# Watch Books - the collection



## Eeeb (Jul 12, 2007)

After you have been in the hobby for a while you find yourself accumulating books and literature. It is not a conscious directive... it just seems to happen.

One day I came to the realization this was a collection just like the watches. So I gave it some respect and got some Ikea shelving and came out with the following arrangement. By shelf.....

This first one is the serious repair books for mechanical watches. Two authors, Fried and DeCarle dominate this literature. Topics they produced are general repair and then a series of specialties like bench practices, escapement, crystals, adjustments and the like. (Atop is a mid 70s Bell System lineman's helmet. This was the last issue before the breakup of the Bell System.)









When you buy books in lots you often get clock repair books. The green one "Repairing Old Clocks And Watches" is interesting. The watches are 19th century pocket watches. But the only part I have read much of is the clock section which is written with a good sense of the reader. I remember one line that went something like "And if at this point the pieces and parts of the clock are suddenly flung through out the room, you forgot to let down the mainspring." :-d

Notice the set of Hamilton Electric repair manuals. Someday I'll start fixing them :think:










Some more serious books... the ones that tell you how to fix quartz watches! This is driven by my moderation of HEQ and has been far and away the most difficult to obtain. The Hyltin on digital watches is personally signed by the author to the person to whom the book was dedicated. And the Fried books are both signed by the author -- a collection within a collection! Rounding out the shelf are Elgin and Timex repair manuals. I wish they were complete but only the Timex set is anywhere near complete.

Oh one thing, the Freid electric watch repair book came in two editions. There is some overlapping material but they cover different movements and you need both to get most of the common electric and tuning fork movements.










Watch catalogs are an important part of many collections. Swatch, TAG, auction catalogs, and a sampling of others...










Here we have two shelves mostly dedicated to a large set of monthly bulletins of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors... I bought the set from a bookseller in upper New York state. I stumbled across the issue that had two (not one but two) reviews of Daniels' Watchmaking when it came out. It was worth the cost.

My membership in the NAWCC has produced the few color issues at the end.










This is the shelf with the real literature! The two most important books about John Harrison; Doensen's WATCH (signed by the author), an incredibly beautiful exposition of the history of the post-mechanical watches; two very informative books by Daniels; some brand specialty books anchored on the end by the recently printed Heuer Chronographs by Arno Haslinger - a definitive and most beautiful book loved by Heuer and racing fans alike. Being both, I doubly love it.










Technical documentation is important if you want to collect vintage electronics (or if you want to know what you are talking about in HEQ - it's a technical crew!) Well, it might be important if I carve out the time to get some real watchmaking skills... which is on hold until retirement (but that's not too far! :-!)










I hope you enjoyed the tour of the library shelves. It was fun putting it all together. Maybe it gave you some ideas.


----------



## ulackfocus (Oct 17, 2008)

I also have Henry Fried's "The Watch Repairer's Manual" and Donald De Carle's "Watch & Clock Encyclopedia". They're good references, but the WOSTEP textbook is my most valuable as far as the math & theory involved in watchmaking. There's a couple year's worth of issues of WatchTime and some manufacturer's catalogs too. A box of printouts for technical information (movement PDF's, industrial articles on metals & plating methods, etc.) is kind of disorganized, but I don't really access it much anymore as I used it already to write the Horology 101 articles. Brand specific items are the real goodies in my library. Along with large manufacturer's books (ie: Omega's "A Journey Through Time, Longines' "At the Heart of an Industrial Vocation) are smaller books by collectors and many pictures and notes on variations of movements, dial/hand combinations, and movement/case combinations that help me verify originality of the brands I chase. You'd be surprised at some of the incomplete information in the factory books. I try to augment them with the missing material after talking with a contact at the brand to make sure what I'm adding is authentic. 

At this point your library is waaaaay more impressive than mine. I only have a small 2 shelf bookcase and it could be condensed onto one shelf if I didn't need to conveniently pull things off it.

EDIT: I know that hat well. Dad worked for AT&T for 31 years. He started as a lineman and ended as the union president.


----------



## Catalin (Jan 2, 2009)

*Very nice ...*

Impressive collection!

Honestly speaking I am more of an Internet / electronic book kind of guy, but even like that I was looking after Doensen's WATCH for quite some time but I could not yet decide if I want to pay 200$ for a used copy ...


