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National Time Recorder Co., Ltd. Time Clock
This time clock from National Time Recorder Co., Ltd. in London was used to log the starting and ending times of worker shifts in places such as offices and shops.
Early advertising described the company’s mechanical, pendulum-driven time clocks as “Reliable & Uncheatable” with “absolute accuracy for the full week” that showed “all irregular time at a glance.” The machines promised that “no disputes can arise” and that they “favour no one.” Improvements made them “specially suitable for the Colonies and abroad” because they required “no attention for years.”
Our time clock seems to date from about 1930. The cabinet is made of oak and gold-colored brass, and the face uses Roman numerals. The machine seems to be comparatively rare because most other surviving models from the 1930s and later featured black brass and Arabic numerals.
How did the time-keeping mechanism in the base work? An employee would insert a heavy paper time card in the front slot and, presumably, then pull the lever. A set of internal print dials advanced and stamped the date and time on the card. Operation was independent from the clock except for a single rod interface that revolved once an hour.
National Time Recorder Co., Ltd. was one of the largest manufacturers of time clocks in the United Kingdom. It was active from the late 1910s through 1972, and was incorporated in 1917.
According to some sources, the time clock was invented in New York in 1888 to solve the “vexatious questions of recording employee time.” But there are indications that earlier mechanical devices to record time existed.
