E. Howard & Co.

History

Edward Howard, one of the founders of the Waltham enterprise, went on to make watches under his own name to a deliberately higher standard and in far smaller numbers, alongside tower and regulator clocks made by the associated clock business.

Major innovations

• American watch sizing system of its own rather than the Lancashire sizes used elsewhere
• Precision regulator clocks used as standards by observatories, railroads and jewellers

Known markings

• 'E. Howard & Co. Boston'
• Series and grade markings
• 'Howard' on clock dials and movements

Serial numbers

Howard watch numbering differs from other American factories and does not map onto general American serial tables; grade and series identification usually precedes dating.

Collecting significance

Small production and distinctive construction make Howard watches a specialist study; the watch and clock businesses are frequently confused with one another.

Sources & references

1. NAWCC literature on Howard watches and clocks
2. The corporate relationship between the Howard watch and clock businesses changed several times and is reported inconsistently.

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.