Vintage Speakers

British made Wharfedale W70D Mk 11. Ca 1960'

My Vintage Tube Radios

German made Blunkpunkt Florenz 20350 Tube radio (1960)

British made Murphy A262 (1955)

British made Hacker Mayflower II RV20 (1962)

Philips B5X43A valve radio from Holland (1964)

1957 Ultra FM950 Valve Radio - UK Made

My Antique Clocks

This is a 31-Day Lincoln clock with probably a Japanese made movement.  

This H.A.C. (Hamburg American Clock) 8-day mantle clock circa in 1910 and  hand made in Wurttemberg, Germany. It works perfectly despite its age.

HAC (Hamburg American Company)

Also known as HAU in Germany from the german company name Hamberg Amerikanische Uhrenfabrik.
When Erhard Junghans, founder of the Junghans factory, died in 1876, his widow's son in law, Paul Landenburger, who had acted as business manager for Junghans, left to start his own factory Named Landenburger and Lang.
In 1883 the name was changed to the "Hamburg Amerikanische Uhrenfabrik",
HAC became a very well known German clock company. Kochmann has numerous references.
The company used many different trademarks but the best known is the "crossed arrows" symbol.
They eventually merged with Junghans in 1930

 


Junghans 8-day wall clock circa in 1900.

The Junghans clock and watch empire began modestly enough. In 1861, two German brothers named Erhard and Jakob Junghan opened their small family business in a little town in the Black Forest known as Schramberg. In the beginning, the brothers manufactured individual watch parts to be used by other, larger manufacturers. By 1866, however, the talented brothers began producing their own clocks.In 1890, Arthur Junghans (who took over for his father Erhard after the elder's death) trademarked the signature eight-point star, which is still used as the Junghans' trademark today. By 1903, Junghans had become the largest watch factory in the entire world. Today, Junghans produces many different styles of watches but only a limited number of clocks. However, during their nearly 150 years in business, Junghans produced a number of wonderful clocks. Their ever-changing exteriors read like a history of design in the 20th century.Junghans mantle clocks from the 19th century are elegantly beautiful; many have swinging pendulums, very high quality oak wood cases, delicate engravings, and other wonderfully old-fashioned touches. An electric Junghans wall clock from the 1960s, however, is apt to be designed in the starburst shape so popular in that era.Junghans wall clocks from the WWII era are often sturdy yet elegantly crafted--just the sort of clock you would expect to see hanging in a respectable European home in the 1940s and '50s. From their wall clocks to alarm clocks, music box clocks to darkroom clocks, Junghans has crafted some of the most delightful clocks over the last two centuries.

This is a Mauthe wall clock cira in 1950 and made in Germany.

Friedrich Mauthe (June 02, 1822 - February 02, 1884) started a small clock factory in Schwenningen in 1870 and by 1899 the firm was also making its own cases. The Mauthe Clock Company started as a general supplier for clockmakers tools and equipment. Mauthe accepted clocks on a barter system. As the demand for clocks grew, Mauthe started his own manufacturing enterprise in 1876. His sons Christian and Jacob joined the family enterprise in 1876. In 1886 the Mauthe factory started her own spring drawing facilities. In 1899 a case factory was added, by 1900, 1000 employees were on the payroll. In 1915 Mauthe added their own sawmill and milling shop. In 1923 the year of inflation made competition for Mauthe tough. In 1930 2000 workers produced 45,000 clocks and watches a week. By 1923, 60% German clocks exported to London were Mauthe. In 1970, Mauthe struggled for survival, and in 1975 the company was in receivership and forced to close in 1976.

THE DAY WE SURVIVED THE EARTHQUAKE IN TOKYO

We (my wife and I) were on our first visit to Tokyo Mar 11 was our fourth day of our self-planned tour of the city when the massive earthquake struck north-eastern Japan affecting the entire city of Tokyo.  On that day, we left Sakura Hotel in Ikebukuro at about 10 am. We took a walk to the Ikebukuro Station and took the JR-Yamanote subway line to Ueno, north of Tokyo.  Ueno is the place to visit to feel the history and culture of Tokyo. We proceed to the Yushima Tenmamgu Shire and had our lunch in a café in Ueno station. After our lunch, we decided to walk up to park nearby to visit some of the many museums located right inside the park on the west side of Ueno station.

As we walked towards the National Museum of Nature & Science, my wife called out from  behind that she was about to fall out. I ran toward her, got hold of her only to realize that the earth was moving under my feet. It was about 1.45 pm and the park was filled with lunch time crowds. Looking around, we were probably the only two foreigners visiting the park at that time. All the people in the park suddenly stopped whatever they were doing and just stand still and trying to maintain balance. The Japanese were very calm and there was no sign of panic despite the shock waves lasting for about two minutes. It was certainly not a good feeling and felt fortunate that we were in an open park and not inside some buildings.

I understand that earthquake is a common thing in Japan and told my wife that there was nothing much to fear about. We just need to follow the locals should the quake got worst. We continue our walk to the museum and only to be told that the museum would be closing and they were in the process of evacuating the visitors inside the building. I took no serious notice of the evacuation and continue our walk through the park to visit other attractions. As we walked, I began to realize that the park was getting very crowded. I realized that all the people in the surrounding buildings including those in the restaurants were evacuated. I told my wife that perhaps this was the standard procedures in this city. Without understanding any Japanese and without WIFI in the park, I could not get any news about the earthquake or how serious it was.

It was about 4.15 pm and we decided to walk down to the main streets. We were shock to see the entire streets filled with people. Almost very inch of available space on the streets were filled with people. Traffic was extremely heavy and the sirens of ambulance and police cars could be heard almost continuously. As we were standing next to a bus stop shelter, we heard two Chinese ladies speaking in Mandarin and found out that they were locals here. They told us that they lived in Tokyo for more than three years and they had never experience such serious earthquake before. They told us all transportations and communications systems were down. The only mean of transport was by bus if we stand any chance of going back to our hotel in Ikebukuro. Even than it was not safe to travel given that the quake might strike again anytime soon. 

I decided that we should proceed to the subway station and get more information on the status of the train service. All train services were suspended. No one could tell us when the services would resume. I told my wife that we must be prepared to stay the night out here. By then, it was 6 pm and the sky was getting dark and getting colder. We stay inside the station shopping complex for about an hour. Then came an announcement in Japanese which we could not understand a single word. Suddenly, everyone stood up and made their way out of the station in response to the announcement. I asked a young lady sitting next to me what was the announcement about. She spoke in Japanese and bit of English that the station would be closed and we should precede to the park which was the safest place to take shelter. We were not prepared to go back to the park as we just came from there to avoid the cold.

I was rather perplexed that the station would be closed. My thought was that the station was probably the best place for people to take shelter and spend the night there. We could not understand the rational to close the station and left the station reluctantly. By then, it was 7 pm and the temperature was probably around five degree. My wife was shivering and my first instinct was to find a shelter to shield us from the chilling winds. We walked aimlessly for about five minutes in search of a shelter. We found a small office building with open staircase leading to a basement with a small lift lobby that led us to some restaurants. We sat on the steps leading to basement and found some comfort from the chilling wind. I decided to buy some food as we had not had our dinner. My wife wanted to take the lift to the restaurant but I was not comfortable with her idea. I thought it should be safer to be near the exit of the building than inside a restaurant at the upper floor of the building. I decided to buy some take-away food nearby. My wife decided to follow me to hunt for food despite the cold out there. She would not want to be alone should there be another aftershock. Fortunately, a few shops away there was a little café which still open for business. There was a long queue for food and my wife joined the queue while I waited for those sitting to vacate their seats. We decided to dine in and spend as long a time in the café as possible since we had no where to go.

We had cheese cake and sandwich with coffee for dinner and spent the next one and half hour in the café. The hot coffee calm us down and we had some good discussions about how we should survive the night here. We bought some cakes to take-away and decided to spend the night in one of the hotel’s lobby knowing that it would be impossible to get a room at this time. The café closed at 9 pm and we left the café with the help of the café’s staff for direction to the nearest hotels.

We took the overhead bridge to bring us across the main street and reached a nice hotel just few metres away from the road junction. The hotel staff at the main entrance told us that the hotel was fully booked and we could not even allow at the lobby because there was no space for us at all. A Caucasian man was listening attentively to our conversation with the hotel staff and told me in perfect English that there was no chance that we could find any accommodation in Tokyo now. There were crying babies and the aged sick taking shelter in the hotel lobby. He told us that he worked for the museum just across the road and was a long staying guest at this hotel. He gave up his room for a family with baby in tow and decided to spend the night in the park and sing the night away with beers. He invited us to join him to the park which we politely declined. We knew we would not survive the cold and the chilling winds in an open park.  

I told my wife that we should not be competing with others to stay at hotel lobby as many of them needed the place more than us. Just then, a hotel staff emerged from the lobby and whispered to his colleague; the same guy we spoke to pledging for a place to stay for the night. He told us that one of the train lines was opened and we might be able to leave Ueno for Ikebukuro. Realizing that we could not understand any Japanese, he decided to lead us to the station next door and helped us to find our connection. He spoke to the station master and told us that there was no connection for us. He apologized, turnaround and waived us goodbye. I thanked him for being so helpful.

Since the station was opened, we decide to spend the night inside the station. I told my wife that we should find a spot nearer to the exit so that we could make our way out within seconds should it become necessary. However, we had to compromise the warmer spot right inside the station. As I was trying to get more information from the station master, I saw some station staff walking toward the station counter with pieces of cartoon boards. I told my wife to beg one of the cartoon boards from one of the staff. It was a “trick” we used whenever we need a favor from a guy and it usually works with my wife. She ran after the guys despite a painful knee cap. I saw the smile in her as she emerged from the fleet of stair holding a huge cartoon board. I returned my smile and congratulated her for a job well done.

