Stamp
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They are using second stamp. Is it a clock? One arrow is pointing at III and the other one at XI.
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Maybe this is the clock stamp the Orderly Room have to record times of documents received etc.
I think maybe they have a clock stamp without the arrows. When say the Diary page or other document is received then they may
write the arrows in, to note time of arrival. i.e. The war diary page was stamped by the Orderly Room at 15 minutes past eleven o'clock on the 3rd October 1917. The arrows handwritten in to show the time.What would be the point of having clock stamp with time arrows stamped on it, when time changes.
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cyngast
moderator
It's definitely a clock, and I think Marie is right that it's used to record the time documents arrive. I'm not sure what A. & Q. is, but I think this is a second place in addition to the Orderly Room.
I think, though, that the arrows are part of the stamp. They look too symmetrical, too perfect to be drawn. This website for an Early Office Museum shows mechanical date-time stamps as far back as the 1890s. There is also a picture of a similar circle stamp. http://www.officemuseum.com/stamps.htm
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ral104
moderator, scientist
I agree it looks like the arrows are part of the stamp, just as the date and AM/PM would have been. A&Q...the only definition I can find is 'administrative branches of the staff'. Possibly adjutant and quartermaster?
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cyngast
moderator
It has just occurred to me that future generations, other than historians and clock lovers, won't recognize a circle like that as a clock. I'm used to lots of new things popping up to change our lives, but it gave me a start to realize this is something that I recognize, that my kids who are now in their early 20s might recognize, but their kids? Not a chance.
Although the alarm function on my phone does use an analog clock face for setting the alarm time.
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ral104
moderator, scientist
in response to cyngast's comment.
I don't know...from where I'm sitting I can see three wall clocks which look just like that, although without the roman numerals. But we have one on our kitchen wall which does have roman numerals. And a good proportion of wristwatches still use a clock face rather than a digital display, don't they? Mine does. That said, I'm not in my 20s anymore...
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I have near me my Father's Grand-daughter clock, this has roman numerals and strikes on the quarter, half-hour, three quarters and hour. When we were children and also my Mother, we were not allowed to move it. My Father always made sure it kept the exact time. It still does. One day when Mam was cleaning the room, she moved the clock and underneath there was a note saying "Do not Move This Clock!" (How time passes).
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cyngast
moderator
in response to ral104's comment.
I know my kids were taught how to read an analog clock at school, but we never had one in our house while they were growing up. In the kitchen, there are digital clocks on the oven, the microwave, the coffeemaker, and a small CD player, and at the other end of the room is the cable box with its time display. Why have a wall clock? I think you're right about watches, but my kids use their phones for the time and don't want a watch.
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cyngast
moderator
in response to marie.eklidvirginmedia.com's comment.
I had an uncle who collected clocks and after he retired he started repairing clocks for other people. You would walk into the house and hear all this constant ticking and chiming on the hour. He even had one that was backwards! The face was backwards so that the 3 was on the left and the 9 was on the right, and the hands moved counterclockwise.
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