The Lawson Clock Story is still missing some
details but thanks to contributions from Henry
Fenenbock, Dr. Neil Kuns and Dana Slawson we now
have many more pieces of the puzzle.
If you are interested in obscure 20th century history, I think you'll find the story interesting. If you just want to know who the Lawson designers Fehrer & Adomatis were, you can skip to "Is my K.E.M. Weber clock really a Paul Feher clock?"
If you are interested in obscure 20th century history, I think you'll find the story interesting. If you just want to know who the Lawson designers Fehrer & Adomatis were, you can skip to "Is my K.E.M. Weber clock really a Paul Feher clock?"
It's commonly assumed the products of Lawson Clocks
Limited, established c.1934 are among the very
first digital clocks. And it's a good guess, what
with the 1930's interest in speed and streamlining.
But as with many facets of the Lawson story, what
seems to make sense doesn't happen to be true.
Digital clocks were available at least as early as 1903, when Eugene Fitch patented his Plato clock.
Digital clocks were available at least as early as 1903, when Eugene Fitch patented his Plato clock.
Of course, the Plato clock was what we would call
today a "flip" clock. Cyclometer clocks--clocks
that displayed the time on rotating drums
(wheels)--first appeared in the 1930s and
were produced by several companies. However, just two, the Pennwood Company and
Lawson Time, Inc. would produce them for decades.
The invention that made Lawson clocks possible came from F. A. Greenawalt. From the Circleville (Ohio) Herald, June 2, 1933:
INVENTS ODD CLOCK - The clock has lost its face and hands. That is the result of an
invention by Frederick A. Greenawalt of Pittsburgh who has perfected a contrivance which tells time by figures. After two years work Greenawalt achieved his aim using three drums of different size and bearing figures. The piece is electrically controlled and works much similar to an automobile speedometer.
Greenawalt, an employee of the Pennwood Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, filed his cyclometer clock patent application on March 10, 1933. Close on his heels, Edgar Bourquin, tireless inventor for the Warren Telechron Company, filed his cyclometer clock application on July 6. In one of many odd coincidences in the Lawson story, both inventors received their patents the same day, February 12, 1935.
If it matters, it's likely Greenawalt was first because he claimed his patent application was a "continuation" of an application filed in 1932.
Both Lawson and Pennwood used Greenawalt's mechanism and clocks were available in 1934, prior to the issuance of Greenawalt's patent, but more about this later. Let's start in 1934, when Lawson Clocks Limited opened for business....
1934 was dismal. The Depression wore on and it was obvious it wouldn't be over anytime soon. One bright spot, the Chicago Worlds Fair, an early showcase of the streamline moderne style that would be used for many Lawson clocks, was wrapping up. In another coincidence in the Lawson story, a concessionaire at the fair, Henry Fenenbock, would eventually be the owner of Lawson Time, Inc.
But for now, in 1934, unemployment was at 25%. There was no social safety net to speak of. The federal government began insuring bank deposits up to $2500 but this was no help to those who had lost everything in the crash of 1929.
In the midst of this long nightmare, Lindley Spencer Lawson and his son Harold opened Lawson Clocks Limited at 2329 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. You may wonder why someone would start a business making fancy novelty clocks under these circumstances. And where would the money come from?
To take the second question first, it appears money wasn't an issue. Lawson Clocks Ltd. was an offshoot of a much larger, older and highly successful business, the Lawson Manufacturing Company established in Homestead, Pennsylvania in 1901. Lawson Manufacturing made gas water heaters, room heaters and stoves. It was a very good business. In 1914, Lawson built a bigger factory in nearby Pittsburgh and by the 1920s, there were factories in London and Paris as well.
were produced by several companies. However, just two, the Pennwood Company and
Lawson Time, Inc. would produce them for decades.
The invention that made Lawson clocks possible came from F. A. Greenawalt. From the Circleville (Ohio) Herald, June 2, 1933:
INVENTS ODD CLOCK - The clock has lost its face and hands. That is the result of an
invention by Frederick A. Greenawalt of Pittsburgh who has perfected a contrivance which tells time by figures. After two years work Greenawalt achieved his aim using three drums of different size and bearing figures. The piece is electrically controlled and works much similar to an automobile speedometer.
