![]() ![]() Kit-Cat kept on ticking through the 90’s when the first Limited Color Edition Kit-Cats began to be manufactured, including the first 3/4 size Kitty Cat which was introduced in 1996. With no other alternative, the California Clock Company was driven to develop a new battery technology. ![]() A battery motor powerful enough to move Kit-Cat’s exclusive “one-second” animation had yet to be invented. ![]() In 1982, the owner of the California Clock Company convinced Ohio native and serial entrepreneur Woody Young to take over as President/Owner and keep Kit-Cat going strong into the new millennium.īut in the late 1980′s, the American Made legacy of Kit-Cat was almost lost! In the span of a few years, American electric motor manufacturing was almost exclusively relocated to Asia, leaving Kit-Cat without a US motor supplier. In 1962, Allied Clock moved production to Southern California and renamed itself the California Clock Company. Due to his popularity, it wasn’t long before Kit-Cat became synonymous with the 1950’s in America. The top paws and the Kit-Cat’s dapper bow tie were added. The 40s and 50s were decades of explosive growth for Kit-Cat’s popularity and marked the first (and last) changes in his design. Allied Clock soon adopted the increasingly popular method of plastic molding and moved to Seattle, WA. They also had starter knobs on the front to “start” the motor spinning in the correct direction when it was plugged in, because “self-starting” motors were not widely used in clocks in the 30’s. The earliest clocks had no markings on the back and most had metal bodies, metal clock hands and four toes on each of the two paws. ![]() The Allied Clock Company was founded in Portland, Oregon to manufacture these uniquely animated pendulum clocks. The manufacturer ( California Clock Company) is based in Ontario, California and they remain dedicated to keeping this part of Americana alive by keeping the same look that survived since the 1950’s.įUN FACT: Did you know that the opening scene of the wildly popular move from 1985 ( Back to the Future) features Kit-Kat…remember this ticking intro.?įollowing is a brief history of the Kit-Kat clock and how it evolved over the past 8 decades… 1930’sĭuring the height of The Great Depression, the Kit-Cat clock was first invented in 1932 in Oregon by designer Earl Arnault (1904-1971). That’s 86 years of bringing time to life in purrfect rhythm.įUN FACT: Here’s a staggering statistic…believe it or not, for the last 50 years, someone has purchased a Kit-Cat clock every 3 minutes! >^.^<Īll Kit-Cat clocks are true to the original design and have been made in the USA since their inception. Believe it or not, this frisky feline time keeper with its iconic swinging tail, rolling eyes and contagious smile has inspired smiles from cat lovers around the world since 1932. It’s probably a good bet that everyone has seen (or maybe even owns) a Kit-Cat clock. Post this down at the bottom too on "Early Electric Clocks" down near the bottom of the page.Well we’re finally doing an article about clocks…and it’s about time! Is the wagger "built - in" or a separate mechanism? If it's built in, replacement is more of a challenge. I was able to scavenge a "wagger" from another and fit it to the dormant one. It's job as you guessed is to provide those pulses that are probably absent. Now I don't know that yours needs that but probably needs that or the equivalent of whatever yours has. I've had success with re-shaping the anvil to a sharp edge as new. Sometimes with age the anvil becomes dull and resistant to motion. It could be a couple of things but more likely the latter - electrical. Well "JS" - this is a little more like an electrical clock problem than mechanical but perhaps I can help as I recently went thru this with a battery wagger. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |