By Clint Geller (PA) & Harold Visser (AZ)

Howard Factory Customers

By Clint Geller (PA) & Harold Visser (AZ)

Last Update: June 17, 2003

Presented in Table 1 is a compilation of the known customers of the watchmaking firm of E. Howard & Company. Table 1 was compiled from an examination of nearly all the surviving factory records (save those for the J Size movements with S#’s between 500,001 and 501,400), as well as information from markings on a few known examples of original Howard watch cases and private label dials. [Personalized dials, ordered by retail customers, have not been included in the listing. Usually, personalized dials and private label dials bearing the name of a business, can be distinguished either by the form of the name (e.g., “& Son,” “Bros.,” “Joslin & Park,”) or by the inclusion of a town or city (as in “Geo. C. Shreve, San Francisco”).] The information provided requires some explanation. First, it is important to recognize that the nature of the information included in the factory records, which were not compiled with collectors or historians in mind, changed periodically. For example, in the earliest surviving records only production dates are provided, whereas in some later records both production dates and sales dates (and in many instances, more than one sales date!) are provided. In still other records, only the sales dates are provided.

Most of the customer names appearing in the factory records are those of wholesale customers, being either jobbers, wholesale houses, or retail jewelry stores. Nevertheless, the names of several known factory employees, officers, and/or board members appear in the records as well. The names of individuals appearing in the factory records who were known to have been associated with Edward Howard or his enterprises have been marked in Table 1 with an asterisk. Some of these individuals, especially George P. Reed and some of the other finishers, apparently received quite a few movements over the years, possibly in lieu of paychecks when the company may have been short of cash. Reed, at least, is known to have finished quite a few Howard ebauches and engraved his own name on them. Based on the records, we speculate that other finishers may have sold Howard ebauches that they might have finished as well. Some names in the records also appear to have been retail customers. Very obvious (and unusual) retail customers include the Young Men’s Christian Association, and the Young Ladies’ Christian Association (the future YWCA), which purchased one watch each, probably for presentation purposes. Other probable retail customers can be identified from the use of titles such as “Mr.” appearing in the record book before the customer’s name, along with the fact that such individuals were listed as having purchased only a single item. It is not known why some individuals purchased their watches directly through the factory, rather than from the sales offices.

Those hoping to employ the factory records to discern the originality of Howard watch cases on an absolute basis are likely to be disappointed, as the most frequent customers listed in the record books are the company’s New York, Boston, and Chicago sales offices. In other instances “E. Howard & Co.” was listed as the “customer.” Indeed, the sales office records which do not appear to have survived, might have been more useful for matching cases to movements than the factory records, although the very earliest surviving factory records actually predate the establishment of the first sales office. (In these earliest records Albert Howard, the company’s sales agent, who was Edward Howard’s nephew, is the most frequently appearing “customer.”) Yet even the sales offices did a mixture of wholesale and retail business, so many if not most of the movements they sold probably had not yet been cased at all. The earliest surviving records also predate the introduction of the “E. H. & Co.” case marking. Furthermore, many surviving cases exist carrying both the “E. H. & Co.” marking and that of a retail or wholesale jewelry firm, strongly suggesting that wholesalers and retailers often purchased cases with the “E. H. & Co.” markings separately from the movements. Similarly, a number of important large-volume customers, such as Wheeler, Parsons & Co. and Oppenheimer Brothers & Veith, were known wholesalers who likely distributed Howard watches to numerous retailers.

