The story
Early history
Howard was a clockmaking apprentice of Aaron Willard Jr. and commenced business with David P. Davis, manufacturing high-grade wall clocks under the name of Howard & Davis in 1842. They also became known for their manufacture of sewing machines, fire engines and precision balances. About 1843, with a third partner, Luther Stephenson, they began to also manufacture tower clocks.
In 1857, David P. Davis left the firm and Howard & Davis was dissolved. In 1857–8, Edward Howard finished and sold left over "Model 1857" material from the Boston Watch Co. under the name Howard & Rice. In December 1858, Howard bought out Rice's interest and began manufacturing watches of a new design, signed "E. Howard & Co." While the company name changed several times during the firm's watchmaking history, all watches it made continued to be signed "E. Howard & Co." throughout, with only minor exceptions. The Howard firm established itself as a leading American manufacturer of luxury watches from 1858 into the 1890s.
On March 24, 1861, the clock and watch businesses were combined into one joint stock corporation, the Howard Clock & Watch Company, which failed in 1863. Thereafter, Howard formed a new company called the Howard Watch & Clock Company (transposing clock & watch) on October 1, 1863, which was successful for some years but was reorganized in 1881 after financial setbacks of a few years previous.
In 1882, Edward Howard sold out his personal interests and retired, leaving the firm to new management. This firm continued the manufacture of many clock styles, primarily weight driven wall timepieces and regulators of fine quality. Only two common wall models, #5 and # 10, were produced as stock items, all others being manufactured by special order.
Regular watch making operations ceased in 1903, when the Howard name in association with watches was sold to the Keystone Watch Case Co. Keystone purchased the defunct US Watch Co. factory building in Waltham, Massachusetts (The US Watch Co. of Waltham is not to be confused with an earlier company of the same name in Marion, New Jersey.) Keystone manufactured watches at the location signed "E. Howard Watch Co." These watches were of new designs and unlike those of the original Howard company. Clocks were manufactured at Roxbury, a section of Boston, but in the early 1930s those operations were also moved to Waltham, Massachusetts. A very small number of pre-existing Howard watches were finished in the Howard clock factory between 1903 and 1927.
Timeline
1842 E. Howard Clock Co. founded
1845 Howard Clock factory built in Roxbury
1850 American Horologue Company founded by E. Howard and A. L. Dennison, with financial backing from D. P. Davis
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1853 The first production watches completed, signed "Warren Manufacturing Co.," which evolved into the Waltham "Model 1857," the first successful industrially manufactured watch.
1854 The Warren Mfg. Co. (previously, the American Horologue Co.) is renamed the Boston Watch Co.
1857 Boston Watch Co. fails; Royal E. Robbins and partners purchase the machinery and most of the inventory, but Edward Howard teams with lienholder Chas. Rice to remove about 500 watches in progress to Roxbury; Both Robbins and Howard claim succession from the Boston Watch Co.
1857-8 Howard finishes left over Boston Watch Co. Model 1857 material under the name "Howard & Rice"
1858 Howard buys out Rice and the name of the watchmaking operation is changed to E. Howard & Co.
1858 Production of "E. Howard & Co." watches begins based on Reed's divided plate 6-pillar design
1861 Howard Watch and Clock Co. incorporated
1862 3/4 plate watch production begins at Howard
1863 Company reorganized
1869 Howard introduces new steel safety barrel on watches with pendant winding and setting
1873 New plant completed
1879 Waltham Watch and Tool Co founded (U.S. Watch)
1881 Company reorganized as E. Howard Watch and Clock Co.
1882 Edward Howard retires
1898 E. Howard Watch & Clock Co. fails
1899 Manufacture of new watch parts suspended; Thereafter, watch movements were assembled and finished from existing part stocks
1900 E. Howard Clock Co. emerges from reorganized company
1902 E. Howard Watch Co. incorporated (shares Boston business address with E.H.C.Co.)
1902–1904 E. Howard Clock Co./Watch Co. receive movements made for them by the American Waltham Watch Co.
1903 Regular watchmaking activities at E. Howard & Co. cease as E. Howard Watch Co. name purchased by Keystone Watch Case Co. and re-incorporated
1903 U.S. Watch Co. sold to E. Howard Watch Co. (owned by the Keystone Watch Case Company)
1903–1923 A very small number of pre-existing E. Howard & Co. watches are finished and put out by the Howard Clock Co.
1903–1927 The E. Howard Watch Co. of Waltham, Massachusetts (a.k.a., "Keystone Howard") manufactures watches of their own updated designs.
1904 Edward Howard dies
1904–1905 Keystone/EHWCo receive movements made for them by the American Waltham Watch Co.
1905–1927 The E. Howard Watch Co. of Waltham, Massachusetts (a.k.a., "Keystone Howard") manufactures watches of their own updated designs
1927 Howard name sold to Hamilton Watch Co.
1927 Howard Clock Co. buys U.S. Watch factory from Keystone
1931 Hamilton buys goodwill and trademarks of the E.Howard Watch Co.
1933 Howard Clock Products Co. incorporated
1933 to Present Howard Clock Products Co. manufactures clock and timer mechanisms
1939 Hamilton finishes one dozen pocket watches marked E. Howard Watch Co., based on Hamilton's grade 917 movement
1942, 1946-49 Hamilton produces a little over 1000 wristwatches marked E. Howard Watch Co., based on Hamilton's grade 980 movement
1994 to Present, The La Crosse Clock Company purchased E. Howard & Co.
2012, EHWC, Inc. begins development to manufacture high-end wrist watches in Boston.
2013 A new world record was set on Saturday, November 23 at Fontaine's Auction Gallery in Pittsfield, Ma. when an E. Howard No. 68 Astronomical Regulator clock was sold for $277,300.00 making it the highest price ever paid at auction for a clock by E. Howard & Co.
Howard, Davis & Dennison serial number 3, the third of seventeen experimental 8-day watch movements with tandem mainsprings made circa 1851, sold in its original gold case at Jones & Horan Auction House on June 2, 2019, for $300,000. Howard, Davis & Dennison movement serial number 1, which was Edward Howard's personal watch, is in the collection of the Smithsonian American History Museum.
From Wikipedia’s article on E. Howard & Co., shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3