enteringat midnight at Schenectady, N. Y. , while on a lecture trip. Pickpockets attending horse races in that city were supposed to be the thieves. An‐ other gentleman lost his watch at the same .time. We engageda policemanandpaidfor detective work to recover our property, but without result. The annoyance I felt at the loss was intense and of long duration. It has not been removed even by what Horace Bushnell calls “ t h e expulsive power of a new affection.” A watch which I now carry has madewith me a tour of the world, but on the whole has not as deep a place in my attachment as that first one had, Which seemed to keep time not onlywith the sun butwiththe Sunbehindthe sun. From the Accomplished Woman who has Achieved a Great Reputation in Jour‐ nalistic Management. %M W A T C H has always possessed for me a mysterious and subtle charm which no other jewel, however valuable, can _ l a y claim to in my eyes. It seems a living, breathing, almost a sentient creature, en‐ dowed with existence, and the watch that I now wear, from its close contact with my late husband, appears to me to be imbued with his own strong andwarm-hearted per‐ sonality. ’ _ Fromthe Wizard of the Electrical Forces. It hasitslittlestory. Importedby Tiffany & Co.,by my order,as a birthday surprise for my husband, it was sent in a well-sealed package which was delivered to me in Mr. Leslie’s presence, who, man-like, was so f u l l of curiosity as to its contents that I was forced to tell him frankly that it was a parcelthe sealsof whichcouldnotbebroken for a week‐the anniversary of his birth. Of course, man‐like again, he pleaded f o r animmediatesightofthegift‐butI wasin‐ exorably firm, and eventually we had quite a small festival to ourselves when the seals were broken on the prescribed day, and a garnet enamelwatch,withhismonogramin diamonds, met our View. That watch was alwayswithhimtillthehourofhisdeath,and since then it has ever rested above my heart. This, however, was by no means my first watch,aboutwhichI amaskedtowrite. No, thatfirstwatchwasquite adifferentorderof NEVER carried a watch in my life. I neverwanted to knowwhattime it was. ma time-keeper, and I was a wee girl of eight when I became its inordinately proud pos‐ sessor. It had belonged to some ancestor of ours,butwasusedby my oldest brother until he became the owner of a better one, and thentransferredit to “littlesister.” Describethewatch? Well,asmallfrying pan had evidently served as its model in point of size, and its‘tick was distinctly audible in an adjoining room, which pre‐ ventedit frombeingmislaid,’asthe noise it made invariably betrayed its whereabouts. It had a gold case on one side and on the other (tomysorrowandkmisfortune,asyou will presently understand) the face was covered by a huge bulging crystal." NowwhenI was a littlegirlallthechildren of my age wore, in the South, low-necked frocks, fastened up the back andwith wide sash ribbons tied around the waist‐with a bigbowbehind. Thepretty“ Mother Hub‐ bards” and “Kate Greenaway” stylesof the present day were unknownfor children’s Wear. Butwhat canmy style of apparelhave to do with my FirstWatch? Well, I will explain, and tell my tale of woe. Thewatch could only be‘worn (suspended from arib‐ bon) in the bosom of my gown or else in my waist-band, and the slightest abruptness of movementonmy partwouldprecipitatethe watch from either of these resting places, and with that innate perversity always ob‐ servable in inanimate objects, it invariably ’ tered side downward ” ‐ o r in this case crys‐ t a l side downward. Consequently a shock meant a broken crystal, and a broken crys‐ tal meant financial ruinto my childish ex‐ chequer. A l l my pocket money, a l l the stray quarters that I could beg or borrow, went for crystals for that watch I That watch created for me, in the bosom of my family, the reputation of a careless, recklesschildwithaturnforwildexpenditure. It colored my whole life. To avoid bank‐ ruptcy I cultivated a staid demeanor; I lost all vivacity; I moved with stately dignity ; I never made an impulsive gesture. I was weighed down by theresponsibilities of a heavy load of care, and feeling it incumbent upon me to make any sacrifice that would prevent the breaking of another crystal. Finally my priceless treasure was taken f r o m me as one incapable of appreciating i t , hadlovedandnursedit andtalkedto it,and it h a d responded in stentorian ticks of pre‐ ternatural loudness. I was never lonely with it near me. ' They have given me many watches smce then‐watches of everykind‐watches large and small, hunting-case watches, bracelet andringwatches,watchesinenamel,watches studded with gems, watches marked with monograms and crests, watches encrusted me the exquisite thrill of delight,that made me feela “ grown-up woman”‐avery queen in the possession,of my golden frying p a n ‐ nor can the loss of any jewel I now possess cost me the agonizing pain I endured when , bereft of that treasured friend, companion and bed-fellow‐“My First Watch.” (Mrs.) ya %% From the Slave whose Genius could not be Fettered. HE possession of a watch in my young dayswasamongtheremotepossibilities. I did not own myself, and could hardly indulgethehopeofsomedayoWningawatch, yetin thosehope-killingdaysofmyslavelife I didthink I mightsomewhere in thethendim and shadowy future, find myself the happy such as a sailor, a regular sea captain, 65 years ago, might sport, with heavy chain and seal, from the watch fob of his pants. If a man in those dayshada watch, it was notallowedto remainasecretto theoutside world. 'It wasasignofwealthandrespect‐ ability. A gold watch was a rare treasure. The first I saw of this sort charmed me. It was not merely a time-keeper but a music box as well, and discoursed delightful music. To lookupon,listento andhandle,thisrich, golden thing of beauty was a joy that swelled my heart to silence. It was long after my escape from slavery that I could own a watch of any sdrt, and when I did 1 had survived the boyhood enthusiasm that such possession would have awakened. In my manhood no article in my ownership has been m o r e serviceable to m e . My successive life has depended upon punctuality. In fi f t y years I do not remember missing a single appointment. Six years ago I went to Eu‐ rope, and extendedmy tour to Egypt‐was absent eleven months‐did not touch the hands of my watch n o r let my watch stop. When I landed at New York I found my watch right with American time. Q%.