After a quantity of these Lincoln and Bentley watches had been manufactured[46] and it had become clear that they could not be attractively priced to the trade, the company sought a product adapted to their factory equipment for which a constant market could be found. The product chosen was a line of metallic thermometers.[47] Two patents, 240058 and 240059, were issued to William A. Wales, assignor to the Auburndale Watch Co., of Weston, Massachusetts, on April 12, 1881. Whether these patents represent the first thermometers made at Auburndale or reflect the result of experience gained in making conventional models is not clear. The earliest evidence dating the appearance of the thermometer is the 1881 _Boston directory_ which appeared on July 1. This illustrates the same model of thermometer seen in figure 22. The patents cover means of eliminating springs of any sort from the mechanism, so that the hand or dial pointer is entirely under the influence of the fused bimetallic thermal strips. Manufacture of the timers was carried along with thermometer manufacture at first, but production of the timer was finally dropped, as the stock on hand was constantly increasing, and for a while the factory was at last operated at a profit, on thermometers alone. These were furnished in cases from 20 inches in diameter down to the size of a ten cent piece, according to the advertising. [Illustration: Figure 20 (_left_).--AUBURNDALE TIMER WITH SPLIT SECOND HAND. Note the stop and start lever for the "split" hand at the side of the case. (In author's collection.)] [Illustration: Figure 21 (_above_).--AUBURNDALE THREE-QUARTER PLATE WATCH, typical of both Lincoln and Bentley grades. (In author's collection.)]