Kit-Cat Klock (California Clock Company)
Born in the Great Depression to make people smile, the grinning cat with the swinging tail is one of the longest-running novelty clocks in America.
The cat clock everyone recognizes
The Kit-Cat Klock is a wall clock shaped like a grinning cartoon cat. The clock dial sits in its belly, its eyes roll from side to side, and its tail swings back and forth like a pendulum. People search for it as the cat clock, the kit kat clock or the kitty cat clock, but the brand name is spelled Kit-Cat Klock, with a K.
The company says the design was created in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, by the Oregon designer Earl Arnault, and that it was meant to cheer people up. Its rubber-limbed look echoes the cartoon cats of the 1920s and 1930s, as the British collectors' magazine The Collector's Companion points out.
See also: a big analog clock with hands that sweep like a Kit-Cat's on OnlineClock.app.
From Portland to Seattle to California
According to the company's own history, the clock was first made by the Allied Clock Company in Portland, Oregon, in the 1930s. Production moved to Seattle when the company switched to molded plastic, and in 1962 it moved again to Southern California, where the business became the California Clock Company.
The company states that Kit-Cat clocks have been made in America since the start. The earliest models had metal bodies and metal hands, and, as the company notes, four toes on each paw.
How to date a vintage Kit-Cat
The back of the clock is the best clue, because the town printed there changed as the factory moved. The Collector's Companion, drawing on the maker's own timeline, lists Portland, Oregon, on late-1930s clocks with an electric cord; Seattle, Washington, on 1940s metal backs and early-1950s plastic backs; El Monte, California, in the early 1960s; and San Juan Capistrano, California, from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s.
Other details help too. The same timeline says front paws arrived in the mid-to-late 1950s, the bow tie in 1954, and jeweled versions in the late 1950s. The name Kit-Cat appears on the clock face from 1982. The magazine warns that many vintage cats are sold with the wrong date, so check the back plate rather than trusting a listing.
Electric cord to battery
Early Kit-Cats plugged into the wall. The switch to batteries came later, and the two sources give slightly different dates: the company describes developing new battery technology in the late 1980s, after US motor making moved to Asia and no existing battery motor could power the moving eyes and tail, while the collectors' timeline puts the change after 1990.
Today's clocks run on batteries and come in many colors, from classic black to pink, white and a glow-in-the-dark version, according to the company's list. In 2007, for the clock's 75th anniversary, the company toured Route 66 with a 75-inch Kit-Cat.
Questions people ask
Is it Kit-Cat, Kit Kat or Kitty Cat clock?
The brand name is Kit-Cat Klock. Kit Kat clock and kitty cat clock are common ways people search for it.
When was the Kit-Cat Klock invented?
In 1932, during the Great Depression, by the Oregon designer Earl Arnault, according to the company.
How can I tell how old my Kit-Cat clock is?
Look at the town printed on the back (Portland, Seattle, El Monte or San Juan Capistrano), whether it has a cord or batteries, and details such as paws, a bow tie, or the name on the face.
Keep exploring
Sources
- Kit-Cat Klock: About us and history, Kit-Cat (California Clock Company)
- Loose limbs telling time, The Collector's Companion
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