Greenawalt, an employee of the Pennwood Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, filed his cyclometer clock patent application on March 10, 1933. Close on his heels, Edgar Bourquin, tireless inventor for the Warren Telechron Company, filed his cyclometer clock application on July 6. In one of many odd coincidences in the Lawson story, both inventors received their patents the same day, February 12, 1935.
If it matters, it's likely Greenawalt was first because he claimed his patent application was a "continuation" of an application filed in 1932.
Both Lawson and Pennwood used Greenawalt's mechanism and clocks were available in 1934, prior to the issuance of Greenawalt's patent, but more about this later. Let's start in 1934, when Lawson Clocks Limited opened for business....
1934 was dismal. The Depression wore on and it was obvious it wouldn't be over anytime soon. One bright spot, the Chicago Worlds Fair, an early showcase of the streamline moderne style that would be used for many Lawson clocks, was wrapping up. In another coincidence in the Lawson story, a concessionaire at the fair, Henry Fenenbock, would eventually be the owner of Lawson Time, Inc.
But for now, in 1934, unemployment was at 25%. There was no social safety net to speak of. The federal government began insuring bank deposits up to $2500 but this was no help to those who had lost everything in the crash of 1929.
In the midst of this long nightmare, Lindley Spencer Lawson and his son Harold opened Lawson Clocks Limited at 2329 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. You may wonder why someone would start a business making fancy novelty clocks under these circumstances. And where would the money come from?
To take the second question first, it appears money wasn't an issue. Lawson Clocks Ltd. was an offshoot of a much larger, older and highly successful business, the Lawson Manufacturing Company established in Homestead, Pennsylvania in 1901. Lawson Manufacturing made gas water heaters, room heaters and stoves. It was a very good business. In 1914, Lawson built a bigger factory in nearby Pittsburgh and by the 1920s, there were factories in London and Paris as well.
But even with money available, why do it? I can only speculate but I think the key is Los Angeles. Even in the worst years of the Depression there were people who did well, and many of them were in Los Angeles. Not just in the movie business, but also oil, real estate, vice, and people of means who moved to California for their health--sunshine, oranges and fresh air. Whatever the reason, it was a canny decision to make the clocks in L.A. where non-traditional things were appreciated and at least some people could afford them. For reference, A Lawson Zephyr, listed at $27.50 in 1938 would cost $421.05 in 2010 dollars. And it wasn't the most expensive model!
What about K.E.M. Weber? Having mentioned the Zephyr clock, I might as well address KEM Weber's connection to Lawson Time, which appears minimal. Three things are known. First, he made some drawings for Lawson. Second, no clocks have surfaced that match any existing drawings. Third, it's unlikely that people selling Lawson clocks today will abandon their claims that Weber designed their clock if they think it will lead to a higher selling price.
One thing it seems certain KEM Weber did NOT design is the Zephyr clock--in part because the Lawson catalog says he didn't--but for other reasons as well. I've written a long explanation of this but unless you are very familiar with early Lawson clocks its simply too much detail to go into here. For another take on this, see the LACMA blog.
Before I move on to who did design the clocks, for those of you who see KEM Weber's modernistic hand in every Lawson design let me point out that some were far from modern in appearance:
By the way, it seems Lindley Lawson was himself a
capable modern designer. His 1930 drawing for a
heater looks like a rocketship!
Is my K.E.M. Weber clock really a Paul Feher
clock? I think so.
The Lawsons clearly understood the value of good
design and in making their designer's
names known. The earliest Lawson catalog to surface, 1938, shows models that would be produced for years, both before and after the war, yet none of the early "pre-patent" clocks appears. Why? Enter designers "Ferher and Adomatis".
My first thought was that Ferher was Paul Feher, the brilliant Hungarian designer and
metalsmith who worked worked at the Rose Iron Works in Cleveland. Initially, I dismissed
this for two reasons. (1) The different spelling of the name and (2) I knew that, lacking
work, Feher left Cleveland in the 1930s and returned to Hungary. What I didn't know was
that, finding things no better in Hungary, Feher returned to the U.S. and this time he went to...Los Angeles.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Paul Feher was in Los Angeles in the early days of Lawson Time. But for now, let's assume that Paul Feher, with his extraordinary skill in metalwork, and specialization in Art Deco design was the "Ferher" on the Lawson catalog.
