My "new" telephone

[MDFrench]

Hey all,

I was so excited about this one I had to share it w/you all. Today I picked up a vintage, original late-20s/30s era Western Electric telephone, complete with its 1937 handset and a late 30s, early 40s era ringer. The whole kit and kaboodle works like a charm and the quality as you know is worlds better than current wireless portable phones of cheap action-figure plastic.

I acquired this phone from Sonny Helmer, a vintage phone restorer. He has many 1930s and 1940s era bakelite phones. He can be contacted at MODATL@aol.com or 404-219-3452. Tell him that Mike French, whom he called "Indiana Jones" when I met him thanks to my Steve Delk fedora, put you in touch with him. He doesn't have a website as he is 75+ years old, but he is very knowledgable and does great work.

I ache for the days of rotary...

Mike

 

[PADDY]

Nice buys Mike..!!!

Love the Flynn poster. But the old telephone clinches it for me! you must be over the moon about it. If you don't mind me asking (as I'm sure everyone is dying to know..), where did you get it and roughly how much did it cost?

Enjoy both the new aquisitions!

 

[MDFrench]

Hey Paddy! Always good to hear from you! Hope you all are doing well in my old home islands, the great British Isles.

I picked this up at the Lakewood fleamarket here in Georgia that they run once a month. I had been scouring for one for some time, but the prices for them were always $400 and up. Well, lo and behold a phone dealer there had just this one - the rest of his stock were VERY NICE early to mid 1940s era Bakelite Western Electrics with the built-in ringers in the base. He also had one non-W&E 1920s era Bakelite with a brass rotary and brass receiver trim, very cool, as well as a 1920s/1930s era payphone wall mounted version with the separate earpiece and receiver like the old candlestick phones.

Anyway, I snatched this one up b/c he was only asking $275, and boy is it in beautiful condition as you can see!

Mike

 

[airfrogusmc]

Very nice. I have one of the all metal art deco with a bakelite handset (for lack of a better word). A phone that really rings; ya gotta love it. I bought mine at an antique store and had to fit it with a plug. Not hard just those old wires were a bit of a challange.

 

[MK]

Wow

Very cool. Where did you get that little number?

 

[MDFrench]

Hey MK! Good to hear from you! Well, as I told Paddy, I picked this one up at Lakewood antique market in Georgia.

The vendor was Sonny Helmer - He has a SLEW of classic golden era phones, many 1940s Bakelites, but EXTREMELY NICE, all converted to modern phonejacks, but still retaining the cloth cords and vintage ringers.

Anyway, he can be reached here: MODATL@aol.com
Phone - 404-219-3452

Very nice guy - 75 years old and just a blast to talk to - had an interesting life.

Mike

 

[MK]

Cool.

What did it run you?

 

[Zach R.]

$275.00

 

[airfrogusmc]

Heres my phone. Not as fancy as yours bro but it works great.

 

[Lauren]

ooh! Fun! I've wanted an old rotary phone for quite a while now. That is one of the cooler one's I've seen. Congrats!

 

[airfrogusmc]

Thanks Lauren, I just love a phone that really rings. I fould it in an antique store a few years back. I had to attach the plug for the wall. The old wires were a bit tricky (fragile) but it works fine.

 

[ltedge]

Very cool, I found a similar Western Electric as airfrogusmc at a Seattle flea market for $25 dollars about 10 years ago. A friend of a friend was a telephone repairman and attached a modern plug to it. He said the trick to buying old phones was to make sure the rotary dial turned smoothly, that was the hardest and most expensive piece to fix. Works great and I love the heavy metal feel and great sounding ring.