Considering all the above facts, we conclude that the fortunate collector may sometimes find a Howard watch with an original case carrying a marking corresponding to the name of the trade customer listed for that particular movement in the factory records. However, we expect such instances to be the exceptions, rather than the rule. We expect Table 1 to be of considerably greater use to collectors in establishing the approximate period of activity of many of the firms who sold Howard watches. Table 1 is also very likely to aid in the identification of several of the many thus far unattributed markings on Howard watch cases, whether or not the movements they contain correspond to the same factory customer as the case marking. For example, the factory records have enabled likely identifications for the case markings: “K. E. & F.,” (for Keller, Ettinger & Fink), G.E. & S. (for Gale, Eaton & Snow), and very recently, “B. McC. & Co.” (for Butler, McCarthy & Co.). The records also have allowed us to correct some previous errors in the literature. For instance, the marking “M. & B.” most likely stood for “Middleton & Brother” rather than “Mathey & Brother,” and the markings “P. & B.” and “P. B. & Co.” almost certainly stood for Palmers & Batchelder, and Palmers, Batchelder & Co., respectively, rather than Peters & Boss. We trust that in time, Table 1 will help to reveal the probable identities of numerous other Howard case markings. Readers are encouraged to consult the NAWCC Chapter 174 website at www.pockethorology.org, for periodic updates of this table. Readers with case marking information germane to this research effort also are urged to contact the authors through this website.

To make the table as useful as possible without becoming unwieldy, we have listed the lowest and highest movement serial numbers corresponding to each manufacturer named in the surviving records, along with their corresponding production or sales dates. Since the Howard firm produced and sold movements in several serial number ranges simultaneously, we have listed “first” and “last” S#’s for most of the different watch models on separate lines. Some caveats must be offered at this juncture. First, where a choice existed of citing either a production date or a sales date, we have cited the sales date, since this information provides a better approximation to the period of activity of a particular sales enterprise. In doing so, however, we have introduced an inconsistency into the table, in that not all dates mean the same thing. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that production and sales dates can differ by several years. Readers thus are advised that dates corresponding to movements with serial numbers below 30,000 are especially likely to be production dates, rather than sales dates. Second, movements did not leave the factory in strict serial order. Therefore, the lowest/highest serial number of a particular movement model listed for a particular customer may not be the earliest/latest such movement of that model purchased by that particular customer. In such instances, the earlier or later sales date is listed in the “Notes” column of the table. In some instances, the hand written records do not allow an unambiguous determination of the spelling of a customer’s name. In such instances, the most likely correct spelling is given at left, and possible alternate spelling(s) is/are given in the “notes” column. Also to maximize the utility of the table, we have placed in bold those firm names whose marks are believed actually to have been seen on Howard watch cases or dials, and we have italicized those few firm names whose frequency of occurrence in the records makes it clear that they were important, large-volume customers. Additional information is provided in the table footnotes. One customer of special collector interest, Webb C. Ball & Co., will be dealt with at greater length in a separate research piece.