The other player in our story, Adomatis, has been identified by the Yale University Art Gallery as George H. Adomaitis (sic?), a somewhat obscure designer. Here, I believe Lawson got the spelling right because there are references to George Adomatis (Lawson's spelling), first in Cleveland and then in Los Angeles, each at exactly the right time.
We now come to two more all but impossible coincidences. You'll recall, Paul Feher worked in Cleveland but ended up in Los Angeles c.1935. George Adomatis, positively identified as one of the Lawson designers, was also from Cleveland. And in the 1936 Los Angeles phone directory, we find George Adomatis.
So, we have Lawson Clocks established in 1934. We then have Paul Feher ("Ferher") and George Adomatis (possibly Adomaitis), both from Cleveland, both relocating to Los Angeles
c.1935 and both appearing in the Lawson catalog of 1938. It also makes sense that Feher, the more prominent of the two, would receive top billing. Finally, it seems the name spelled "Ferher" is rare almost to the point of being nonexistent; if you Google "Mr. Ferher", it will substitute Feher in the search results.
For more information on Paul Feher, click here.
Here are photos of Feher's extraordinary screen that served as the centerpiece of the Smithsonian's American Art Deco exhibit in 1988. Also, a Feher table. Many art experts consider Paul Feher's work to be the pinnacle of American Art Deco.
names known. The earliest Lawson catalog to surface, 1938, shows models that would be produced for years, both before and after the war, yet none of the early "pre-patent" clocks appears. Why? Enter designers "Ferher and Adomatis".
My first thought was that Ferher was Paul Feher, the brilliant Hungarian designer and
metalsmith who worked worked at the Rose Iron Works in Cleveland. Initially, I dismissed
this for two reasons. (1) The different spelling of the name and (2) I knew that, lacking
work, Feher left Cleveland in the 1930s and returned to Hungary. What I didn't know was
that, finding things no better in Hungary, Feher returned to the U.S. and this time he went to...Los Angeles.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Paul Feher was in Los Angeles in the early days of Lawson Time. But for now, let's assume that Paul Feher, with his extraordinary skill in metalwork, and specialization in Art Deco design was the "Ferher" on the Lawson catalog.
The other player in our story, Adomatis, has been identified by the Yale University Art Gallery as George H. Adomaitis (sic?), a somewhat obscure designer. Here, I believe Lawson got the spelling right because there are references to George Adomatis (Lawson's spelling), first in Cleveland and then in Los Angeles, each at exactly the right time.
We now come to two more all but impossible coincidences. You'll recall, Paul Feher worked in Cleveland but ended up in Los Angeles c.1935. George Adomatis, positively identified as one of the Lawson designers, was also from Cleveland. And in the 1936 Los Angeles phone directory, we find George Adomatis.
So, we have Lawson Clocks established in 1934. We then have Paul Feher ("Ferher") and George Adomatis (possibly Adomaitis), both from Cleveland, both relocating to Los Angeles
c.1935 and both appearing in the Lawson catalog of 1938. It also makes sense that Feher, the more prominent of the two, would receive top billing. Finally, it seems the name spelled "Ferher" is rare almost to the point of being nonexistent; if you Google "Mr. Ferher", it will substitute Feher in the search results.
For more information on Paul Feher, click here.
Here are photos of Feher's extraordinary screen that served as the centerpiece of the Smithsonian's American Art Deco exhibit in 1988. Also, a Feher table. Many art experts consider Paul Feher's work to be the pinnacle of American Art Deco.
Extraordinary metalwork from Paul Feher. Above: A
screen; Top right: a Feher table; Bottom right:
detail
of table.
of table.
Before we leave the topic of design, I should mention that many Lawson clocks have parts in common. Some model variations are so minor, there may have been no designer at all. It may not be obvious, but this simple and attractive model 200 and the jazzier model 202 are the same clock except that the 202 substitutes a lacquered wood base with a metal strip instead of the ball feet on the 200.
In addition to Paul Feher and George Adomatis,
another important figure in the Lawson clock story
arrived in Los Angeles around 1936. Henry
Fenenbock, the young entrepreneur who sold souvenir
turtles at the Chicago Worlds Fair also made his
way to L.A. In those days, good penmanship and a
high quality fountain pen were essential for
successful businessmen and Henry, who had always
been interested in pens, opened Swanee's Pen
Hospital (named after a favorite song). "Swanee" as
Henry would come to be known, would go on to build
a huge business, becoming the largest Parker Pen
dealer in the world, ultimately owning a part of
Parker and all of Lawson Time. (Henry also tried
his hand in real estate, purchasing a commercial
building in a newly developed area called Beverly
Hills. This investment turned out rather well also,
but that's a story for another time).
The cases for Lawson's metal clocks were crafted by Crown City Plating in Pasadena, owned by Harold E. Coombes. In 1940, Coombes acquired Lawson Time and consolidated production, relocating the Los Angeles facility to Pasadena, directly across the alley from the plating works, at 165 South Fair Oaks Blvd.
The arrival of World War II interrupted clock production, with the Lawson/Crown City facility turning its attention to anodizing, airplane parts and rivets for the war effort. Records show that shortly after the war, the business was sold again, this time to John Beall.
Meanwhile, Henry Fenenbock's pen business continued to grow and, always on the lookout for a for a good opportunity, he became the fourth and final owner of Lawson Time in 1948, relocating the business to 1109 S. Freemont, in Alhambra, California. The factory had excess capacity so Henry set up an operation making Onyx and black glass desk sets for Parker.
With Parker Pen's steady orders coming in, Henry was able to continue producing beautiful Lawson clocks. To the surprise (and some dismay) of Lawson collectors, the Lawson Alhambra facility continued making distinctly Art Deco clocks until sometime in the late 1960s and and the walnut case clocks were produced in small quantities until the mid-1970s! With this long run, it's no surprise the majority of Lawson clocks were made in Alhambra.
With their sleek designs, largely unchanged throughout the years, Lawson clocks are unusual examples of how the streamline style kept a loyal following from post-Depression Art Deco, through 1950s aerodynamics and finally, the space age.
The cases for Lawson's metal clocks were crafted by Crown City Plating in Pasadena, owned by Harold E. Coombes. In 1940, Coombes acquired Lawson Time and consolidated production, relocating the Los Angeles facility to Pasadena, directly across the alley from the plating works, at 165 South Fair Oaks Blvd.
The arrival of World War II interrupted clock production, with the Lawson/Crown City facility turning its attention to anodizing, airplane parts and rivets for the war effort. Records show that shortly after the war, the business was sold again, this time to John Beall.
Meanwhile, Henry Fenenbock's pen business continued to grow and, always on the lookout for a for a good opportunity, he became the fourth and final owner of Lawson Time in 1948, relocating the business to 1109 S. Freemont, in Alhambra, California. The factory had excess capacity so Henry set up an operation making Onyx and black glass desk sets for Parker.
With Parker Pen's steady orders coming in, Henry was able to continue producing beautiful Lawson clocks. To the surprise (and some dismay) of Lawson collectors, the Lawson Alhambra facility continued making distinctly Art Deco clocks until sometime in the late 1960s and and the walnut case clocks were produced in small quantities until the mid-1970s! With this long run, it's no surprise the majority of Lawson clocks were made in Alhambra.
With their sleek designs, largely unchanged throughout the years, Lawson clocks are unusual examples of how the streamline style kept a loyal following from post-Depression Art Deco, through 1950s aerodynamics and finally, the space age.
And what about the Lawson (heater) Manufacturing
Company that started it all?
It seems everyone in the Lawson clock story ended
up in Los Angeles. Lindley Lawson retired from the
Lawson Manufacturing Company and moved from
Pittsburgh to L.A., where he passed away on May 12,
1954. His son Lynn ran Lawson Manufacturing until
December 1959, when it was sold to Wilson Brothers,
Inc.
Lawson Time catalog
c.1948
c.1948
Salesman's sample photos
Clocks
©2010-2012 Randy Juster. All Rights
Reserved.