As it turns out, the decision to beg for the cartoon board (about 1.5m x 0.8m) turned out to be the wisest decision I have ever made in my entire life. We found the spot nearer to the exit and placed the cartoon board along the walkway. We began to make ourselves comfortable by removing our shoes and sit with our backs resting on the tilted wall. There were many people walking aimlessly in and out of the station. With the trains not resuming anytime soon, many people who could not reach home by foot decided to stay the night in the station. Soon, the entire walkway was filled with people sitting on the floors. Most of the people could only make do with newspapers between their butts and the cold hard floor. We were probably the only two persons within the surrounding area that could enjoy the comfort of the cartoon board to cushion our butts.   

There was a young Japanese lady standing across my path just about 10 metres away from where we were resting. She had been standing there for quite a while with a male companion. I took notice of her because as she was in office attire (black jacket and short skirt) without any external warm coat. She was probably in her mid twenties and was very sweat and pretty. We took pity on her because her male companion did nothing to try and make her comfortable. Since she had a male friend with her, we decide not to offer her to sit with us on the warm cartoon board.

The station staff laid out a large ground sheet on the floor about twice the size of a standard queen size bed for people to rest. Within seconds, the entire ground sheet was filled with people. The young lady opposite my direction managed to find a spot as the ground sheet was just about two metre away from where she was standing. As it turned out, she was very uncomfortable sitting in the middle of the station with her short skirt. Her male companion on the other hand made himself comfortable on the ground sheet as with the rest of the people. She decided to stand on her feet again despite her tire legs.

Finally, I told my wife to approach her and asked her to join us. She accepted our offer without hesitation and we soon found out that she could speak some English. She had a Han name called Yuki and she told us that she came to Tokyo for a job interview. With the train services not in operation and with the closure of all expressways, there was no way she could make it home. Yuki lived outside Tokyo and needed two hour on train to reach home. Knowing that we were from Singapore, she shared with us that she hope to work for SIA as cabin crew and that she would be completing her English language course soon. Yuki certainly has what it takes to be a SIA girl. She is soft spoke, well mannered, has good skin and a perfect smile that would warm anybody’s heart.

We were the envy of almost everyone who walked pass..Everyone would look at us perhaps because we had the comfort of the cartoon board or perhaps, they were looking at the beautiful Yuki.

It was 10 pm and the next available train (if any) would start only around 5 am. The night was going to be long and cold. We were certainly lucky compared with the rest who had only a thin sheet of newspaper or an A4 size paper between their butts and the cold hard floor. The cartoon board certainly provided a lot more comfort with a nice cushion to sit on.  The cartoon board was comfortable for two of us but not for three persons. So we decided to sit upright throughout the night. It was a long night and we spend the next 10 hours singing and talking away.    

At around 5 am (Mar 12), Yuki managed to contact her father who would be driving to Tokyo to pick her up. It would take about an hour drive for him to reach Ueno. Meanwhile, the male companion of Yuki came looking for her around the same time and bid goodbye to her. We then realized that her male friend was just someone she met during her job interview. Yuki said that his girlfriend would be picking him up

I decided to make enquiry from the station master but there was no one in sight. I returned only to find Yuki had left while I was away. I took another walk down the station and managed to speak with a station master. He told me in Japanese and a little English that I could make my way to Ikebukuro with some transfers. I could not quite exactly know what he was telling me except that I knew we could go back to our hotel with some connections on different lines. Just as I turned my back and walk towards the direction of my wife, I saw Yuki standing just 2 metres in front of me. Maybe Yuki was trying to look for me and wanting to say goodbye to me or it was just pure luck that I met her again. I asked Yuki to speak to the station master and let me know exactly how we could make our way back to our hotel. As Yuki was not a local here, she took sometime to understand the train connection. She walked with me to my wife and wrote in Japanese the train connections in case we need to seek help along the way. She decided to accompany us to the ticketing counter and reconfirmed the connections with the ticketing staff. She left me her email address and left us after we bought our connecting tickets. We finally reached our hotel at 7 am

We visited many interesting places during our 6 days trip to Tokyo. Mar 11 was our most memorable and eventful day in Tokyo. It was a last minute decision to visit Ueno on Mar 11 instead of heading to Gina as original planned. If we had visited Gina, we would probably be inside some huge shopping complex when the earthquake strikes. We would probably be evacuated from the building and left finding for shelter in the eastern part of Tokyo. We probably would not have the comfort of the cartoon board to cushion us for 10 hours. We would never have met Yuki and we would probably not able to take the first available train to back to Ikebukuro.

Yes! We survive the earthquake and the cold chilling night in Tokyo with temperature near zero degree. Fortunately, we had the comfort of a cartoon board which we shared it with Yuki for eight long hours. As it turned out, we ended up owning Yuki a big thank you for getting us out of Ueno to Ikebukuro. Now back in Singapore on Mar 14, we hope Yuki will fulfill her dream to fly with our national airlines soon.