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Records of the James Arthur Collection of Clocks and Watches

Call Number

RG.42.1

Dates

1740-1982, inclusive
; 1931-1963, bulk

Creator

Arthur, James, 1842-1930

Extent

5.28 Linear Feet
in 3 manuscript boxes, 2 half manuscript boxes, and 2 free-standing grandfather clocks

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Biography of Arthur Lionel Rawlings

Dr. Arthur Lionel Rawlings is listed as the first curator of the Museum, a position he held from 1956 until his death in 1959. (The Arthur Collection had had specific curators before 1956.) Before his appointment as curator, Rawlings served as the head of special products at the Bulova Research and Development Labs in Woodside, Queens. A native of England, Rawlings attended university in Birmingham and London and held many patents on gyro-compasses, gyroscopic stabilization, and fire-control devices. He wrote several books, including the then-standard works The Theory of the Gyro Compass and Science of Clocks and Watches. Previous employers included Sperry Gyroscope, Ltd., the Scientific Research Branch of the British Admiralty, and the U.S. Time Corporation. He also served as president of the Horological Society of New York and was a member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.

Dr. Rawlings also gave one of the Arthur-funded lectures on May 15, 1953, on the following topic: "From Hours to Microseconds: Three Centuries of Timekeeping Progress, 1650-1950."

An obituary for Dr. Rawlings from the Long Island Star-Journal from November 18, 1959, indicates that he passed away after suffering a heart attack while driving on the Van Wyck Expressway on November 17. He was 78.

History of the Watch and Clock Museum

Per an October 31, 1956, NYU press release, the Watch and Clock Museum was established in that year from the materials in three collections of timepieces then owned by the University. Over half the materials came from the James Arthur Collection of Clocks and Watches, which had been administered by the University since the 1930s.

The Museum was housed in the Gould Memorial Library at NYU's University Heights campus. With over 3,000 timepieces, the Museum was touted as the largest horological collection in the Western Hempisphere at the time of its establishment.

The Arthur Collection included books and research materials, as well as an endowment for the upkeep of the collection and a periodic lecture series on the topic of "time and its mysteries." The money did not prove sufficient for the upkeep and administration of such a varied and difficult collection (some of the timepieces dated from the 16th century). Without the proper resources to reassemble the timepieces and without a sufficient display method, when the University Heights campus closed in 1973 and NYU relocated to Greenwich Village the artifacts were placed on permanent loan to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The books from the Arthur Collection were transferred to the University's rare books collection, and the records and photographs of the collection remained with the University Archives.

In 1982 New York University decided to dispose of the Arthur Collection, dividing the items between The Smithsonian Institution, the Time Museum at Rockford, and the NAWCC Museum at Columbia, Pennsylvania but has retained the records of the collection.

In 1985 the Smithsonian transferred the timepieces to the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania. In 2006, six of the timepiecse from the collection were sold at auction. More information may be found at the museum's website: http://www.nawcc.org/collections.

Biography of James Arthur

James Arthur was born February 26, 1842, in Crosscandley, Ireland. As a boy he studied mechanics and developed an interest in horology. In 1871 he emigrated to New York where in 1885 he founded Arthur and Co., manufacturers of mechanical models for inventors and devices such as differential gears for automobiles.

Arthur's spare time was spent collecting and designing and making clocks and watches. In 1925, at the suggestion of his son-in-law, Irving H. Berg, Chaplain of New York University (1919-1936), and later Dean of University College (1936-1941), Arthur presented his collection of 300 clocks, more than 1500 watches and books to New York University. Accompanying the gift was an endowment of $110,000 to support a series of lectures on "time and its mysteries", to keep the collection in a state of repair and to provide for new acquisitions. Arthur stipulated that none of the income was to be used to pay curators.

James Arthur died in Winsted, Connecticut on April 27, 1930.

For more detailed biographical information see The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume XXXI, page 232, published by James T. White & Company, New York, 1944.

