Clinton, COD Returned Unclaimed
Shakespeare and Horology
From The American Horologist and Jeweler magazine, April, 1942
Shakespeare and Horology
By GEORGE W. LYON
Shakespeare and Horology
By GEORGE W. LYON
All men since his day have marveled at the genius of Shakespeare. His knowledge of men and of things was well nigh universal, but now and then he would nod, even as the great poet Homer was now and then caught napping.
The reader can find in Shakespeare's Plays numerous references to clocks and watches - an off-hand guess might be fifty or more - and for the mast part they are accurate but he seems to have made one or two horological blunders in his tragedy, "Julius Caesar." In Act II, scene 1. about line 193, the conspirators are platting and planning until the early morning when Brutus remarks:
Peace! Count the Clack.
Cassius - the clack hath stricken three.
Trebanius - 'Tis time to part.
Now, of course, there were no striking clocks in Rome in Caesar's day, so Shakespeare makes another anachronism. Later in the same play near the end of Act II, scene 2, Caesar asks Brutus:
What is 't o'clack?
Brutus - Caesar, 't is stricken eight.
A passage near the close of Act III, scene I in "Love's Labor's Lost" reveals the fact that Shakespeare did not think very much of German clocks which he seems to have regarded defective in mechanical construction as well as in operation. A character, Biron, is discoursing on lave and women, and hints at the frailty of both women and German clocks in the following mast amusing and punning passage:
Biron - What! I love! I sue! I seek a wife!
A woman, that is like a German clock,
Still a-repairing, ever out of frame,
And never going aright, being a watch.
But being watch'd that it may still go right!
So Shakespeare believed that women should be "watched" that they be sure to go "aright" even as a "watch!" What an inveterate punnster was the famous Bard of Avon!
The reader can find in Shakespeare's Plays numerous references to clocks and watches - an off-hand guess might be fifty or more - and for the mast part they are accurate but he seems to have made one or two horological blunders in his tragedy, "Julius Caesar." In Act II, scene 1. about line 193, the conspirators are platting and planning until the early morning when Brutus remarks:
Peace! Count the Clack.
Cassius - the clack hath stricken three.
Trebanius - 'Tis time to part.
Now, of course, there were no striking clocks in Rome in Caesar's day, so Shakespeare makes another anachronism. Later in the same play near the end of Act II, scene 2, Caesar asks Brutus:
What is 't o'clack?
Brutus - Caesar, 't is stricken eight.
A passage near the close of Act III, scene I in "Love's Labor's Lost" reveals the fact that Shakespeare did not think very much of German clocks which he seems to have regarded defective in mechanical construction as well as in operation. A character, Biron, is discoursing on lave and women, and hints at the frailty of both women and German clocks in the following mast amusing and punning passage:
Biron - What! I love! I sue! I seek a wife!
A woman, that is like a German clock,
Still a-repairing, ever out of frame,
And never going aright, being a watch.
But being watch'd that it may still go right!
So Shakespeare believed that women should be "watched" that they be sure to go "aright" even as a "watch!" What an inveterate punnster was the famous Bard of Avon!
Elgin Annual Statement Shows Larger Net Profit
From The American Horologist and Jeweler magazine, April, 1942
Elgin Annual Statement Shows Larger Net Profit
Elgin Annual Statement Shows Larger Net Profit
ELGIN, Ill., March 6, 1942 - The 77th annual report of Elgin National Watch Company, made public here today by T. Albert Potter, President, shows net profit of $1,550,721.10 for the year ended December 31, 1941, after deduction of Federal income and excess profits taxes. This is equivalent to $3.87 per share and compares with net profit of $1,540,149.20 or $3.85 per share for the year 1940. Gross profits from operations for 1941 amounted to $3,778,633.28 as compared with $2,495,228.43 for 1940, after providing for depreciation in both years.
Earned surplus as of December 31, 1941, was $4,694,903.94 after deducting $1,200,000 or $3.00 per share for dividends, as compared to $4,144,182.84 in 1940, after deducting an equal amount for dividends.
The upsurge in sales of the Elgin National Watch Company, the largest in the company's history, according to Mr. Potter's report, is accounted for by the general demand for consumer goods and the carrying forward of aggressive company policies.
Government orders for the year were a negligible factor in arriving at the year's profits. Mr. Potter said. "We all must realize," he added, "that watches for civilian use are going to be materially curtailed and that in order to maintain our plant on a full production basis, it will be necessary to manufacture other products. We are making every effort to find new work which will assist the Government and keep our plant well occupied. This coming year's operations will reflect to a very large degree the success of our conversion to other operations as watch production for civilian use diminishes.
"We all realize the gravity of the war situation and how it affects our civilian business and we must adjust ourselves to the new conditions as they present themselves.
Earned surplus as of December 31, 1941, was $4,694,903.94 after deducting $1,200,000 or $3.00 per share for dividends, as compared to $4,144,182.84 in 1940, after deducting an equal amount for dividends.
The upsurge in sales of the Elgin National Watch Company, the largest in the company's history, according to Mr. Potter's report, is accounted for by the general demand for consumer goods and the carrying forward of aggressive company policies.
Government orders for the year were a negligible factor in arriving at the year's profits. Mr. Potter said. "We all must realize," he added, "that watches for civilian use are going to be materially curtailed and that in order to maintain our plant on a full production basis, it will be necessary to manufacture other products. We are making every effort to find new work which will assist the Government and keep our plant well occupied. This coming year's operations will reflect to a very large degree the success of our conversion to other operations as watch production for civilian use diminishes.
"We all realize the gravity of the war situation and how it affects our civilian business and we must adjust ourselves to the new conditions as they present themselves.
Monarch and Excello
Monarch and Excello...
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