The American Watchmaker and Jeweler by Henry G. Abbott Any encyclopedia for the Horologist, Jeweler, Gold and Silversmith. Originally published by G.K. Hazlett & Co., 1893 Reprint by Arlington Book Company, Inc. Arlingtonbooks.com 215 Shadowood Drive - Johnson City - Tennessee 37604 USA Phone:  423-283-9004  - Fax:  423-283-9001 Email:  tranduyly@aol.com
5 1/2 x 8 1/2 - 354 pages and 288 sketches $19.95

Review by Henry B. Fried

Henry G. Abbott was a prolific writer and reporter of the horological scene at the turn of the twentieth century.  His report of the (contemporary) watch companies of American is still a standard reference.  As the alternate titles of this book under review would state, this is an alphabetical listing of definitions and details of countless items, formulas, tools and equipment, escapements, setting and winding systems as well as of famous personages.  The index alone lists about nine hundred varied items defined within its pages.

Although the information is almost a hundred years old, its contents are still valuable in that it contains formulas not included in today’s books. The fine engravings and explanations of older tools makes it a valuable reference for collectors, researchers and those who restore older timepieces.

There are numerous tables of alloys and their compositions and uses.  Screw gauge measurements, chemicals, their composition and their uses made revealing reading.  Methods of repair, adjustment, decorations and how these are applied are but a small part of the many items of information by fine line drawings or engravings, so popular at that time.

One of the many charts and graphs is entitled “Dimensions of Mainsprings” and is attributed to L. A. Grasclaude, Geneva.   It gives the number of turns of which a spring is capable of developing, both theoretical and “real”.  It compares the number of coils the spring makes in the barrel when run down with measurements, given in millimeters and its fractions, compared to the diameter of the barrel, its arbor and space occupied by the spring when run down.  It also supplies the proper lengths and thickness of these springs in barrels measuring from ten millimeters up to sixty millimeters in diameter. There are many other tables, pendulums, wheels, pinions, solders, hallmarks, wire gauges and many, many more.

While such a book of facts might have been assembled in an age before copyrights were vigorously defended or ignored, nevertheless, this reproduction gives availability to an otherwise rare volume.