James Arthur Lectures - Time and Its Mysteries

April 29, 1932 Time Robert Andrews Millikan, Ph.D., Sc.D., LL.D. California Institute of Technology

May 4, 1933 Time and Change in History John Campbell Merriam, Ph.D., Sc.D., LL.D. Carnegie Institution of Washington

February 6, 1934 On the Lifetime of a Galaxy Harlow Shapley, Ph.D., Sc.D., Litt.D., LL.D. Harvard University

May 16, 1935 The Beginnings of Time Measurement and the Origins of Our Calendar James Henry Breasted, Ph.D., Litt.D., LL.D. The Oriental Institue, The University of Chicago

April 2, 1936 The Time Concept and Time Sense Among Cultured and Uncultured People Daniel Webster Hering, Ph.D., C.E., LL.D. New York University

April 9, 1937 What Is Time? William Francis Gray Swann, A.M., Sc.D. Bartol Research Foundation of Franklin Institute

April 21, 1938 Time and Individuality John Dewey, Ph.D., LL.D. Columbia University

April 26, 1939 Time and the Growth of Physics Arthur H. Compton, Ph.D., Sc.D., LL.D.\ The University of Chicago

April 16, 1941 The Geologic Records of Time Adolph Knoph, Ph.D. Yale University

April 16, 1946 Time and Historical Perspective James T. Shotwell, Ph.D., LL.D. Columbia University

April 7, 1949 Developments in Portable Timepieces George P. Luckey, A.M. Hamilton Watch Company

October 17, 1951 The Early American Clockmaking Industry Brooks Palmer, A.B. National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors

May 15, 1953 From Hours to Microseconds: Three Centuries of Timekeeping Progress, 1650-1950 Arthur Lionel Rawlings, Ph.D. Bulova Research and Development Laboratories

March 14, 1958 Astronomical Time and Atomic Time William Markowitz, Ph.D. Director of the Time Service Division United States Naval Observatory

May 14, 1960 The Astronomical Scale Henry Norris Russell, Ph.D. Princeton University

February 18, 1969 The Hypothesis of Environmental Timing of the Clock Frank A. Brown, Jr. Morrison Professor of Biology Northwestern University

March 4, 1969 The Cellular-Biochemical Clock Hypothesis J. Woodland Hastings Harvard University What was presumably the content of these lectures was publics as follows: "The Biological Clock, Two Views" by Frank A. Brown Jr., J. Woodland Hastings and John D. Palmer, New York, Academic Press [1970]

1972 Physics at the Origin of Time R. Omnes Laboratories de Physique Theoretique et Hautes Energies University de Patis-Sud, Orsay, France

1972 Physics at the Origin of Time Steven Frautschi California Institute of Technology These lectures appear to have been published in "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences," Vol. 224, pp 339-54 and pp 355-64

April 16, 1975 Time and the Atom: Precise Measurement of Time with Atomic Clocks Norman F. Ramsey Higgins Professor of Physics Harvard University

April 17, 1975 Molecular Beam Spectroscopy with Molecules, Atoms, and Neutrons Norman F. Ramsey Higgins Professor of Physics Harvard University

October 17, 1978 Time Without End: Physics and Biology in an Open Universe General Survey Freeman J. Dyson Professor of Physics The Institute for Advanced Study

October 19, 1978 Time Without End: Physics and Biology in an Open Universe Technical Details Freeman J. Dyson Professor of Physics The Institute of Advanced Study

November 13, 1980 Reality, Illusion and Time John Archibald Wheeler Ashbel Smith Professor of Physics University of Texas at Austin

November 14, 1980 Time and Light John Archibal Wheeler Ashbell Smith Professor of Physics University of Texas at Austin

November 17, 1980 Beyond the End of Time John Archibald Wheeler Ashbell Smith Professor of Physics University of Texas at Austin

James Arthur Collection of Clocks and Watches List of Curators

Daniel Webster Hering - first curator; served until his death on March 24, 1938

Carlos da Zafra - resigned March 1946

John M. Labberton - April 1946 - June 1950

Edward C. Smith - September 1, 1950 - ?

Arthur Lionel Rawlings - September 1, 1956 - November 17, 1959

Brooks Palmer - Associate Curator - September 1, 1956 - February 1960; Curator February 1960 - ?

The records include information on the clock and watch collection and on the lecture series, "Time and Its Mysteries". The arrangement of the materials found in Archives H and in the office of the Dean of Libraries was chronological; papers from these two sources have been interfiled.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in five series:

Series I: Correspondence

Series II: Financial Statements

Series III: Reports from Curators and Report Summaries

Series IV: Grandfather Clocks, and

Series V: Photographs.

Series I-IV are arranged chronologically, while materials in Series V are arranged in the order in which they were found.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of records of the curators and University officers related to the administration of the James Arthur Collection of Clocks and Watches, as well as the lecture series "Time and Its Mysteries." This collection also contains photographs documenting James Arthur's clock and watch collection.

The bulk of the materials in this collection date from 1931 to 1963, the year the clocks and watches were sent on permanent loan to the Smithsonian Institution. The records are incomplete with many gaps.

