Timer
Object number2021.128.1 a-f
Manufacturer
F. E. Benzing
Datebefore 1960
OriginGermany
MediumWood; Metal; Brass; Plastic; Leather; Glass; Paper; Ink; Fabric; String
Credit LineGift of Janet Yodanis
DescriptionPigeon timer with key/tool and tag capsule accessories. Rectangular brown wooden case with finger joints and hinged lid along proper right side. Black leather handle on top. Front side has a circular plastic window with timer clock inside. Proper left side has rectangular plastic window with printed paper inside; lid closure latch to the top left of the window. Top has opening covered by metal hinged lid. Off-white fabric pouch tied to leather handle with string. Inside time are brass mechanical components. Underside has three square metal feet. T-shaped metal timer key/tool. Two metal clamshell tag containers and two cylindrical telescoping tag containers.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (a - closed): 7.75 × 7.25 × 9.5 in. (19.7 × 18.4 × 24.1 cm)Height x Width x Depth (a - open): 5.75 × 14 × 8.125 in. (14.6 × 35.6 × 20.6 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (b): 3 × 3.813 × 0.375 in. (7.6 × 9.7 × 1 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (c): 0.438 × 0.5 × 0.875 in. (1.1 × 1.3 × 2.2 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (d): 0.375 × 0.5 × 0.75 in. (1 × 1.3 × 1.9 cm)
Height x Diameter (e): 0.625 × 0.438 in. (1.6 × 1.1 cm)
Height x Diameter (f): 0.625 × 0.438 in. (1.6 × 1.1 cm)
Inscriptions(a)
Front side with timer clock has black handwritten text above clock "177792" and below "J. Y."
Proper right side with hinge has handwritten text in black ink in the top left corner "177792".
Proper right side with lid latch has handwritten text above the latch "177792".
Paper inside window on long side has printed purple text in the top left corner "BENZING / 177792" and timing information printed below.
Top has handwritten text in black ink along proper right side "JOHN YODANIS".
Dial inside has numbers "1-13" next to open compartments and each compartment has the corresponding number at the bottom.
Top has compartment that is covered by a hinged metal lid; inside compartment is text "4".
Inside box lid at center of proper left edge has imprinted number "2".
Inside base of box in the front proper left corner has number "172914".
Marks(a)
Timer clock plastic window has text at 9:00 "BENZING" and 3:00 "177792" and inside on clock face below center "BENZING / MADE IN GERMANY".
Text inside, behind the timer window "7 Jewels F.E. Benzing / Made in Germany".
Historical NotesPigeon racing timer (used c. 1960-1980s) with accessories. Prior to a pigeon race the timer clock would be taken to the local club where the clock would be set and a metal seal welded on. When the pigeon returned to the loft from the race they would have a rubber band on their leg, this band would be put in a metal capsule and the dropped in the timer and turned with a key. This would stamp the time of the bird’s return. John Yodanis had been racing pigeons since the age of 14, an interest that had been passed to him from his father and elder brother Anthony. He raced until the day he died at the age of 78. He was born on a farm in O’Hara Township in 1910. In 1924, when John started racing, he joined a robust community of pigeon racers, with a Pittsburgh Center that boasted 2,400 members. John, who was known as “a real ace flyer,” according to his daughter Janet, both raced and bred the imported Belgian homing pigeons used by the fancier community. Not a “mob flyer” who entered many birds in the race, John only entered a few top racers. He belonged to the Lawrenceville Center Homing Club where he served multiple terms as president during the 1970s and also flew with several other local clubs, among them the Pittsburgh Racing Pigeon Concourse, North Side Triangle Club, and the Pittsburgh Central Combine. He participated in the sport for more than 60 years, all while working on his family farm and then jobs at H.J. Heinz Company and the National Valve Company where he was a steamfitter for 40 years. 1938 remained the only year he did not race because he married Helen Zabielski, she became a pigeonette—as the wife of pigeon racers were known in the predominantly male sport. They had three children Janet, John, and Susan. Janet remembers reporting the race results for her father.
Previous owner
John Yodanis
(born 1910)
Related institution
Lawrenceville Center Homing Club
Related institution
Pittsburgh Racing Pigeon Concourse
Related institution
North Side Triangle Club
Related institution
Pittsburgh Central Combine
Related institution
H. J. Heinz Company
(founded 1888)
Related institution
National Valve and Manufacturing Company
On View
Not on view
1911
C. and E. Marshall Company
