Nursery alarm clock with space-themed design, made in Scotland by Westclox Scotland, 1960s?

Nursery alarm clock with a round face, made from black-painted metal. It stands on a broad, flat foot. The face itself shows a stylised image of a purple spacecraft in orbit around a planet or moon, firing a laser beam at a smaller spherical object, which appears to rotate as the clock moves. The hands are of white-painted metal, the numbers around the edge are shiny and white. The face is covered by a clear acrylic disc. On the reverse of the clock are controls to wind, change the time and operate the clock's alarm.

Acquired by the Museum in 2017 [2017/265].

Science fiction first became a popular genre in the second half of the nineteenth century. Writers such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells dominated the scene, producing influential classics which remain popular up to the present day. Wide-scale interest in sci-fi was renewed in the 1950s and 1960s, first through fixation on (and fear of) atomic power and weaponry, and then by the Space Race, which was launched in 1957 with the Soviet satellite Sputnik. The popularity of sci-fi waned somewhat in the early 1970s, before it was again revived by the wildly successful Star Wars franchise, which begun in 1977. The brilliant imagination, design and special effects of Star Wars spawned a new generation of interest, as well as many new franchises seeking to capitalise on its popularity.

B.15-2017