THE LAWSON CLOCK BOOK For Sale

A unique, southern California story.

Forty years ago, I saw my first Lawson clock. Very little information was available on the Lawson Time Company so I assumed they made just one model before the company vanished.

Well, never assume anything. In the years that followed, I saw 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 different Lawson models. I went to antique shows and when arrived, I followed Lawson clocks online.

For years, the only lead I had was that the clocks were sold by jewelers (true.) Everything else, including the story that Lawson Time went out of business during the Depression, turned out to be false. I vowed that if I ever uncovered the true story, I’d write a book.

And that’s what I did.

Moderne Time tells the story, from Frederick Greenawalt’s invention of a digital “cyclometer” clock mechanism in 1933, to Lawson Time’s closing in 1980. This history comes from interviews with members of the Lawson, Coombes, Beall and Fenenbock families, all of whom owned the company at different times.

In addition to the history of Lawson Time, the book also covers:

·Estimating the age and rarity of a Lawson clock

·The Lawson clock designers

·Lawson clock prototypes

·Evaluating clock condition

·The many small variations in some models

·Repairing Lawson clocks

·Lawson clock advertising

·Lawson clock catalogs, patents, name tags

·Clocks with Lawson mechanisms that weren’t made by Lawson

·Lawson clock appearances in the movies

Where known, production dates, model names and original selling prices are given.

Please note: the book does not have a list of values for the clocks. This is because many Lawson models are so scarce that years can pass between sales. New collectors enter the little-known world of Lawson clocks and prices increase. Each of the six collectors whose clocks appear in the book has at least one Lawson that appears to be one of a kind—that’s how scarce they are! Finally, Lawson clock prices can vary enormously, from lucky finds at estate sales, to high-end antique sellers.

Moderne Timedoescover the seven common Lawson clock models.These clocks include some of the most desirable and sought after Lawsons, but they are relatively easy to find, and worth waiting for a good example to come along.

The high quality of Lawson clocks demanded a high quality presentation. Originally intended as a print-on-demand book, the quality just wasn’t good enough, so Moderne Time was printed by traditional means, in an edition of just 250 copies. Will the book itself become a collector’s item? That’s hard to say, but it’s unlikely more will be printed.

All known models are pictured, and everything is in color except where the original was black and white. Book measures 7.5 in x 9.25 in. Softcover, 184 pages, 202 illustrations, 143 in color. A great gift for anyone interested in industrial design, Art Deco and obscure 20th century history.