Vintage Phones

[Giftmacher]

This is my previously posted Tesla SH (Siemens-Halske) repainted, braided cord and handset taken from Siemens W28. Bakelite parts exclude the handset are polished by high-speed polishing machine.

[TomS]

Great phones...

[St. Louis]

Thanks for all this helpful information, everyone! I am wondering whether you would be able to help me identify my telephone? I found this years ago at an antique mall, had it repaired by a lovely fellow in Arizona, -- and it works beautifully. The only problem is, I can't identify it; there's very little information. Does anyone have an idea of how old this phone is?

Thanks very much!

I apologize in advance for the quality (or lack thereof) of the photos; that's never been one of my strengths.

[The Soph Gent]

It appears to be the Western Electric #302 "Lucy Phone". From the 1940's - 1950's.

http://www.antiquetelephonehistory.com/we302.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_302_telephone

[LizzieMaine]

That's a Western Electric 302 series -- they were introduced in 1937, and were officially manufactured thru the early fifties, but many remained in regular use as late as the 1970s. They were the standard Bell System desk/table phone for many years.

Is the casing plastic or metal? Metal casings, for the most part, were prewar.

If you undo the two screws at the bottom edges of the phone you can lift the casing off, and you'll likely see a date stamped somewhere on the chassis in orange-red ink in a mm/yy format. Many phones had mix-and-match dates due to the replacement of parts while the phone was in service, but whatever stamps you see should give you a good idea of how old the phone is.

[sockmonkey]

LizzieMaine seems spot on about your phone St. Louis . Looking at the pictures it appears to be Bakelite so I'm guessing it's a little newer . It's very easy to check the dates though . Mine's from 1937 and super heavy " metal ". I have one from Princeton NJ and I tell everyone it was Einstein's phone .

[St. Louis]

Thanks! So here's what I found out: the only thing inside the phone that is printed in orange-red are the letters HC. I also found the following printed on the bottom of a square thingy (sorry, I don't know much about machines): IND 101A III 49. Could that be an indicator that the phone was manufactured in 1949?

The casing is plastic, by the way.

[LizzieMaine]

That's your induction coil, the major electronic component in the phone. IND 101A is the Western Electric code number for the part, while III 49 indicates it was made during the third quarter of 1949. While it isn't uncommon for phones to have replacement induction coils with newer dates than the rest of the phone, failing the discovery of any other dates, 1949 is a pretty good estimate.

[Argee]

Got my candlestick hooked up to the subset and mounted to the wall.

This makes 8 rotary phones that are hooked up and working in my house. (I have plans for 3 more)

[Bingles]

That's a great phone and a nice looking set up, Argee! I have a candlestick hooked up as well (a total of 3 rotaries all connected to my cell phone) - people go nuts for it when the see it and realize it works! Enjoy!

Got my candlestick hooked up to the subset and mounted to the wall.

This makes 8 rotary phones that are hooked up and working in my house. (I have plans for 3 more)