Classic Rotary Phones: Repair, Refurbish, Restore Vintage Telephones

Now we’re going way back with a photo of El Paso, Texas taken in 1903. A relatively new technology, telephone service still necessitated plenty of poles, crossbars and wires. Notice the Bell sign hung above the entrance to Kline’s Mexican & Indian Curio Company. (I’d sure like to step back in time and visit that place!) Lots of interesting details in this photo, more of which can be seen in the big version. For still more detail, if you have a high-speed connection, you may want to see the huge, and I mean huge, version. But be warned, it’s around 12 meg!

Thomas Watson, assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, is shown here with a reproduction of the first telephone. The photograph was taken in 1926, the 50th anniversary of the telephone, the patent for which having been filed on March 7, 1876. It was three days later, on March 10th, that Watson became the first person to hear a voice transmitted by telephone. Having spilled acid on his hand, Bell is purported to have cried out “Watson, come here! I want to see you!,” a quotation that has been repeated in several versions, each with a variation on the “I want to see you” part. Unfortunately, Watson had to celebrate the telephone’s first half-century without the man who uttered those famous words, Mr. Bell having died on August 2, 1922.
This photo is sure to have been widely published, having been distributed by the wire services to publishers across the country. By examining the back of the photo we can see that this is a wire service copy, and includes the sort of data typically found on such photos. Dated 3-7-1926, it includes the following description of the photo:

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TELEPHONE

New York…..Fifty years ago today, March 7th, a patent was granted to Alexander Graham Bell, one of the greatest advances in the scientific world in the 19th century…Above left is shown Alexander Graham Bell as he appeared in 1876, at the time the patents were granted him. At the right is shown Thomas A. Watson, who heard the first words spoken over the telephone by Dr. Bell. Mr. Watson still resides in Boston. Bell’s first words over the phone were “come here Watson, I want you”..

Sales stick better than orders. Those immortal words appear in the April 1931 issue of Southwestern Telephone News, and are a prelude to a fairly comprehensive treatise on new customers and the retention thereof. I’ve got to say that this article brings back certain unpleasant memories for me, recollections of all the over-analyzed sales training that I was subjected to during nearly 25 years in the newspaper business. Southwestern Bell employees were undoubtedly hammered with this sort of thing, but I have to admit that there’s some good information here, along with a measure of motivational propaganda, of course. For you, the vintage telephone collector/historian, the article might prove illuminating as it reveals, indirectly, the secret to Bell’s success… they provided a valuable service to the customer.

Two pages of the article are presented here in the form of jpg images. The article was continued, but that page is missing from my copy of the magazine.
Page 1
Page 2

This 1908 photograph shows the hub of the N.Y.C. Police Department, the “Information Bureau.” Even the early years of the telephone, the invention quickly proved itself to be an indispensable tool in law enforcement.

From 1916 to 1983 the AT&T corporate headquarters was located at 195 Broadway, shown here in the year 1917. Famed architect William Welles Bosworth was commissioned to design the building in 1913, a structure said to feature “more Classical columns than any facade in the world.” The late-neoclassical building was host to numerous records and firsts, including the distinction of using more marble than any other building in New York. The Vermont marble was cut and polished in New Jersey, floated by barge to Manhattan, then moved to the construction site via eight-horse teams. If the exterior was impressive, the interior lobby was breathtaking, regarded as the most spectacular commercial space in the city. Read the rest of this entry »

The name California Electrical Works might be best known by collectors of telegraph and telephone insulators, as their “C.E.W.” marking appears on some of the more valuable examples. Formed in 1877 through a consolidation of E. C. & M. Co., California Gas Lighting, and the Pacific Electro Depositing Works, the California Electrical Works is said to have been purchased by Western Electric in 1908. But these photos reveal that two years earlier the Western Electric name was displayed clearly on the San Francisco facility. Why the name was already associated with the company isn’t known, at least not known to me. But what is known is that on April 18th of 1906, at approximately 5:12a.m., the area was struck by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
By 9:00 President Roosevelt had declared the city to be under Martial Law. Mayor Eugene Schmitz appointed the “Committee of Fifty” at 3 p.m. at the Hall of Justice, and gives the shoot-to-kill order: “Let it…be understood that the order has been given to all soldiers and policemen to shoot down without hesitation in the cases of any and all miscreants who may seek to take advantage of the city’s awful misfortune.” Besides their job of maintaining order, army troops were also used to dynamite buildings in an effort to slow the fire’s momentum.
These photos show the California Electrical Works building shortly after the quake and subsequent fires, looking surprisingly fresh all things considered. It cannot be overstated that, as severe as the quake was, it was the fire that destroyed the city. Caused by gas main brakes, campfires of the dispossessed and poorly controlled use of dynamite used to make firebrakes, it is estimated that the fire caused 90% of the damage. In an era of cataclysmic fires sweeping metropolitan areas (the Chicago fire of 1871 and the 1904 Baltimore fire come to mind), the blaze that the San Francisco earthquake sparked was the largest and most severe. Photographs taken during and after the four-day inferno, several of which are available at the end of this post, reveal a scene of far-reaching devastation that is reminiscent of Hiroshima. Approximately 3000 deaths and almost a quarter-million injuries resulted, with over $400,000,000.00 in total damages. The four-story California Electrical Works building was well within the boundaries of the area generally described as “totally consumed.” So how is it that their employees were back at work within days? Read the rest of this entry »

Although scarcely a blip on the radar in the United States, the Swedish telephone giant Ericsson operated this impressive stateside facility in the early years of the 20th century. Production began at the Buffalo, New York factory in 1908, but as a foothold was never gained in the U.S. market the plant was sold in 1918. This panoramic view can also be viewed in big and huge versions.

The photo above illustrates a milestone in the history of AT&T, when the third transcontinental telephone line was opened on January 17, 1927. Providing a direct connection between Chicago and Seattle, this northern route eliminated the need for such calls to go through San Francisco. You can also see a close-up of the event.

Paris, France hosted the 1889 World’s Fair, the Exposition Universelle, from May 6th to October 31st of that year. This was the centennial of the storming of the Bastille, and the newly-completed Eiffel Tower provided an elegant, modern entrance to the pavilion. American Bell Telephone, eager to conquer Europe, was on-hand with displays showcasing the services and products of Bell and Western Electric. As seen here, a telephone pole, complete with crossarms and insulators, served as a beacon for the exhibit. The exposure of this photograph is poor at best, but close inspection reveals all sorts of nifty details for the antique phone maven. To facilitate such study, I’ve made the image available here in both big and huge versions. I have another view of the fair, a hand-tinted overview that is 3334×2502 (3.5 meg) in size… big. I was hoping to spot the Bell exhibit in the photograph, but didn’t have any luck. Perhaps you’ll fare better. (fair better… get it?!)

If you were in San Francisco in 1939, you undoubtedly paid a visit to the World’s Fair, The Golden Gate International Exhibition. “World’s Fair” exhibitions were hugely popular, affording the hosting nations the chance to do a little chest-thumping, in regards to both past accomplishments and those on the horizon. These enormous fairs showcased everything new and spectacular, representing the very thing that exemplified the 20th century, progress. The Bell System had been a major part of that progress, and wasn’t about to miss an opportunity to present it on so grand a stage.
Called, “A Pageant of the Pacific”, the exhibition was held on Treasure Island, a man-made island connected to Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay. A spectacular venue to be sure. The Bell Exhibit was located in the Palace of Electricity, where it occupied 7,500 square feet in the northeast corner. With a focus on long-distance communication, the exhibit was dominated by an enormous, well-illuminated map of the United States that featured 1,500 small lights to represent cities. Visitors could participate in demonstrations of long-distance calls, with 125 telephone receivers available for that purpose. Read the rest of this entry »