‘%O From the Wielder of a Magic Baton, the Leader of a Great Orchestra. DO NOT recall the circumstances under which I obtained my First Watch. As I was thrown on my o w n resources when a young boy, and a watch was therefore a necessity to me, the possession of it did not make the impression on my mind that it wouldhavemadeonthatof a morefortunate boy, who could divide his Childhood’s years b e t w e e ns t u d y a n d r e c r e a t i o n , a n d t o w h o m a watchwouldbemerelyanexpensiveandmuch desired toy. a, / 2 M From Ex-President Harrison’s Secretary of Agriculture. M fiat/W, HON. JEREMIAH M. RUSK. H A V E a very distinct recollectionof the FirstWatch I ever owned, and of howI acquiredit. WhenI wasquiteyoung‐ barely 1 5 ‐ a n older brother and I were thrashing a crop of grain for a neighbor. In those days the machine that was used for thrashing was known as a “grabber.” It was simplya cylinderwith four-horsepower, and the separation of the straw from the grain and chafiwas done by rakingit from the machine as the grain was run through the cylinder and thrashed. It took twelve or fourteenhandsto operate one of these ma‐ chines. My brotherandI were runningit. N0 one in the party had a watch, and when we wanted to know the time we had to send The owner of the grain suggested that it would be a good thing for ' oneof the thrashers to own a watch,sothat he could furnish the time for the crew to go by. He mentioned that he had a very good watch that he would sell. It was one of the old fashioned kind,knownasa “bull’s-eye,” witha doublecase,theoutsidecasebeingre‐ movable, and the winding done with a key in the back. I suppose my looks betrayed my ambition to be the oWner of the watch, . for he kept at me until he finally coaxed me ' into buying it. I paid him nine dollars for it, one dollar more than my month’s wages, but I felt as if I was the richest one of the whole crew every time I was called upon to give the time of day. I carried this watch for a number of ’years;' indeed, if I remember rightly, it was the only one I haduntilI movedwestfromtheStateof Ohio. I suppose a watch like that to-day wouldfetchaboutadollaroradollaranda 'half,andalongsideoneofourmodernwatches it would look as much out of date as would theold“grubber,”intendingwhichIearned thehoursandminutesofhisexemplarylife themoneytopayforit,alongsideofthelat‐ byitshonestworksandface,andwho"shaped est improved thrashing machine. Perhaps, the career of its subsequent owner." ‘I'was liketheolddarkeywhowasremindedofa proudofit,andcarrieditconstantlyuntilage verse in the Bible on seeing his master pay a paralyzeditsworksanddestroyeditspewers thousanddollarsforaShorthornheifer,you ofusefulness. Itsfaithfultickmgs‘wereever may think I was pretty green to pay more thanI couldearnin amonthfor awatch,but letmetellyou,lotsof menwhoareesteemed pretty wise fellows pay more than they earn in a m0nthfor things that donotgivethem asmuchgenuinesatisfactionasI gotoutof the ownership of t h a t watch. From the President of the United States Express Company, formerly Senator and a Chief in Republican P a r t y Movements.‐ reminders of the principles and example whichennobled the life of its’briginalowner. From the WidOwof the President of the One‐ time SouthernConfederacy. ‘ HE JOYofwearingmyFirSt-Watchhas remainedalife-longpossession. In those days watches werev‘much more costly thannow,andthebestofthemweremadeand adjusted by ”hand, not by machine power. Then New York was distant,from Natchez, Mississippi, nearly two weeks’ travel. The A s t o r H o u s e w a s a c e n t r a l h o t e l , and s e e m e d the acme of grandeur and comfort combined. Indeed,then “ alltheworldwasyoung,’’ and time seemed of less consequence than it does now. Watcheswereseldomgivento thelittle theywentto college. Whena girlwasmar‐ riedawatchwasapartofhereorbcille. My _ first watch was given to me at an early age_ for the successful repetition from memory of the Sermon on the Mount. It was one of the last of the “ Jurgensen” watches made, hadbelongedto my mother,andwasanex‐ cellent time-piece. The case was open, and rather over the size of a Spanish dollar; it was very thick, and engraved on the back to . resemble water. Outside of this was a little flatwreathofgreengoldleaves,andpinkgold roses, known then as “smoked gold.” On theedgewasonebroadbandofwhatusedto becalled“wroughtgold,”-adeepchasingof" leavesandarchaicflowers,abeautifulkindof HON. THOMAS 0. PLATE. DID NOT attain to the dignity of owner‐ ship of a watch until my early college days. ThenI becamethepossessorof a time-keeperworthwaitingforandworthhav‐ ing. It wasthewatchthatmyoldorthodox fatherhadcarriedforaquarterofacentury, and that still possessed its qualities unim‐ paired as a correct indicator of time. The‐ case was plain gold. The face was clear white,withtheold-fashionedArabicn’um‘er‐ als,sodistinctthat youcouldalmostdistin-‐ guishtheminthedark. Thattime-piecewas typicalofthecharacteroftheplain,true,no-' ble son of New England who had‘ measured ornamentation n o w disused by m o r e cunning goldsmiths. The hands were much floriated and very delicate; they revolved upon a dial ornamented by a little bunch of variegated goldflowersaboutthecenter; asmallrayed circle of silver, divided from one of gold by another wreath of roses,completed the dial, on which the numbers were marked in gold. and brother,who, on conditionthat hisright to dosowasnotcontested,graciouslyyielded thetitle,ifnotthewatch,tome. Thehappy onewhoworeit forthedayneitherranraces, climbed trees or joined in the game of “ how many miles to Merly bright,” and a volun‐ teer guard of honor was formed of the less fortunate children to remind the wearer of the dangers that encompassed her treasure. Our little friends ran races in order to be timed by the watch. The servants were favored with the exact number of seconds required to cook biscuits, and eventually it seemed a religious necessity to time the enunciation of our nightly plea, “ Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to keep; ” sothe watch was reverently laid on a chair by us as we knelt, and we were surprised to see how few were the sec‐ onds consumed in prayer. When at last custom had blunted the edge of pride and care, when sorrows had swept over the fam‐ ilyhorizon,the“flitchering” routofmerry l i t t l e children h a d g r o w n t a l l a n d g r a v e , a n d did their “dree” by the help of the much pri_zed. watch; when it had registered f o r glad parents the birth hour of the new lives entrusted to their charge, or signaled the moment appointed for farewells to parting The world was divided for us into two classes, those who observed the “glittering glory” of thechainand obliginglyinquired sufferedachangetoo,andaftermanyvicissi‐ the time of day, which, if I had not been tudes, lay in its faded red kid box, spent very naughty, my father kindly did every with longservice, silentas a sphinx, without few minutes, and those who ignored the either minute hand or crystal, antiquated beautyofmyrichpossession,butremarked, butdaintilyprettystill,andthesightofits sotto 0006, upon the utter “silliness of giv‐ ingachildsuchatrinket.” It wasaredletterdaywhentheinnercover was removed by an older member of the family to allow us, w i t h bated breath, to see agreyspirit,andthedimlightofthehidden jewels gave the watch a halo of unostenta‐ tious opulence. No words can depict the reverencewe felt for the skill of the initiated one who changed the regulator to fast or slow, or our indignation at a doubt thrown uponthe accuracy of our time. Thewatchwasworn “intie” bymyself friends, or the last hour to dying eyes that lookeddimlyuponit,thefaithfullittletrinket faithful face neverfailed tobring back “ t h e odorandbloomof those by-gonedays that willclingroundmy heartforever.” A D‘dfy/‘IZMZ7W. From the well-known Proprietor of the New York “Mail and Express.” In Y First Watch was given to me by my father, as a reward for hard study. It was a plain silver watch with a hunting case, and was secured with a silver chain. Often I fell into reveries over that watch. I remembered t h a t a watch was used in argu‐ ment t o p r o v e t h a t i t h a d a n i n t e l l i g e n t de‐ heart was queen of my heart and watch,"and sheborrowedit Whenevershewished,butshe alwaysreturnedit ontime,forsheknewthat without it I never could have a good time. It was a plain, everyday, durable watch, having no combinations with an alarm bell. a monthly day-dial, a week day-dial, or split‐ second hand; and'the only thing striking aboutit,wasitsstrikingsimplicity. Thatis the one characteristic which I have tried to copy from my watch. Indeed,there is much that all of‘us can copy from ourwatches‐ regularityof conduct,evennessof disposition and an open, candid countenance. The watch finally gave place to a gold one, just as in our national currency, silver is bound to give place to gold. Mfg/W LLIOTT F. mp signer; and, by analogy, to prove that the universewas madeby the Great Designer. I think that I acquired a greater admira‐ tion for the short hand than for the long h a n d , f r o m t h e fact t h a t w h i l e t h e l o n g h a n d was continually overtaking the short hand, yet the latter, by plodding perseverance, gained one hour in twenty-four on the long hand,andafter allmarkedjust asmuchtime. AfterawhileI foundthatthesunroseand setbymywatch.WhenTifiany& Co.were downat thecornerof BroadwayandMurray street, my watch used to regulate their regulator. Whenever I heard of a bold robbery, I used to think if the people had only set their watch on their valuables they would have retained them. 11used to wonder when I would ever learn to improve every second of time after the mannerofmy ceaseless,indefatigablewatch. That it worked while I slept, often kept me awake nights. At every youth’s entertain‐ ment, that watch marked the length of my stay.- I taught it to readby shuttingit in a book, b u t then it would never repeat its'les‐ son in any other syllables than “tick, tick, tick.” , ForthefirstsixweeksIwassoafraidthat I shouldallowit to rundown,thatI woundit up about twenty times a day. Other boys triedto borrowit,butneversucceeded,for I never did anything on tick, except to sleep. My own fair-haired, bright-eyedlittlesweet‐ From a Distinguished Woman. N MRS. B E L V A A. LOCKWOOD. THESE days, when theboy hashistoy watchat fiveandhisrealwatchatten years,the matterof a watch is not of so much importance as when watches were the exception, and not the rule. I received my First Watch by purchase while a teacherof a publicschoolin"Niagara county,NewYork. It was a silver one of Geneva manufacture, and cost me $14, a very large sum of money for a common schoolteacherat that date,whentheaver‐ age of wages was 14shillings per week, and board around. It was supposed at that time that women could only teach the summer school, as the building of the fires was added to the teach‐ er’s duties in winter. For two seasons pre‐ vious, I had called the school to order, an‐ nounced the recesses, and dismissed the school by means of a sun mark cut in the unpainted wooden window sill by the ordi‐ nary jack knife which was a part of my pos‐ sessions, and with which I also made and mended two dozen quill pens each day, plucked from the geese in the barn-yard, as was the custom at that time, and which are stillusedin thefamousschoolat Eton,where Gladstone and Salisbury received their first training, and Where the names are still graven with a similar implement on the wooden doors. (The quill pen‐remnant of the- olden time‐is still used in the United States Supreme Court.) The possession of a veritable watch, and a Geneva watch at that, was calculated to F r o m t h e major-General Commanding the Department of the East. givetheyoungschoolmistressnotonlymuch watch-pocket. It isdifficultto indicate the additional dignity, b u t precision in the hours feelings of a little boy in the presence of a of opening and closing school, as the sun watch. My father never trusted me with markwasnotat allefiectualoncloudydays, his; but I went to schoolwhen I was four andtheteacher’simaginationasto timenot always correct, and especially so for the boy kept after schoolfor misdemeanor. years old, a distance of a mile from my fath‐ er’s-house. That winter acelebrated char‐ acter,denominated “ BenMurray,” keptthe This watch, in a country school, a full school. He had a watch Smaller than my half-mile from anywhere, was a matter of father’s, He had a fine, large gold chain very grave importance, was looked at very often for weeks with very grave solemnity, and many were the urchins who wanted to ask the teacher the time of day, in order to get a peep at the watch. From the Leader of New York’s 400. Y EARLY recollections of a First Watch are not worth giving to the world, as until I reached London, in 1855,“Itooknonoteoftime.” ThenIpaid Starr& Mortimer,ofBondstreet,£50forthe watch I nowcarry. Thinkingthat my watch wouldlastmy life-time,was grievedto learn which he wore around his neck, making a brilliantappearanceoverhissilk-velvetvest. OtisHowardWas alittlerestless,asyoung‐ sters sometimes are, moved about too much, and, doubtless, sometimes talked out loud. Mr. Murray came and picked him up, and, instead of punishing him, sat h i m on his knee,and to amusehimwhilehisclasseswere reciting, put the famous watch-chain over hisneck,andgave him his beautifulwatch to holdin hishand,putto hisearandother‐ wise examine at pleasure. Ben Murray’s watch was not harmed, and he gained the boy’sheart. Later,aftermy father’sdeath, from timeto time,.Iworemy father’swatch, and have b u t an indefinite remembrance of at Tiffany’s that no watch lasted over 75 the sense of advancement, like unto promo‐ y e a r s . y i f _ _ a , t i o n i n r a n k w h i c h i t g a v e m e ; b u t have n o 4‐‐‐‐(‐‐‐“ distinct recollection of the time when I passed that watch to my brother and began to wear one of my own. I am surethat my father’s watch paved the way to the full manhood of watch wearing. (9“mm6'Now1m%fi «aw From a Scholarly and Eloquent Fix-Senator. mountingallthreehands,which I recovered from the crevices of the pavement. To my surprise it was not stopped by the shock. I took“ it to Kimball, the jeweller, who re‐ placedthehandsandinsertedanewcrystal. I feared that it was irretrievably ruined, but, strangely enough, from that hour its vagrancy ceased and it kept very good time for many years afterward. Although this accident resulted so favorably, the data are not sufficient to warrant the generalization that the surest way to reclaim an erring watch is to drop it on a