Table 1. Howard Factory Customers, First and Last Known S#’s and Dates

Entity/Location First S# Date Last S# Date Notes

E. Abbott & Son 20,185 3-13-69

J. E. Adams 3,329 12-62 4,172 4-28-64

John P. Adams* 32,769 5-8-72 43,158 2-23-76 finisher

John P. Adams* 54,945 7-21-74

Adams Expr. Co. 31,699 9-27-76

E. T. Adell 41,067 3-20-75

Albert Bros. 220,430 12-7-89

Alexander & Williamson 308,577 10-13-94

C. G. Alford (“C.G.A”) 62,932 1897 70,300 1897

C. G. Alford 103,690 4-93 105,190 4-11-93

Entity/Location First S# Date Last S# Date Notes

C. G. Alford & Co. 228,154 10-10-9 228,174 10-10-98

C. G. Alford 300,455 1-3-85 308,600 10-20-94

C. G. Alford & Co. 600,021 10-10-98

C. G. Alford & Co. 700,028 10-10-98

Ben. Allen & Co. 67,542 10-3-93 67,947 10-3-93

H. N. Allen 101,211 9-79

R. Ander’s 33,340 5-10-72 37,072 3-10-73

C. O. Andrews 307,540 9-28-93

Ansteph & Reinisth 104,166 9-30-93 Renvisth

Ansteph & Reinisth 220,466 1-16-90 222,940 2-14-91

Arnstein Bros. & Co. 67,517 10-2-93 67,675 10-2-93

Arnstein Bros. & Co. 104,293 10-20-93 105,191 10-20-93

Arnstein Bros. & Co. 226,247 10-2-93

L. Asher & Co. 64,745 10-2-93

J. H. Barney 38,004 9-8-73

B. Bro’s & Co. 4,052 11-63 4,055 11-63

C. Bahret 40,476 10-76 43,126 5-10-76

Bailey & Parmenter 37,824 6-16-74

Robt. Bailey & Co. 307,108 12-24-92 307,292 12-31-92

Webb C. Ball Co., Cleveland OH 218,035 7-12-89 226,222 5-20-95

Webb C. Ball Co., Cleveland OH 307,401 4-93 308,450 5-8-96

A. W. Banfield 3,955 10-63

C. J. Barnes & Co. 50,317 1-13-70

Barney & Steele 20,805 5-7-69

G. B. Barrett & Co. 67,915 10-2-93 68,042 10-2-93

G. B. Barrett & Co. 104,378 10-2-93 104,539 10-2-93

A. Barton 35,824 5-79 44,610 4-80

J. H. Basney 33,417 5-24-72 38,004 9-8-73

L. Bauman Jewelry Co. 67,676 10-3-93 67,677 10-3-93

L. Bauman Jewelry Co. 104,753 10-3-93

Will H. Beck 66,143 6-3-93 67,570 6-3-93

W. C. Beck & Co. 104.432 6-3-93 104.605 6-3-93 W. H. Beck & Co.?

Entity/Location First S# Date Last S# Date Notes

C. A. Belden 46,122 11-81

Bene, Lindenburg & Co. 104,511 9-30-93 104,512 9-30-93 Benj.
Charles Bickford 30,673 9-28-72 36,119 1-29-73

Bigelow* 3,549 4-18-63 Board. Chairman

Mr. Bigelow* 700,898 4-22-03 “side set”

Mr. Bigelow* 700,899 4-22-03 “ 21 jewel”

Mr. Bigelow* 700,900 4-22-03 “side set”