----------



## chadness (Feb 23, 2010)

Very Impressive collection. my whole library consists of a laptop and the interweb :-d. Lol would love to get some watch books though, especially when trying to fix watches that are not working. I'm not that far yet as i don't know the bits and pieces. Lol i can pull one apart and put one together. Like i said great collection.


----------



## kiwidj (Sep 24, 2007)

That is indeed an impressive collection! Thanks for sharing. :-!


----------



## Marrick (May 2, 2007)

Yes indeed.:-!

I have one or two; but I'm keeping a space clear for when Eeeb publishes one.;-)


----------



## Erik_H (Oct 23, 2006)

A very nice collection. :-! 
I have far less, and mine tend to be about pocketwatches only...


----------



## radger (Nov 18, 2007)

That is a great collection of books Eeeb.

The internet contains a vast amount of info and people use
it to the detriment of books, but the internet is flawed and you
can't always trust the information. You need to sift out the wheat
from the chaff and this can sometimes be impossible.

Books are a far more reliable source, especially books on watchmaking
where the accumulated knowledge and techniques of the masters lie
between the pages.
I like a book....well you can't read a computer in the bath.


----------



## sixtysix (Nov 19, 2007)

Nice pile of book you got there, I have about 10 and a dozen catalogs....


----------



## Eeeb (Jul 12, 2007)

radger said:


> That is a great collection of books Eeeb.
> 
> The internet contains a vast amount of info and people use
> it to the detriment of books, but the internet is flawed and you
> ...


I find there is a great deal more information in books than on the web (and that is true in general). The web is geared for short attention span. One chapter in a book has more data that whole websites.

And the data is laid out in a semi logical manner in books... on the web you have to catch what you can find.

I use both but the books are more useful for serious knowledge.


----------



## carpevicis (Feb 20, 2010)

I totally agree with you on the web being for the short attention 'spanded'. And I am often annoyed at the lack of details while doing research online. Don't get me started on search engines....lol 
Your book collection really inspires me, as I am just getting started in horology, and only have one book so far from the local Barnes and Noble (which has a terrible selection, since books are being replaced with audio/visual in the store:-() I realize now that the only way I'll ever get the information I need is through vintage books, catalogues and repair manuals. So, where should I begin in my search for these valuable books? Thrift stores? Antique shops? Ebay?lol Again, awesome collection, thank you for sharing!

-Chris


----------



## ulackfocus (Oct 17, 2008)

Eeeb said:


> The web is geared for short attention span.


True - but shouldn't 98% of WUS be insulted by that comment? :think::-d:-d:-d (sorry, couldn't resist ;-))



Eeeb said:


> One chapter in a book has more data that whole websites.


Also true 98% of the time, with the exceptions of Chuck Maddox's work on Omega - specifically the Speedmaster. I've also seen good posts here on Breitling Navitimers and Cosmonauts.


----------



## Eeeb (Jul 12, 2007)

carpevicis said:


> ...So, where should I begin in my search for these valuable books? Thrift stores? Antique shops? Ebay?lol Again, awesome collection, thank you for sharing!
> 
> -Chris


eBay, Alibris, Amazon, BN - Local retail is useless. Be prepared to pay a bit for the rare ones. The set of 3 quartz repair books - took 2 years to get them all and the average price exceeded their initial retail by a substantial margin. But they all cost less than a good watch.

You didn't see a copy of Daniels _Watchmaking_ in the library. The last time I found a copy for less than $600 it had already sold. (Fortunately a reprinting is due this summer!)


----------



## kurtnz (Jul 22, 2009)

There are several good Antiqurian Horological book retailers.
I have used Rita Shenton in England and Simonin in Switzerland.
My main reference books are: Kathleen R Pritchards, Swiss Timepiece Makers 1775 - 1975. Jaquet Chapius, The Swiss Watch. Alan Shenton, Pocket Watches 19th - 20th Century. Reinhard Meiss, Pocket Watches and of course Britten's, Old Clocks and Watchs and their Makers.
On top of that I have a collection of smaller books and booklets. But as usual quite often you still need the internet and of course the watch forums.

Kurt


----------



## RON in PA (Sep 11, 2007)

One new benefit of membership in the NAWCC is that all copies of the Bulletin, back to 1943, are now available on the organization's web page for free download.