stone pavement. W A S a student at t h e h i g h s c h o o l in H a v ‐ erhill, Massachusetts, sixteen years old, when my father gave memy first watch. It was a “ Lepine,” cased in burnished silver, with no chasing except a small vignette in the centerof theback cover. Uponthedial, following the circle of the numerals, and “keeping company with the hours,” was a delicate tracery oil; buds and flowers. As a time-keeperitshabitswereeccentricin the extreme. Itsvagaries couldnotbeestimated nor computed. It had no regular rate of gaining or losing,and the only sure thing about it was the certainty that it would be always wrong. The gilt hands seemed to wander at will,“frommorn till noon,from noon to dewy eve,” around their enameled circumference. Possibly my sincere b u t mis‐ guided efforts to regulate it“ added to the confusion of its rambles through the corri‐ dors of time. _ Passing along Summer street home from school one April morning, I stooped to pick somethingfromthesidewalkinfrontofPor‐ ter Harmon’s house. My watch fell from my waistcoat pocket, struck on the granite curbing, comminuting the crystal and dis‐ the limit new From the Widow of a great Leader in Armies . and Statecraft. within purses, consequently I was not the for‐ came of our meagre tunate possessor of a watch until my mar‐ riage. My husband gave me my First Watch, which is larger than those carried by ladies at the present time. It has a gold huntingcasewithquaintchasing,andisso valuedbymethatit ispriceless,andthough subsequently he honored me with one much more expensive,it does notcompare in value tomewithmyfirstone,whenIwasabride in my teens. mkflzfin HON. WILLIAM A. PEFFER. HE FirstWatchWhichI usedwas bor‐ rowed. The caSe was made of copper, andit hadasmallfaceoneinchindi‐ ameter. I hadjust passedmy fifteenthbirth‐ day, and had been employed on short notice to teach what wasknown asthe McAllister school, onthe turnpike, aboutfive mileswest of Carlisle,Pa. Butafterreceivingmy first month’s salary, which was $15, I purchased a cylinder escapement‐a beautiful little first watch. Butit pet-chanceI sometimes stop‐ Forgetto givethehour Then take me back to Cummings' shop, Andhe’willgive me power. Cummings was a watchmaker, and my father. I‘nevershallforget my sense of im‐ portance when my father placed the watch in my pocket. I was a bare-footedboy, and carried it to school. This was in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Of course, the watch was a heavy loadto carry. It hadacrowncrystali about a quarter of aninchthick. In playing draw-base on the publicsquare, oneday, thé ballwasthrownatme withdangerousrapi‐ dity. It struckthe crystalofthewatchand knockedmedown,butneverinjuredthecrys‐ tal. I have had gold watches since then, of great value,butnonethatcarriedWiththem thememoriesofthe01ddouble-casedEnglish watch carried by my grandfather and his father before him. W From the l‘lerry Little Plan Whom all the of it, as you may suppose. I kept it and used it, and loved it, until after my mar‐ riage, when I exchanged it for one a little m o r e expensive, b u t in no sense better. And that is all I now remember about my ”My ' nag/u From an Able Representative and B r i g h t Journalist. HE First watch that lI ever carried in my pocket w a s my grandfather’s, when I was a small boy. It was an old-fashioned double-case watch of English make, nearly as large as a coal-scuttle. When my grandfather died, the watch de‐ scended to my father, and my father allowed me to carry it. It was the First Watch I ever possessed. It had in the inside of the outer case these verses : MARSHALL P. WILDER. Windmewithcare andtreat mewell, Andletme havefairpla. HE First Watch 1 ever owned cost $13. It was a small silver watch, an excel‐ l e n t time-keeper, was presented to me a s a b i r t h d a y p r e s e n t i n 1873, b u t i n 1890 i t s l i t t l e t i c k , s o d e a r t o m e , w a s p u t t o sleep b y a moreambitious‘gold-case watch. This last watch keeps perfect time, and is much handsomer, of course, b u t somehow I A n d I toy o u w i l l t r y toteli' The precise time of day. ’ World Loves. little silver one my father gave me. I couldn’t keep my hand out of my pocketfor that watch. I kept a close lookout at the sun, to see if he was attending to his busi‐ ness according to my time. I used to make all kinds-of breaks at people in order to have a plausible excuse for fetching it up again. “Please sir, have you the right time?” I would ask of a passer-by, and. out the little silver would come for the purpose of com‐ parison. Of course, t h e watches agreed, butIhadtakenit outseriouslylikeother men and felt better. I thought as much of that watch as Jakey’s father did of little Jakey’s watch. “ U n d deed you say dot Shakey fell out of der vinder? ” shouted the fatherexcitedly. “ Yes,yes,Jakey,JakeyI” “ Ach,meinGott! unddeedhehafhisvach on ? ” recorder of time and of the fleeting moments as they each minute pass beyond the power ofrecall. 5ga :5:56 From an Eminent Divine. flea/W , wag/u From a General Famous in the Confederate Army. that my father gave me. But it “ r a n down” so long ago Icannot recall how it looked. I have had many watches,butI havenomoretimethanwhen I had no watch at all. It would be easier for me to tell the story of my last watch. It was given me last summer at the close of a banquet in Crystal Palace, London, Where about two hundred clergymen assembled to bid me farewell at the close of an evange‐ listic tour from the top of Scotland to the foot of England. It is a Dent watch, the circumstances of its presentation engraved On the inside of the case. It is by far the most valuable watch that I ever owned. What a good day we live in, where the hours and minutes and seconds are so ac‐ curately marked ! A truewatch is an invalu‐ able possession. 7, A; ”a 75‘; 0/31ka From the Celebrated “ Bald-Headed Humorist." Y First Watch had an American watch movement in silver hunting case, engine turned. It cost me $18, andI waseighteenyears of age. I boughtit andpaidforitmyselfoutofmywagesasa teacher. 0 Y O U seek an acquaintance with my watch?