Vintage Phones

[Barrelhouse]

I have bought three (gave two away as gifts to my family). A 1908 Stromberg Carson candlestick, a 1928 WE 202 with the E1 handset, and an early 30's Kellogg pyramid. I have always wanted a WE 300 in original ivory but so far no luck finding one...well at least not at a price I care to pay. I also have an original 1960's WE Trimline that i swiped from my Mom and Dad's house when they were "upgrading" their phones. They have gone through three or four since then but the four oldies are still ticking along as good as ever.

 

[Brinybay]

I would hold on to that phone just as it is... and if you find a dial, great but you may find a better 202 with the original dial and you can use that dial-less model just for incoming calls like I use my WE candlestick!

Fine minds think alike, that's what I was going to do. Trying to do a search for a "dial" on ebay keeps turning up dials attached to phones or ones that are no where near what I need. I'll keep looking, but in the mean time I had decided that I'll probably get one with a dial and get the deskset part of this one refurbished the way it is. I can still put a dial in it later. Plus this subset is great stress relief. Every time I walk past it I turn the crank a few times. The subset is in good condition too. That one is the pic from the CL ad, here's a few pics I took after I got it home:

WE D-Type

 

[Brinybay]

The goodwill in town here, and the saint vinnies told me they were gutting the metal out for scrap and tossing them or just flat out tossing them.

Ok, at least I know the Goodwill near me doesn't do that, but I never thought to ask the Value Village or St. Vin's. I'll make sure I put a bug in their ear about that. I didn't know you could ask them to hold specific items if they get them. I'll have to be sure to ask the manager though, the front-line employee's wouldn't have a clue what I'm talking about, nor would they care.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Ok, at least I know the Goodwill near me doesn't do that, but I never thought to ask the Value Village or St. Vin's. I'll make sure I put a bug in their ear about that. I didn't know you could ask them to hold specific items if they get them. I'll have to be sure to ask the manager though, the front-line employee's wouldn't have a clue what I'm talking about, nor would they care.

Yeah, the only reason they agreed to hold them is because they were treating them as garbage anyways. The clock in that photo came that way too, they were going to toss it out and I asked if I could have it. It's from 1959 and keeps time perfectly!

 

[Ethan Bentley]

My parents have a vintage Bakelite model which I believe my Dad found in a skip.

 

[The Reno Kid]

I picked up one of these a few days ago:

Automatic Electric Model 50

I will be using it to replace the WE 653 that currently hangs on the wall just outside my kitchen.

Western Electric 653

I love the 653 but my wife is not comfortable using it. The AE50 has a separate handset and is much more user friendly. Now I have to figure out where to hang the 653. It's too nice a phone to not use.

 

[SweetieStarr]

I picked up one of these a few days ago:

Automatic Electric Model 50

I will be using it to replace the WE 653 that currently hangs on the wall just outside my kitchen.

Western Electric 653

I love the 653 but my wife is not comfortable using it. The AE50 has a separate handset and is much more user friendly. Now I have to figure out where to hang the 653. It's too nice a phone to not use.

Are these pics of your actual phones? How did you get them so SHINY?

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Both of those phones are beautiful!! I've got a great idea of where you can hang that 653, my kitchen!

 

[ScionPI2005]

I second SweetieStarr and AtomicEraTom...both those phones are beautiful!

 

[The Reno Kid]

Are these pics of your actual phones? How did you get them so SHINY?

Actually, those are not my phones. I'm too lazy to take the trouble to get really good photos of them, so I "borrowed" those pictures. My AE50 is a dead ringer for the one in the picture, though. That's the way it was when I bought it. Someone put a lot of care into it before it came into my hands. With a little bit of effort, it's not too hard to get bakelite to shine. There are some really good polishes out there that will put a gloss on just about any old set where the bakelite hasn't started to break down.

My WE 653 is not quite as bright as the one in the photo. It's in really nice condition but it's completely original, so it has the patina of 69 years on it (manufactured in 1940). I'm pretty sure I'll find a spot for it.

A number of people have asked if these phones will work on a modern system. The answer in most cases is "yes." Nearly all modern telephone systems still accept pulse dialing. There is a partial exception for Voice-over-IP (VOIP) systems. VOIP will not accept pulse dialing. Otherwise, I believe these phones will transmit and receive just fine. There are in-line devices available that will translate the pulses from a rotary dial phone into the appropriate tones so even VOIP doesn't have to be a show stopper. I don't think most of them can do the * or the # keys but otherwise they give you full functionality. Usually, they go just before the wall jack or inside the body of the phone (or subset), so they're unobtrusive.

An interesting aside: I have a blue Western Electric Trimline touchtone in my dining room that has a switch just above the keypad that allows you to select between "tone" and "pulse." I suppose it was made when a lot of systems still didn't use tone dialing and you had to be able to use pulse dialing without a rotary dial!lol I didn't really collect it, I just sort of inherited it from my parents.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

The only thing is with some phones, there's a wiring issue on the netowork so the phone may not ring. I've noticed on a lot of my older phones (1966 and prior) Haven't had any problems with my 1972-81 models. I cannot remember which wire has to be moved, but with that simple fix, if you have a non-ringer it may work after that point.

 

[Talbot]

Are these pics of your actual phones? How did you get them so SHINY?

There may be other polishes, but I always get good results using Brasso on bakelite.

Works a treat.

Talbot

 

[FinalVestige79]

In my search....

for vintage phones, I found this place.
http://www.ticktalk.turnpiece.net/

Anyone deal with them before?

 

[docneg]

I have had really great service in the past from AndHow! Antiques. I have bought old phones from them and they have repaired some I already had. Very nice people.
http://www.andhowantiques.com

 

[cynthiacolombo]

Anyone using a refurbished golden era phone?

I would really like to get an old phone but am wondering if they work well when updated to modern lines. Anyone using one? If so where is a trustworthy place to get one?
Thanks
Cindy

 

[Miss Neecerie]

there are quite a few threads on vintage phones.


a selection:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=5982&highlight=phone

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=10345&highlight=telephone

 

[cynthiacolombo]

Thanks

I did a search but I'm not very tech savvy, must have looked in the wrong place

 

[StraightEight]

We have a mid-30s Western Electric 202 that has been refurbished. In the wall box, the ringer has been replaced with an electronic ringer that sounds dead accurate (and fairly loud). It works fine as a phone and a phone company engineer once told me that the phone network will except pulse dialing "when your grandchildren are making calls." However, there is a reason people yell into the phones in old movies. eg: "City desk, get me re-write!!!" The microphones and speakers aren't as fine as in modern phones so people sound a bit distant and they're always complaining, "stop talking to us on that old phone and get on the new one!"

Of course, after the march of technology perfected land line quality, it brought us wireless and cell phones, which reset telephone audio quality right back to the 1930s. It doesn't seem fair that people call us on lousy, static-filled cell phones or roamers with dying batteries, and then complain that they can't hear us on our 70-year-old-phone. Remember those pin drop commercials? Not such a big priority, anymore.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Nothing but old phones in my house -- a 202 and two 302s, and never had any trouble with them. If the microphones give you problems in yours, unscrew the cap and take out the carbon element, turn it over, and give the metal button on the back a few whacks with a pencil. That will unpack the carbon granules and you should sound much more clear when you talk. (A trick taught to me by my mother, an old-time Bell System operator.)

It's also important to talk directly into the transmitter. If you're using a 202, keep the spit cup right up to your mouth as you're talking -- don't think you can cradle the phone on your shoulder and go on stirring your soup or whatever. Vintage phones required your full attention.

 

[Paisley]

I use an old phone with a wooden case. People often asks me if it works. Why would I keep a non-working phone on the wall?