 About the Cover
Superimposed over a postcard enlargement of the Hamilton factory, ca. 1905, on the front cover are Hamilton 18-size Grade 936 movements bearing serial numbers 1, 2, and 3. Movement No. 2 left the Lancaster, PA, factory on Dec. 9, 1893, and for many years was carried by a locomotive engineer on the Erie Railroad. No. 3 was completed on Nov. 25, 1893, and is the earliest example having the original patent regulator, on which there is no visible round tension spring on the balacne cock. About 1500 early movements were machined to use this mechanism. However, the original wire spring hidden under the balance cock did not furnish sufficient tension, and most examples (including No. 2) were refitted with the exposed regulator spring. There was no movement No. 1 shown in the original factory record, so a No. 1 was manufactured on April 21, 1896, to fill this void, and was retained by the factory for advertising purposes. See Mike Harrold's article, starting on page 547, for the story of the people and events leading to the creation of the Hamilton Watch Company. Arthur Zimmerla and Michael C. Harrold/
Courtesy NWCM and Jon Hanson |