This collection will be of value for answering queries about the history and disposition of the James Arthur Collection although it does not contain much information on the specific clocks and watches themselves. The records also document the University's venture into maintaining a museum and its eventual decision to discontinue this effort.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the creator are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from New York University Archives, (212) 998-2646, university-archives@nyu.edu.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); Records of the James Arthur Collection of Clocks and Watches; RG 42.1; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University Libraries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials found in Series V: Photographs were transferred from the New York University Archives Photograph Collection (PHOTO 00001) in May 2024. The accession number associated with this accretion is 2024.030.

Appraisal

The records of the James Arthur Collection of Clocks and Watches were housed with the "Archives H" collection of the University Archives; no accession data is available. Several folders of related material (3 inches) were transferred from the office of the Dean of Libraries in December 1984, and incorporated with the records from Archives H. Fifteen feet of material on the Arthur Collection is on deposit at the Smithsonian Institution. The Arthur book collection remains at the University and is housed in the Special Collections Department of Bobst Library. Although the records cover an extensive time period, 1926-1982, they are not complete.

Materials separated from the collection include photographs (see separation sheet) and 28 items (newspaper clippings and Thermofax copies) which were photocopied on acid-free paper. Additional conservation measures taken were the removal of staples and paper clips and replacement with plastic clips when necessary.

Collection processed by

Joan Grant. Electronic version created by Salome Jeronimo.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-03-18 20:44:17 UTC.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English.

Processing Information

Processing decisions made prior to 2024 have not been documented.

In May 2024, eight folders containing photographs and negatives were transferred from New York University Archives Photograph Collection (PHOTO 00001). These materials were added to Series V: Photographs and inventoried at the file level. The accession number associated with this accretion is 2024.030.

Revisions to this Guide

December 2017: Updated by Megan O'Shea to add Series IV and incorporate artwork being sent to offsite art storage
June 2023: Updated by Rachel Searcy to reflect 2023 retrospective accession
May 2024: 2024 accretion added to Series V: Photographs by Aki Snyder
March 2025: Edited by Weatherly Stephan to correct date of closure of University Heights campus

Repository

New York University Archives

Series I: Correspondence, 1926-1982, inclusive

Language of Materials

English.

Extent

0.88 Linear Feet in 2 manuscript boxes

Scope and Contents

This series contains an excerpt from James Arthur's will donating his collection to the University (see Box 1, Folder 2); correspondence and reports of the curators and University officers related to the administration of both the collection and the series of lectures on "Time and its Mysteries;" minutes of the faculty advisory committee; publicity materials for the collection and lectures; and newspaper clippings.

The lectures were held annually until the outbreak of World War II. There is a gap in the collection from 1942 until 1946. Thereafter, lectures were held at intervals from two to four years with the most recent one in 1978. New York University Press published the first twelve lectures in a three volume series entitled "Time and Its Mysteries." Materials in the collection related to the lectures often include biographical information on the speakers, printed programs and the texts of the lectures. A list of the lectures is included in the finding aid.

Information on the clock and watch collection can be found in correspondence and reports of the curators. There is no complete inventory of the clocks, but in 1932 Daniel Webster Hering, the first curator, published "The Lure of the Clock," which illustrated and described some items in the original collection. The problems of housing and administering the collection, which are evident throughout the correspondence, finally led to the transfer of the collection to the Smithsonian Institution in September 1963. Although the collection contains correspondence with a Smithsonian official (see Box 2, Folder 19), the agreement is not in the collection. Box 2, Folder 31 contains a list of clocks that remain at the University.

Little information is available on the book collection save a listing of the books in Box 2, Folder 20.

A list of the curators is included in the finding aid.

Subjects

People

Arthur, James, 1842-1930 (Role: Collector)

1926, 1926

Box: 1, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1927, 1927

Box: 1, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1928, 1928

Box: 1, Folder: 3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1929, 1929

Box: 1, Folder: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1930, 1930

Box: 1, Folder: 5 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1931, 1931

Box: 1, Folder: 6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1932, 1932

Box: 1, Folder: 7 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1933, 1933

Box: 1, Folder: 8 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1934, 1934

Box: 1, Folder: 9 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1935, 1935

Box: 1, Folder: 10 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1936, 1936

Box: 1, Folder: 11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1937, 1937

Box: 1, Folder: 12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1938, 1938

Box: 1, Folder: 13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1939, 1939

Box: 1, Folder: 14 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1940, 1940

Box: 1, Folder: 15 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1941, 1941