Bigelow*, Kennard & Co. 20,700 4-22-69 41,053 9-21-75

Bigelow*, Kennard & Co. 50,025 9/29/69 55,304 9-16-73 9-21-75

W. P. Bingham 39,249 11-16-74

Bitterman Bros. 43,374 1-8-76

Blake & Co. 41,037 12-9-74

G. M. Bodine 3,579 4-18-63 4,878 5-28-64

A. H. Bonnett 67,949 10-3-93

Bogle & Bro. 104,115 10-2-93

J. T. Bowman, Williamsport PA 39,709 4-28-74

R. A. Bray 53,931 10-18-72

G. W. Briggs 67,642 10-3-93 67,644 10-3-93

G. W. Briggs 104,332 10-3-93 104,559 10-3-93

H. T. Brown & Co. 41,066 3-13-75 41,086 9-7-75

W. H. Brown, Baltimore, MD 56,924 6-79

H. Y. Brown 55,102 3-18-74 55,118 3-18-74

Seth E. Brown 3,435 2-9-63

J. E. Buerk 4,132 11-63 33,825 6-29-72

S. F. Bufford 10,0339 3-16-75

L. Bull 43,901 11-76

Bunde & Upmeyer 104,267 6-3-93

Bunde & Upmeyer 218,485 10-26-89

J. M. Burgess 100,267 4-16-75

Burnham & Cutts 39,149 1-2-74

M. Burt 34,662 12-17-72

Butler, McCarthy & Co. 51,409 3-30-70

Entity/Location First S# Date Last S# Date Notes

Cady & Olmstead 66,141 6-3-93 66,142 6-3-93

Cady & Olmstead 103,657 6-3-93 104,604 6-3-93

Cady & Olmstead 220,306 12-28-89

J. E. Caldwell & Co. 52,236 3-10-76 53,697 5-25-72-“destroyed”

California Jewelry Co. 229,892 1-31-03 229,962 1-31-03

California Jewelry Co. 600,792 1-31-0 600,954 3-26-03

Carnahan & Co., Astoria Or. 228,175 7-20-00

George A. Carpenter 700,742 7-26-00

R. B. Carr 30,748 5-79 45,143 4-81

R. B. Carr 52,661 5-79 56,305 5-79

Carran & Breen 104,163 10-3-93 104,755 10-3-93

J. B. Chambers 218,484 10-26-89 220,308 12-28-89

L. C. Chamfiney 19,516 1-15-69 38,442 5-19-74 Champney

C. Chase 45,441 12-80

C. A. Church 54,741 2-11-76

J. A. Clemett 226,816 6-7-1920 17 jewels

Henry Cohen & Son 221,133 2-4-90

Prof. O. Cone 38,118 11-6-73

D. F. Conover & Co. 66,644 10-2-93 67,571 10-2-93

D. F. Conover & Co. 104,111 10-2-93 104.560 10-2-93

D. F. Conover & Co. 220,214 10-17-90 220,298 11-15-90

Mr.s Lizzie M. Cook 20,560 4-15-69

W. J. Cook 57,253 11-78

Cooks & Handy 46,150 11-81

Cooper & Fellows 4,820 5-21-64 19,530 1-15-69

Cooper, Fellows & Co. 50,080 11-29-69 50,939 2-22-70

Henry Cooper 52,454 8-1-73

Wm R. Crandall 701,117 5-9-02

Ben. F. Crane, St. Louis 132 1858 [1]

Geo. H. Crawford & Co. 41,211 10-20-75 41,684 1-20-74

W. J. Creighton 54,391 12-78

T. A. Cromby 226,814 4-14-1910 21 jewels

Entity/Location First S# Date Last S# Date Notes

F. W. Crosby 5,276 8-9-64 5,285 8-9-64

James Crosby 38,554 12-80

Crosby & Mathewson 3,601 5-20-63 5,237 8-5-64

Crosby, Hannewell & Morse 3,613 5-20-63

Cross & Beguelin 67,576 9-30-93 67,579 9-30-93

Cross & Beguelin 104,513 9-30-93 105,193 9-30-93

Geo. E. Cunningham 309,217 7-21-99 309,218 7-21-99

William Curtis 43,831 4-79

C. K. Cutter 39,430 4-79

H. G. Cutting 19,781 2-4-69 38,478 6-4-74

H. G. Cutting 53,086 10-1-72

A. C. Davenport 39,243 10-2-74

D. P. Davis* 54,940 4-10-73 clock & scale partner, Boston W. Co. partner

J. A. Dawson* 30,279 7-15-73 37,645 11-18-73 3-24-73 finisher

E. W. Deane, St. Paul Minn. 41,072 7-26-75

E. Deimel 218,119 7-11-89 218,120 7-11-89

Joseph Delphin (Father?) 36,032 7-28-74 37,687 10-9-73 finisher (?)

Jos. Delphin Jr.* 31,734 7-28-74 41,099 3-16-75 finisher

Jos. Delphin Jr.* 54,937 7-28-74

D. Denahay 42,056 6-6-76

R. W. Devonshire, Jr. 34,049 12-2-73 34,049 2-12-73 9-19-72

S. P. Dinkenspiel & Co. 219,921 11-2-89

S. P. Dinkenspiel & Co. 306,541 1-7-93

O. R. Dickey 36,905 12-80 45,637 5-81

P. J. Dodge 56,209 7-11-76

S. E. Donahue 700,189 7-13-98

Frank D. Doug 104,473 6-3-93

L. Dowd 39,417 4-79 42,050 5-80

C. C. Drake 39,452 4-14-74 40,743 2-3-76

H. E. Droz 68,136 10-3-93