‐‐.an old, true and faithful friendthathasbeenat myside,ever ready to correctly counsel and advise, since 1855,whenI becameitsmuchbenefitedpos‐ sessor, by purchase, on the frontiers of Texas. It isanAmericanwatch,withaheavygold case. It has followed me through Indian campaigns and through the civil war, and is still the same faithful, honest and correct I kept the buckskin pocket over it most of the first year, so that it would not get scratched. From the Stores of Fancy of the “ Fancy Dial" ‘ Plan. No watch Since has given me t h a t feeling ofwealth orcomfort and easethat this one did. It hadagoodtickwithacheerfulring to it, and a placid,honest face. It was a willing watch, and did whatever its hands found to do. \ I still remember how proud and happy I wasto confessto thetaxcollectorthatI was subject to a tax on “watches,jewelry“,etc.,” and I felt sorry for those who were simply voters without assisting the government in a pecuniary way bybeing tax-payers. It was my companion when I had no one else through a prolonged financial panic, confined entirely to myself and of a purely ofapawnbrokerevenwhenI washungryand the qualification “ f o r the money.” I got it “ o n time” from a good kind pawnbroker, who assured me it had morethan ordinary success asa “runner”‐it had, too, when it ran. I know it was remarkably “fast”when I carriedit. Thepawnbrokerhad a realgood heart‐hadformed quite an attachment for the watch, and I used to loan it to him occa‐ sionallyforaslightconsideration(I hadmany engagements in those days, and was earning only$3aweeklearninghowto makewatch cases). It was an old Fusee, born before fancy dials were ripe, and- sent out into the worldwithacap on. Itspossessionincreased my stock of conceit, self-reliance and confi‐ dence. It was the most attractive thing to methat youcanimagine,and incitedevery‐ body’s jealousy‐and I suffered a great deal ~ from this cause. One night I attended an amateur performance of Hamlet, and was gratuitouslyand «publicly insulted by some of the cast whom I thought were friends of mine. Hamlet~ strutted out on'the stage, and looking at me, said “Hold you the watch to-ni'ght P” (insinuating t h a t the pawn-broker held it). ,I was confused, and arose to answer, when two fellows, named Guilderstern and Rosencranz, came for‐ ward, and Guildy said “I do,my Lordl ” Now that was simply a‘lie, and I got up right then and there and told him so‐and they put mefout. If I asked a friend to sing a song, hewould sing about the “Larboard Watc ” or “The Watch on the Rhine.” Thosemayhavebeenverygoodwatches,and I did not care to say anything about them that I could not back up, but I am free to confess, I did not think much of them. I took exceedingly good care of that watch. I did not uselessly wind it up. I knew that would wear it out and impair its efficiency. In those days peoplewound their watches every week, and some even wound them everyday, andthentheywonderedwhatwas the matter with them, and why they had to jobless. 12 . In From a “ Bright Particular S t a r ” in the Journalistic Firmament. Y First Watch is not worth “ two hundredandfiftywords.” It haslong been ticking‐if it ticks‐against the manly bosom of an old friend. If I had ever hadanyfeelingforthatbadtime-keeper,it is lost in oblivion. ' L.(ac-62: gala/(g /\ m ARCH the 1st, 1873, found me seven‐ teen years youngandthe possessorof the best watch in the world, without have them repaired. I never spent a cent to repair my watch, and it is asgood to-day as it was the day I bought it. Some people never appreciate how delicate a piece of machinery a watch is, and think it is made to run. I am proudto say I did my duty by that watch and pensioned it off. It is now taking a needed rest. It did much for me when I was young and poor and friendless. It taught me to respect myself and to think I was twice as big a man as I think I am now. It gave me a manly perpendicularity which might be described as leaning back‐ with that watch in my pocket. One look at its reproachful face, and I was ossified. I reasoned that if at my age I was able to ac‐ quire the great distinction of owning such a watch I could bepardonedfor believing the world held nothing which I might not aspire to. Riperyearsandexperiencehavestripped green youth air castles of their dearest be‐ longings, b u t t h e o l d t i c k e r is up on t h e s h e l f close by, a r e m i n d e r o f t h e m a n y m i g h t - h a v e ‐ dones I plucwked in youthful day dreams. «aw From a Southern Ex-(ieneral and Ex-Governor. HE First Watch I ever owned was brought over from [Paris by a first cousin of _mine, a n d presented to me when I was a Cadet at West Point. _ asayoungofficerin theUnitedStatesArmy, before the war, in Texas, where it accom‐ panied me in several Indian fights, and in one of them was dented by an arrow shot. I afterwards had a new case put on it in SanAntonio,Texas,andworeit throughthe latewar from ’61to ’65,when,itsworksget‐ ting very much out of order, I sold it in ' Richmond,V815, for the gold onit, using it in part payment for another watch. From a World-Famous Orator. It wasalarge,thin,flatwatch,withagold back,perfectly plain and Smooth. I wore it COL. ROBERT G. INGERSOLL. DO NOT remember my First Watch-‐ though I certainly had a first one; and I cannot tell whether it was good, bad or indifferent‐‐but I presume it was bad. now it is‐without a watch you lose the train; andlosingmanytrainsconsecutively invites demoralization. fi‘ififfi . From a most able Statesman and Leader of the Republican Party. Y “First Watch” was given to me 112 by my mother in the spring of 1839. I was sixteen years old, just setting out f r o m my home in Lancaster, Ohio, to join an engineer corps as junior rodman, and during the two years which Ispent in the From an Eminent Jurist and Justice of the . SupremeCourt. ‐ REALLY cannot remember when I ob‐ tained “ M y First.Watch.” My father was a clergymanwith a meagre salary, and found it too hard to provide his sons with anythingbut an education. I was ob‐ ligedtoteachschoolat $18amonthduring my senior year in college to help “ pay my way.” After graduation I came to New York and studied law, at the same time working in the oflice of my brother, David DudleyField. My paywasbut$200ayear, and as I paid $150 for my living expenses, the remaining $50 found ample scope for work in supplying my clothes and incidental expenses. A watch did not figure in these “incidentals.” I got along without almost everything, and I presume that I must have In view of these facts, I suppose that having passed that period when the pes‐ sessionof awatchmeanssomuchto aboy, work of survey throughout the northern part of Ohio I was never without this old companion. It bore hard usage with heroic fortitude, a n dwas unwaveringin its correct‐ ness of habit. portance incident to the acquisitionof my the works which measured the hours and minutes w i t h such intelligence. In viewoftheWonderfuladvanceinwatch‐ making in the last 50years, and the conse‐ quent elevation of the standard of quality,I presume my old silver watch kept but rea‐ sonably good time, and might not now jus‐ tifythe respectand considerationwithwhich it is surrounded by the lapse of years. In the course of time I became the posses‐ sor of a more expensive gold watch, but I amsurethat it failedtoquitefilltheplace the circumstances incident to the’purchase of my fi r s t watch were of such prosaic in my affections occupied by My First natureastocreatenolastingimpression. Watch. Mtg/M From A Distinguished Lieutenant-General of the ' Confederate A r m y . It wasbutanindifferenttime-keeper,and when its successor appeared my affections werepromptlytransferredto themorecostly and accurate time-keeper of gold. While the gold watch was a vast improve‐ ment upon my first, I now prefer a silver‐ cased watch for generaluse,and I am inclin‐ edto believethatthispreferenceonmy part originatedfrommy afiectionformy old-fash‐ ioned and unreliable silver time-piece. GEN. WELL A. EARLY. HAVE never owned or worn but one watchin all my life. That watch I still have and wear, and it is in good running order. It isadouble-casegoldwatch,andwas manufactured in England. It was purchased b y m y e l d e r b r o t h e r f r o m W m . Owen, o f C i n ‐ cinnati,andpresentedto me notlongbefore theMexicanWar. .I havewornit onmy per‐ son through all the vicissitudes of my life since it was presentedto me. flaw/4a From the Present Secretary of The Interior. From President Cleveland’s Law Partner, now Postmaster-General. Y RECOLLECTIONS of “My First Watch” arenotsowelldefinedasyou would desire. ”It was a very ordinary double-cased silver affair of the style socom‐ mon 35years ago. The watch was a pres‐ ent from my father, given to mewhen I was fourteen, as a reward promised for the per‐ formance of some task, and could not have beenexpensive, for hegenerallysettledwith me as cheaply as possible. non. w. S I WAS aboutleavingmy homein the western part of North Carolina to take charge of my first school, my father g a v e me a g o l d watch. Delighted as any boy of 16would have been with such a present, I realizedthat the watch was a far better one than my father then carried. I insisted, much against his will, in changing with him, andsocame into possessionof “MyFirstWatch.” It was one of the earliest watches madein this country of gold, and open-faced. My father had bought it when a student at ' s. BIBSELL. b tutdring studentsof lessaptitude. to mm a-watchbeforehewent awayto study for “goingup”to theUniversity. I remem‐ b e r t h a t w a t c h v e r y w e l l , a l t h o u g h t h e don‐ faced silver time-piece, and could not have‐ beenexpensive,or it wouldhaveneverbeenen‐ trusted to my tender mercies. It performed under, what candor Compels me to admit must havebeen,discouragingcircumstances. I t s end was sudden and complete. One day it stopped! I failed to detect any visible trouble, and proceeded to take it apart. Whether this closer examination revealed any morethanbeforeI cannotrecall,butmy means failed to justify the“ end! I put my watchtogether,andwhilemyreorganization planwas apparently Correct,the result was not a success, for my watchnever again re‐ sumed i t s duties! I think that I obtained my next watch while at school at Cologne, and carried it while a student"m the University of Bonn. Bowdoiniwiththe money.hehad earned in this watch with me constantly for 10years, and althoughat least40yearsold,it keptthe time with.rare discrimination;’_and was scarcelyeveroutof order. HadI goneto col‐ lege, I shouldhavetakenthewatchoriginal‐ ly purchasedf o rme. , B u t my-father‐‘who was,Ithink,thebesteducatedmanthatI ever knew‐completedmy educationat home,and sowenever made the transfer until I‘was 26 years old. Then,uponmy departure,I re‐ ceived t h e o r i g i n a l g o l d w a t c h a n d c a r r i e d i t for years, but I can truly say that never haveI owned a time-piece which was soreli‐ able or« so tenderly remembered as my father’s old watch. Mi?“ From a Distinguished Scholar and statesman; Y First Watch was a gift to me when I was seven years old. I was then living with my parentsat Liblar, on the left bank of the Rhine, and one can easily understand t h e commotion occasioned by this watch. It was then unusualfor aboy HON. CARL SCHURZ. The watch which I now have is a gold hunting-cased Jurgensen, purchased by me in Copenhagen some 16years ago. I have never found occasion to personally by whom I first came in possession of a ‘ my“FirstWatch”wouldeverjustifymein watch; thelastone,however,isanAmeri‐ repairit,andI questionif my experiencewith attempting to aid it"in keeping time. f... ,, noN. caucus A.DANA. O N L Y remember a Watch was given to me. Justwhen,orofwhatsort,I can’t remember. From the Gallant Leader of Those who ' “ Fought Mit Sigel." T WOULD have afiorded me pleasure to give you a little sketch of “ m y experi‐ ences with My First Watch,” but al‐ “flu From Grand Master Workman Powderly. DO notbelievethatanyonecareswhether I had a first or last watch, and feel that n o one i s l y i n g awake n i g h t s t o h e a rf r o m me on the subject. My “ FirstWatch” was aclock. It answeredeverypurposeasatime‐ piece until I was ten years of age, when I ex‐ perienced a desire to own a watch that I couldcarrywithme. Pockettmoneywasnot soplentifulinthosedaysamengboysasnow, andit took me five years to lay aside the pennies, h a l f dimes a n d dimes t h a t came i n t o my possession. When 15 years of age I had $18, and as I counted it out on the table one night I distinctly rememberthatthebiggest pieceofmoneyinthepilewasanold-fashion‐ ed copper cent, while the highest in denomi‐ though I greatly appreciate the “faithful services”ofagoodwatch,I maybepardoned in sayingthat in the course of about six de‐ nation was a dime. With this I bought a cades I havelostalltraceofwhere,how,and double-case Swiss watch, cylinder escape‐ 11. em1, om'v. mAnz' stem: , wcanwatch'of moderndesign,‘which, I have carried f o r so'me years. It serves me very ment,anditsappearancein my homewas anddidnotwanttoask anyoneelsewhat thefirstintimationthatmyparentshadof timeitwas,thereforethedesiretobeinde‐ pendent and own a watch of my own. it. My father,after carefully examiningit, Whether another boy had a watch or not madenodifferenceto me. I wouldratherhe T. V. POWDERLY. concluded that it was notasgood awatch as I ought to have. He accompaniedme to the jeweler’s the next day and permitted me to select a m o r e valuable time-piece of t h e same manufacture. I carried that watch until 1880, when it began to lose and gain time after a fashion that seriouslyinterferedwith t h e schedule t i m e of t h e railroads t h a t I h a d to travelover,andI laidit asideforonemore reliable. The old watch was left with a jeweler for repairsin 1884; I haveneverseen it since, for the jeweler could never account for it, at least he never accounted to me for i t . The self-denial, temptation to spend t h e money, particularly when Fourth of July would come around, and the sneers of other boys wholaughedat my expresseddetermin‐ ationto purchaseawatchwereallatonedfor when I fastened a little steel chain to that watch and thrust it into my vest pocket. I cannot say that I felt very proud of-my pos‐ session,forit wasnotto feel proud that I boughtit. I wantedtoknowthetime,want‐ ed'to beontime when I hadanengagement, m How President Cleveland Obtained his First Watch. HENGroverClevelandwas 17hewent to Buffalo and commenced the study of Law in the office of Rogers, Brown would have one than not, but my watch, to helpmekeepthetime,waswhat I wanted, and that is what I got. There was no ro‐ manceabout My FirstWatch, b u t the strug‐ gle to get it taught me some lessons in self‐ denialthatwereof more service to me in after life than the watchcouldpossiblybe. & Rogers. He purchased a second-hand silver watch f o r $12, which kept most excellent time and was evidently worth the money, for the President says : “ I have never had anything which gave me somuch satisfactionasMy FirstWatch!” SOME ONE has said that “he who can make two blades of grass. g r o w where only one grew before deserves more of praise from humanitythanthewholeraceof poli‐ ticians put together.” We recall the quota‐ tion in reflecting that the development of THUS,THROUGHmanypages,mightbe con‐ tinued the experiences of EminentAmericans onthe subjectmostengagingto theimagina‐ tionofyouth‐theFirstWatch. Thetesti‐ processesandeconomiesin the makingof a watch enables an American of to-day to buy a reliable time-keeper at one-tenth of the price he would have paid twenty-five years ago. A genius of business, whose mind can plan, and execute enterprises which bring sympathy which vibrates from the enthusi‐ great inventions into the serVice of the astic heart of the youth of each of us. people, is a moral force of incalculablegood. There is reasonfor this peculiar sentiment At no remote day, brains in trade will be toward one’s First Watch. No other me‐ fitly estimated at higher value then brains mony herein recorded is interesting, not alone because of the eminence of the wit‐ echo in the individual experience of every reader, and strikes a responsive chord of in politics, and the constructive and organ‐ izing talent will stand above all other. Such signal instances of wonderful accomp‐ lishment as t h a t through which every citizen may carry a reliable time-piece are coming and going. -Well did a celebrated forerunners of the hastening day; and it Chief Justice remark that the number of should bethe glory of the'timesthat such chanical device seems so nearly a sentient creature; no other article carries such sense of comradeshipto thewearer; nothingthat embodies t h e constructive genius of m a n be‐ comes so nearly indispensable in his daily Watches worn in any community was the measure of the refinement and civilization of t h a t community I IT Is A question whether the jeweler always fully realizes his opportunities to do good in his community. A l l missionary man who calls attention to a new dollar price for a former two dollar value must be classed among the philanthropists. The jeweler who sells New York Standard Watches is a missionary and a philanthro‐ pist‐exercising his beneficence, first upon the intelligence of the public, and then upon its pocket-book. WOULDN’T the distinguished contributors to this souvenir be amazed if they were told of the enormous disproportion of price and value in watches in their FirstWatch-buy‐ ingdays and ours! An excellent time-keeper cannowbeboughtfor one-sixththecostof no-better-practical value twenty-five years ago‐“and the greatest of these” watches in the new dispensation is the NEW YORK STANDARD. creations as the New York StandardWatch are possible in this day and generation.‐ C’ondensed from an Exchange. ~A “ First ” . Watch. First in embodyingalltheneedfultime‐ keeping requirements at the least price ever asked for similar value. First in uniting extreme beauty with true worth, without extra cost to the final wearer. F i r s t in exhibiting valuable innova‐ tions in watch-making methods, through which its makers have been able to economize in p r o ‐ cesses and improve results. First to win from the Jewelry Trade in a l l countries the unchallenged title, “ T h e Best Watch World for the Money.” in the The New' York Standard Watch. “ 5 : ' - OM 1887 to 1893 is a brief ” span of six years‐scarcely timeenoughforatree-trunkto add an inch to its diameter, for a child to grow out of babyhood, for a newly-built wall to veil its new‐ ness with softening tints of age; yet that little time was sufficient for the birth, the development and the fruition The factory is provided for every emer‐ product of nearly a millionwatches and the gency, and is not dependent on outside upbuilding of a reputation which extends sources for daily continuance of its opera‐ around the globe! This reflection is in‐ tions. It hasitsown electriclightplant; its spired by the illustration on page 2. ownartesianwellto provideabundantsupply Turntothepicture. Thesmallcutinthe ofwateratalltimes;itsownautomaticfire lowerleft-handcornerrepresentstheoriginal protection; is perfectly heated and ventil‐ factorybuildingoftheNewYork'Standard ated,andin everyfeature that addsto the‐ Watch Company in 1888; the larger cut comfort,safetyandhealthofemployesaswell as the enforcement of strict discipline and over-sight of departments by foremen and superintendents, it is a model of American factory provision. of an idea which shows tangible results of showsthepresentplant,completed.in 1892, having a capacity to make two thousand watch movements on every working day in the year. The picture tells the story of the rapidly increasingpopularity of the product within four years, and suggests to the theprocessesofmakingoneofthesewatches; thoughtful mind that such a popularity toleadyouthroughtheselong,bright,clean could only be secured by'essential worth in the watch itself and essential value for the price at whichit ISsold. rooms, filled with earnest and happy work-. ers; to show you the system and method which prevails everywhere; to introduce p o l i c y . These e x e c u t i v e economies a r e matched by the wonderfully ingenious auto‐ matic machinery employed in making the watches. The company benefits from this happy joining of highest technical skill and an unusual combination of business capa‐ cities; butthe finalwearer of a NewYork Standard Watch benefits in no less'degree because of these factors in i t s construction. The latest comer into any field of enter‐ you to these intelligent gentlemen at the prisebenefitsfromtheaccrued experiencesof allwhohaveprecededhim. Notethisfactory building. It is a factory builtforbusiness. It is a modelbuilding, in t h a t every provision has been made for the comfort of faithful workmen,forprotectionfromfire, forperfect lighting,andforallthatmakesforeffective management; b u t every dollar expended upon it was directed to the object of secur‐ i n g maximum advantage in quality of the product at minimum of cost. Herein one can beginto understandthe reasonsfor the low prices at which the products of this fac‐ heads of departments, all of whom are of national eminence in their trade domain ; to ' have you stand in amazed wonder before machines which are almost human in seem‐ ing intelligence and more than human in tangible accomplishment; to marvel t h a t a contrivancewhichyoucouldputintoyour h a t turns out ten thousand finished screws a day, requiring only an occasional visit from a small boy to feed it with a rod of steel wire; and to finally appreciate, in its entirety, this splendid illustration of Ameri‐ can pluck and enterprise, this total of evi‐ dence of Americangenius assembled in the buildingof “ The Best Watch in the World tory can be sold, in connection with the fact that similar economies are practiced in all the various operations of the company’s for the Money.” We wish we had space herein to describe THE BEST IN THE WORLD EOR'THE MONEY. 