Vintage Phones

AtomicEraTom · Dec 9, 2011

I thought it was a 1911 at first glance, too. Regardless, she's a beautiful gun.

twaits said:
Acually that's not a 1911. Thats a 1903 Pocket Hammer .38ACP

Argee · Dec 31, 2011

Took a picture of (almost) all my phones today for the first time. Payphone isn't pictured, and I have a thermoplastic 302 in the mail.

Bugguy · Jan 1, 2012

I went through a phase several years ago and had about 12 really nice vintage phones. My favorites were the two wall phones - the Red Bar and the Juke Box a.k.a. Tombstone. The Northern Electric desk phone is classic deco style from the 40's-50's and is all that remains of the collection. It works just fine and always fascinates my daughter - we had to get her a dial phone.

Giftmacher · May 7, 2012

Yay! It's ringing again!

[video=youtube;Z5llAETxYUs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5llAETxYUs[/video]

Giftmacher · May 7, 2012

LizzieMaine said:
Tap dialing will work on any phone line that recognizes pulses -- you tap the receiver hook quickly in bursts for each digit. Dial 5, you tap the hook five times, dial 9, you tap the hook nine times, etc. The trick is to do this rapidly enough while pausing just enough for the switching system to recognize the individual digits. Not too many people have that level of skill, and it's something you see more in old detective movies than in real life.

I heard it from someone who was soldier in attendance service and garrison phone had locked dial, but not the handset and commander always wondered high phone bills, allegedly.

Zemke Fan · May 8, 2012

Details on this one...?

EDIT: Got the scoop myself... It's a North Electric 7H6 ("Galion"), Bakelite. Not as expensive (it seems) as the 302s.

dhermann1 · May 9, 2012

I have a Galeon. So named because it was made in Galeon, Ohio. I like the unusual shape. Mine works fine, too.

LizzieMaine · May 21, 2012

Just picked up a Western Electric 653A metal wall phone for a very cheap price -- it was filthy dirty, spattered with paint and covered with nicotine gunk from hanging in somebody's kitchen for thirty years or so, and the receiver cord was rotten, but a quick cleaning with a rag soaked in lighter fluid, a squirt of TV tuner cleaner/lube into the back of the dial, and five minutes with a screwdriver to replace the bad cord, and it's in perfect working order. I'd been looking for a wall phone for my sun porch, and this one fits the bill perfectly.

The wiring blocks look twenties-vintage, but Induction coil is dated 1941, and the dial plate is dated 1947, which shows it stayed in use for a good long time.

Only thing I couldn't immediately fix was the chipped receiver cap -- this is the updated 706A receiver, using the same workings as you find on a 302 desk phone, and nobody seems to reproduce the cap. So if anyone has a spare one in their junk box, let me know -- be happy to buy it.

The Soph Gent · Jun 13, 2012

I just recently (6 months) started collecting and restoring vintage phones. To me there is something "sculptural" about them. Here are some of my favorites.

AtomicEraTom · Jun 13, 2012

Very nice selection!

Giftmacher · Jun 22, 2012

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 · Jun 26, 2012

Great phones...

St. Louis · Jul 28, 2012

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 · Jul 28, 2012

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 · Jul 28, 2012

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 · Jul 29, 2012

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 · Jul 29, 2012

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 · Jul 29, 2012

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 · Aug 4, 2012

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 · Aug 4, 2012

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!

Argee said:
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)

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