[The following was published in the March 1952 issue of Pacific Telephone Magazine. It provides an interesting look at how early phones were valued at the time and is rather prophetic regarding collectible phones today]

“The newest thing in telephone sets isn’t a sleek 500-type handset or even the faraway gleam in the eye of a Bell Laboratories researcher. It is Granny’s old wooden wallset.
Yes, sir, it’s that old cumbersome but dependable telephone, encased in a wooden cabinet which once hung on her kitchen wall. Nowadays people in Southern California are hanging the cabinets (minus all operating circuits, of course) right out in the living rooms of their new homes. They are objects d’art, they say. You see, some fine hardwoods, such as oak, walnut, and birch, went into the construction of the cabinets. Antique shops are selling a refinished wallset cabinet for- hold your breath- $35. “As is” they are only $22.50.
The younger brother of Granny’s wooden wallset, the deskset model 1905, is an antique item, too, with a little different twist. With the glossy finish restored to its outer jacket of nickel plate and wired as a lamp it carries a $15 price tag.
“Sakes alive,” said Granny when we told her, “I was glad enough just to trade in those old dust catchers for a new handset.”
And who knows? Perhaps 50 years hence people will be searching antique shops for 500-type handsets. They will make such quaint ash trays.”

I’m not sure what “Telling and Selling” is all about, but the chart appears to reference efforts to increase the number of extension phones. While the photo is undated, I suspect it to be from the late ’50s. The phones themselves are just the thing for bedroom use, the model 500-U “mushroom phone”, a variation that featured a small lamp to illuminate the dial. (To get a better look, here’s the giant version) Thanks go to Dennis Markham for identifying the phones!

Here’s Karen Wood again (previously shown on the cover of The Telephone Bay Stater), this time promoting the new Princess Phone at the Growers Outlet Store in Springfield, Massachusetts, accompanied by “Mr. Higgins”. How about the advertisement on the grocery sack? Neat! The framed telephone is sort of goofy, though.

Have you ever, I mean have you ever seen such a thing? Where was OSHA when these stunts were going on?! Those under the age of 40 may not realize that today’s preoccupation with safety is comparatively new, going back only a few decades. Early twentieth century eyes didn’t see risky behavior as foolish, but rather as an affirmation of manliness, even in the work environment. The turn of the century was rife with crews having the sort of “good, clean fun” shown here, and there’s certainly no lack of photographic evidence. These aerial groupings were obviously staged, and similar “photo-ops” were duplicated by phone companies across the country. This type of scene could have been reproduced in newspapers, employee publications or trade journals, and no matter how many such images one views they never fail to amaze.
The times were different to be sure, and the real-world acrobatics of these pole-climbers seem to have foreshadowed the era of the “daredevil”. Many feats of daring-do were performed by attention-seeking types all the way through the great depression, including flagpole sitting, wing-walking, going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, and untold other stunts. But the fearless persona displayed by the linemen was come by honestly, as they were not putting on an exhibition for its own sake. They were pushing into new frontiers, committed to hard, open-air work at great heights… not for the faint of heart. These men had to count on each other, as safety equipment was minimal and a brisk pace needed to be maintained. A spirit of camaraderie inevitably developed, one that can be seen in the faces of these pioneers of telephony.
[One additional photo!]

Here she is, the Cape Cod Telephone Princess! Carolyn Murphy proudly spread the word about Bell’s new Princess Phone by making numerous appearances, looking very Princess-like all the while. This photo captures the moment as she prepares to depart for a hundred-mile promotional trip, lead the full distance by a motorcycle escort with sirens blaring all the way. From nine o’clock until four on August 1st, 1960, Miss Murphy greeted crowds numbering in the hundreds, the motorcade attracting attention in every community it visited. How about that gigantic princess phone? I’d happily to make room in my collection for that!