23 JTHINGS . , ‐ WHICH WATCH BUYERS lnusr CONSIDER‐ lstz' Quality. To carry a poor timekeeper is only a little better than to carry none at all ‐ i f indeed it is not a little worse. Our Watches are the cashiers of Time’s treasury. Iftheycheatusinpayingoutthevaluableminutes,lietouscon‐ cerning our hour-savings, deceive us in our multitudinous comings and goings, they are absblutely bad, whatever their price‐for price isn’t always a certifi‐ cate of characterm Watches. THE NEW YORK STANDARD WATCH hasachieved‐its great popular‐ i t y mainly because of its remarkable performance as a timekeeper, as attested * bythousandsofunsolicitedtestimonials.“Lessthan fivesecondsvariation in a month,”istherecordfrequentlyreportedby enthusiasticwearers. 2d: Appearance. Lessthantwentyyearsagotheonlythoughtin themindsofWatchMove‐ ment makers was to make a Movement, as to appearance, that was pleasing to the technical eye of the watchmaker only; but an educated publictaste now demands that .a watch combine beauty with utility. The makers of the NEW YORK STANDARD WATCH have been foremost in thus uniting the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in time-keeping contrivance. * 0 3d : Price. Theexquisite “ damaskeening” of theplatesof thisWatch ismatchedby the artistic and elegant Dials put on all but the cheapest grades. These dials are the last words of the A r t Beautifulin Watch construction. (See third page of cover.) The Upper Ten Thousand buy extravagant watches, because of the price; but the wiser lower Ten Millionhave prudent thought of the question of dollars and cents." Price is not always the measure of value. The final question is performance, always. Ingeniousautomatic machinery and economical manage‐ ment enable the Lower Ten Millionto buyWatches which give the sameresults as the extravagant pieces of the Upper Ten Thousand ; and thus the American instinct for economy is “pulling the laboring oar” for NEW YORK STANDARD W A T C H success. Whenyou seetheNEW YORK STANDARD WATCH you will beamazed thatsuchatime-piece can be sold at 25per cent. belowsimilargradesof con‐ * temporaryproduct;but when you wearthe watch,and note itsperformance, y o u r amazement w i l l increase ten-fold. ' New York Standard Watch Co. . A Marvel of Machinery. ' " WO Y O U realize t h a t the watch in upon them in their manufacture, and to the exceedingly great strength, accuracy and beauty of these splendid movements. No watch yet placed upon the market "has sur‐ passed.theNewYork Standardinmeritasa time-keeper, which readily accounts for the steady and heavy-demand madeforit by the trade and the public. It is entirely safe to assert that no better moderate-pricedwatch has ever been produced, but then modern ingenuity and skilltendtowardadvancement in a l l lines. This fact is powerfully in evi‐ dence in the products of this enterprising factory, Whose achievements have already placed their watches in the front rank of American manufactures. WHENyouhavereadtheuniquesymposium whichsparklesthroughthesepages,andhave learned that America’s most distinguished sonsanddaughters,withonevoice,proclaim t h a t their greatest joy was in the possession of a watch, lettheirexperiencebeofprofitto you. The same delight which they enjoyed awaits you, and maybefoundat any jewelry storebyaskingforTheNewYorkStandard, “ The Best -Watch in the World for the Money.” To My Watch. For sevendaysthouhasthadforrepose A pillowsofterthantheeider’sdown, F a r sweeter t h a n t h e b a l m y a i r t h a t blows Across a field where every flower’s a rose, A n d f a i r e r t h a n those s i l v e r y r a y s w h i c h c r o w n Theopeningday,andbanishnight’sdark brown. Thou hast reposed within a sacred dell, Betweentwopolishedivory hillockswhite; Against herpulsingheartthou roseand tell. Alas! itssecretlovethoucanstnottell; But0, howoft,thoumeasurerof time’s flight, WithreverenceI’vekissedthy faceto-nightl ‐ N e w York Sun. “Anidler is a watch that wants both hands: As useless when it goes as when it stands! ” “ ”l‘iswithourjudgmentsasourwatchesfnone Gojust alike,buteachbelieveshisown!" your vest pocket is really one of the most wonderful achieve‐ ments of human ingenuity? ,, Did it ever occur to you that all the 4 'Wisdom of ancient Greece, all the intel‐ lectofRomeinthetimeofthe Caesars, all the splendid attainments of Oriental peo‐ ples in an earlier age, were alike unequal to to the production of this marvel of mechan‐ ism? It is the highest reach of genius in the direction of mechanics. Some of the facts connected with the per‐ formance of a watch are simply incredible when considered in totals. Thehumanarm, operating ablacksmith’shammer,ispossibly capableofstrikingseveralthousandblowson theanvilinaday;butthereillerjewelofa watch makes every day, and day after day, 432,000impactsagainsttheforks,or157,680,‐ 000 blows in a year, and 3,153,600,000 in the short span of twenty years! These figures are simply stupefying, and beyond the com‐ prehensionof anyintellect; andthefactthat somanymechanicalblowscanbegiven,ina discontinuous motion, without impairingthe integrity of the machine as a‘time-keeper, is the marvel of mechanical construction. Another wonderful fact is the distance traversedby theexteriorofthebalancewheel, consideringthe power of the impelling force whichmovesit. In roundfiguresit traverses 7,500milesperyear. A watchspringweigh‐ ing30grainswill“run” it forthirtyhours. One horse-power develops in one hour 1,957,500foot-pounds (attherateof 725foot‐ pounds available per pound of steel). One horse-power would thus suffice to r u n 270,‐ 000,000watches,or more than all that exist on the globe. ‘ From “ T h e Optician.” HE remarkably h i g h standing in public favornowheldby the NewYork Stan‐ dard ‘Watch Co.’s splendid watches is unquestionablydueto thegreatcarebestowed The New York Standard watch Company has introduced an innovation in watch manufacture in furnishing its iI-jeweled and higher grade movements with exquisitely decorated fancy porcelain dials. The hitherto homely countenance of watches is succeeded by the pretty face, on watches made by this com‐ pany. The bold, staring, white dial, plain as a pipe-stem has had its day. ‘ A poor dial discredits a good watch. An aristocrat should look his station; and watches are the aristocracy of machinery. The watches of this company present an external appearance befitting their title of nobility in the mechanical a r t s ‐ a fair, true face in keepmg with their quality of soul. Alas! the printing press cannot convey an idea of the ex‐ quisite tints on these beautiful dials‐the delicate shades of rose and blue andviolet and gilt andsilver, Only seeingis believing! The New York Standard Watch Co. “a .f Presented‘with t h e Cornpfirhentsof c. w. OSGOOD, SAXTON’S RIVER, VT. DEA‘LER IN >N. Y. Standard Watches “The Best in the World for the Money.” Clocks, Jewelry,ISilverware . . . '. . and‘ Optical Goods. Watch and Jewelry Repairing a Specialty. All Goods Warrahted As Represented.