Abbott's American watchmaker and jeweler : an encyclopedia for the horologist, jeweler, gold and silversmith... (1898)

Author: Abbott, Henry G
Publisher: Chicago : G. Hazlitt
THE AMERICAN WATCHMAKER AND JEWELER, A FULL AND COMPREHENSIVE EXPOSITION OF ALL THE LATEST AND MOST APPROVED SECRETS OF THE TRADE EMBRACING WATCH AND CLOCK CLEANING AND REPAIRING, TEMPERING IN ALL ITS GRADES, MAKING TOOLS, COMPOUNDING METALS, SOLDERING, PLATING, ETC., WITH A SERIES OF PLAIN INSTRUCTIONS FOR BEGINNERS. ALSO, DIRECTIONS BY WHICH THOSE NOT FINDING IT CONVENIENT TO PATRONIZE A HOROLOGIST MAY KEEP THEIR CLOCKS IN ORDER. Among the meclianical arts, there is none more useful than that of horology, yet there are few less understood, or less practised in this country. Notwithstanding the great demand for time-pieces of various kinds, and the very general interest manifested in them by their owners, there are but few treatises on the subject in the English language, and those few too costly to be accessible to the million, while the most of the movements are imported from Europe instead of being manufactured by our own mechanics. But of late, more interest has been manifested, American clocks have won a world-wide reputation, and the manufacture of American watches has been attempted with a marked success, which augurs well for the future. It cannot be doubted that there is native ability enough among our artisans to execute superior workmanship; the point in question is to afford it facilities for development equal to those enjoyed by other nations.