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Recently, the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) received an important artifact from our early history. We were contacted out of the blue by Carol Heppner, who had found a mysterious plaque. The wood and metal decorated plaque reads, in German: “to the founder, the honorary president George Schmid, on the occasion of the 50 year jubilee of the New York Watchmakers Society” (see image 1).
Heppner contacted us, unaware that her great-grandfather George Schmid (sometimes spelled Schmidt) was none other than one of HSNY’s founders in 1866! According to our historical documents, a group of 16 German immigrants founded HSNY on March 26, 1866 as the Deutscher Uhrmacher Verein (German Watchmakers Society). At the time, dues were 25 cents a month, and members built a fund that would pay a weekly wage if one of them were to become sick and unable to work. Even in its first decades, the organization collected a technical library of books for watchmakers to consult.
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George Schmid was elected as the organization’s first president. In image 2, a gala program from 1916 shows that Schmid (left) was one of two original founders who lived to see the organization celebrate 50 years (the other is trustee Frederick Ruoff). In 1916 the Society held its 50th anniversary “jubilee,” which is where grateful members presented Schmid with this honorary plaque. Image 3 shows the original photograph of Schmid used in the 1916 gala program, which now lives in our archives.
In the late 19th century, HSNY went through different variations of German and English names, until 1930 when we adopted our current moniker. (We have a collection of HSNY gala programs and other historical documents at the Jost Bürgi Research Library.)
After speaking with us, Heppner graciously donated her great-grandfather’s plaque to HSNY, where it is now displayed alongside other artifacts of our early days, including photographs, membership cards, and newsletters. In December 2023, she was able to travel to HSNY in person to give us this important gift. Image 4 shows Heppner presenting HSNY Executive Director Nicholas Manousos with the plaque.
Image 5: Heppner also brought in several pieces from a family collection of pocket watches in order to research their history. Here, Heppner and her husband Richard Heppner show the watches to Manousos. Although we can’t offer appraisals, we encourage visitors to bring items to the library if they’re interested in researching their own pieces using our books.
We’re very grateful to Heppner for bringing the plaque home to our collection. Her contribution honors not only her great-grandfather, but also the generations of watchmakers who have relied on their membership in our organization for community and support. We hope visitors to the library will enjoy seeing the plaque up close as part of HSNY’s storied legacy.
If you think you might have HSNY memorabilia, or you spot something online, please let us know at info@hs-ny.org!