----------



## Beau8 (May 24, 2008)

Pretty extensive assortment of books and manuals~Which one do you refer to the most? ;-)


----------



## bret440 (Nov 25, 2009)

That's an impressive collection you have there :-!


----------



## deane12345 (Jun 19, 2010)

Hi...I have a very exclusive Breguet collection inc a signed 1975 leather bound 'art of breguet' 16/20..also Breguet 1747-1823 by Sir David Salomons, plus alot of catalogues you cant get hold of...as you can tell im a Breguet nut....


----------



## Eeeb (Jul 12, 2007)

Beau8 said:


> Pretty extensive assortment of books and manuals~Which one do you refer to the most? ;-)


Good question. In general I look at the repair books only when I have a specific problem they can help with. But I haven't really gotten into repair yet -- that's a retirement activity :-d

Beyond that I've made it through about 2/3s of the bulletins I have - I just flip through and read what catches my eye. Many interesting things you only catch by reading. But I pull Doensen's Watch off a lot for reference on the post-mechanical watches I collect.


----------



## Eeeb (Jul 12, 2007)

kurtnz said:


> There are several good Antiqurian Horological book retailers.
> I have used Rita Shenton in England and Simonin in Switzerland.
> My main reference books are: Kathleen R Pritchards, Swiss Timepiece Makers 1775 - 1975. Jaquet Chapius, The Swiss Watch. Alan Shenton, Pocket Watches 19th - 20th Century. Reinhard Meiss, Pocket Watches and of course Britten's, Old Clocks and Watchs and their Makers.
> On top of that I have a collection of smaller books and booklets. But as usual quite often you still need the internet and of course the watch forums.
> ...


I have acquired Chapius and see it is a comprehensive tome. I got a second edition that goes up to tuning forks but not to the quartz revolution.

Meis also has "CHRONOGRAPHIC Wristwatches To Stop Time" with Lang. That too is comprehensive up to tuning fork and electronically controlled balance wheel watches. If you collect chronos, it is a good book.

I'm still waiting for Britten to arrive and already had the pocket watch Meis book. It appears Pritchard is really available only through the AAWCC. I've renewed my membership so will see... Thanks for your list!


----------



## Eeeb (Jul 12, 2007)

Eeeb said:


> ...
> 
> I'm still waiting for Britten to arrive and already had the pocket watch Meis book. It appears Pritchard is really available only through the NAWCC. I've renewed my membership so will see... Thanks for your list!


Britten arrived and was well worth the wait. The original author and subsequent editors have put a great deal of work into this book. It stops in the 50's but it's gold for anything before that!


----------



## Simon2 (Dec 4, 2010)

Have you read 'Mick watters' books. good books for the beginner.


----------



## User_Refined (May 18, 2013)

Good solid and all round academic collection - you are an example to us all.

Thanks for directing me to this.


----------



## Bills86e (Nov 6, 2013)

edited by mod Anything in the ELGIN book on the Jitterbug A-8 WWII stopwatch? edited by mod, violated our rules & guidelines
I have two of these, one works flawlessly, other does not, so I will use that as my practise watch to learn how to service my Fathers (now passed) A-8.He was a navigator on a B-29 very heavy bomber in the war, Northwest field, Guam,in the Phillipeans.
it runs 144,000 BPH, ten seconds in a revolution. An amazing piece.

Bills86e


----------



## spurs90 (May 19, 2020)

Thoughts on Practical watch repairing vs watch repairing as a hobby for a starting place?


----------



## Motorcycle Man (Feb 7, 2018)

Ever heard of a guy named George Daniels????


----------



## Eeeb (Jul 12, 2007)

Motorcycle Man said:


> Ever heard of a guy named George Daniels????


Daniels' Watchmaking tells you how to make a watch.... not assemble a watch from parts but also how to build many of the parts! "Definitive" is a word that comes to mind. It was out of print for many years and copies were expensive. A new edition was promised but I do not know if it ever came.


----------



## Eeeb (Jul 12, 2007)

spurs90 said:


> Thoughts on Practical watch repairing vs watch repairing as a hobby for a starting place?


To learn how to repair watches, you must destroy a lot of watches (to get good at it). Alas... you must pay the piper somehow. Only after you are willing to repair your own best loved watches should you do it for $$. Does that answer the question?


----------