Box: 2, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1946, 1946

Box: 2, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1947, 1947

Box: 2, Folder: 3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1948, 1948

Box: 2, Folder: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1949, 1949

Box: 2, Folder: 5 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1950, 1950

Box: 2, Folder: 6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1951, 1951

Box: 2, Folder: 7 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1952, 1952

Box: 2, Folder: 8 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1953, 1953

Box: 2, Folder: 9 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1954, 1954

Box: 2, Folder: 10 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1955, 1955

Box: 2, Folder: 11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1956, 1956

Box: 2, Folder: 12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1957, 1957

Box: 2, Folder: 13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1958, 1958

Box: 2, Folder: 14 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1959, 1959

Box: 2, Folder: 15 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1960, 1960

Box: 2, Folder: 16 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1961, 1961

Box: 2, Folder: 17 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1962, 1962

Box: 2, Folder: 18 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1963, 1963

Box: 2, Folder: 19 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1964, 1964

Box: 2, Folder: 20 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1966, 1966

Box: 2, Folder: 21 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1969, 1969

Box: 2, Folder: 22 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1970, 1970

Box: 2, Folder: 23 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1971, 1971

Box: 2, Folder: 24 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1972, 1972

Box: 2, Folder: 24 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1973, 1973

Box: 2, Folder: 26 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1975, 1975

Box: 2, Folder: 27 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1977, 1977

Box: 2, Folder: 28 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1978, 1978

Box: 2, Folder: 29 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1980, 1980

Box: 2, Folder: 30 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1981, 1981

Box: 2, Folder: 31 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

1982, 1982

Box: 2, Folder: 32 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

Series II: Financial Statements, 1941-1961, inclusive

Language of Materials

English.

Extent

0.23 Linear Feet in 1 half manuscript box

Scope and Contents

This series consists of financial statements dating from 1941-1961. This series contains reports of income and expenditures from the endowment account. Reports include information on new acquisitions to the clock collection.

Subjects

1941-1961, 1941-1961, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

Series III: Reports from the Curator and report summaries, 1927-1937, inclusive

Language of Materials

English.

Extent

0.23 Linear Feet in 1 half manuscript box

Scope and Contents

This series includes reports prepared by curator D.W. Hering and issued by the New York University Bureau of Public Information, with report summaries. This series also includes a checklist of items included in a special exhibition of materials from the clock and watch collection in 1951.

Reports - Sept. 1927 (2 copies); July, 1928; March, 1929 (2 copies), 1927-1929, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

Reports - May, 1930 (2 copies); Nov., 1930 (2 copies); April, 1931 (2 copies); Nov. 1933 (2 copies), 1930-1933, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

Summaries - 1927, 1936, 1937; checklist of clocks included in the Special Exhibition of American clocks, Feb. 9-16, 1951; also includes letter to the James Arthur Foundation, Dec. 31, 1936 from D. W. Hering., 1927-1951, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Language of Materials

English.

Series IV: Grandfather Clocks, mid 1700s, undated, inclusive

Extent

2 item

Physical Facet

two tall case clocks

Grandfather clock, Undated, inclusive

Item: RG.42.1.cuid462 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Extent

1 item

Physical Facet

one tall case clock

Subjects

Grandfather Clock, mid 1700s, inclusive

Item: RG.42.1.cuid18369 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

This item in the James Arthur Watch and Clock Collection consists of an 18th century grandfather clock built by Pennsylvania cabinetmaker Isaac Thomas that formerly belonged to the family of Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton.

Series V: Photographs, 1926-1956, inclusive

Extent

0.44 Linear Feet in 1 manuscript box

Scope and Contents

The photographs in this series depict James Arthur's clock and watch collection.The clocks photographed include table top clocks, grandfather clocks, juke box clocks, decorative clocks of varying sizes, and pocket watches. This series features photographs of Assistant Dean W.R. Bryan of NYU's former College of Engineering; the Clock Museum located at NYU's former University Heights campus; and of the Clock Museum's curators Daniel Webster Hering, Carlos de Zafra, and Edward C. Smith.

William R. Bryan (Assistant Dean) with J. Arthur Collection, 1953-1956, inclusive

Box: 4, Folder: 1-3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

CBS Publicity Radio Show -- "The World's Oldest Household Clock" for "Death Knell", 1939

Box: 4, Folder: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Photographs from Lectures, 1926-1927, 1936, 1938, inclusive

Box: 4, Folder: 5-6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Clock Museum at University Heights, 1946

Box: 4, Folder: 7 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Curators: Daniel Webster Hering, Carlos de Zafra, and Edward C. Smith, 1938

Box: 4, Folder: 8 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012