need help identifying

[mjames9]

HELLO TO ALL, I need some help to identify this phone,my mother had purchased it from an antique dealer who told her it was old,with no other info.

I would like to know any info at all about it. i have attached photos.

There is no names anywhere on the phone, the base and handle are marble and the other parts are brass. That's about all.

Thanks for your help, Mike

[Dennis Markham]

mjames9, I have to apologize because until I just saw your posting it completely slipped my mind about your phone.  I posted some of those photos here:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=2023.0

and received some comments which I had intended on forwarding to you.

Sorry for that.  Since you uploaded fresh and some different photos, perhaps you will get additional responses.

~Dennis

[bingster]

I think the markings on the receiver cap and element back up our earlier belief that these aren't all that old.  You'll notice the element is marked "73" and the cap is marked "72."  These markings are the years 1973 and 1972.  So even though it's a nice phone, it's from the 1970s, rather than being a more distant vintage.

There was a huge Mediterranean craze in furniture in the late 1960s through the 1970s, and this phone is most likely designed specifically to fit that style.

[mjames9]

Thanks Dennis and bingster, i do appreciate your knowledge and the time you took to help answer my questions. The date thing makes perfect sense. So i am guessing that the phone has no real value,and my mom who was told by an antique dealer that it was old,was only to get her to spend $200.

[Dennis Markham]

I guess if your mother likes and enjoys the phone and felt $200 was within reason for her then it's OK that she paid that much for it.  And it might very well be worth that much money.  It's not a style of phone that I would pay attention to enough to know what their true value, or what people are spending on them.

[mjames9]

thanks again Dennis you guys are great...

[McHeath]

These rather ornate phones were often advertised as "French" in style, and they were pretty popular as has been said in the 60's and 70's.  Even the Tara King character on the British TV show The Avengers had one in her apartment, I think that was in 68'. 

I regularly see them at antique shops in my area, and they are usually priced between $75 and $200, depending on the condition and quality.  They are not my cup of tea, but clearly they were popular and must still be with some folks. 

As for the question of is an old phone "worth" the price, that's pretty much like all collected items and in the eye of the beholder.  I once paid over $120 for a badly discolored 1968 Western Electric model 1500, most normal folks would have tossed it out, and a lot of phone collectors are not into that type of phone, but I ended up in a bidding war on e-bay with two other folks who really wanted it as well.  While I know I will probably never get my money out of it, it's a favorite of mine and I often end up putting it on my desk to use and don't regret the purchase.  (after some initial shell shock)  

[mjames9]

Thank you very much McHeath   

[Dan/Panther]

McHeath;
Was that the blue phone ?
D/P

[teka-bb]

HELLO TO ALL, I need some help to identify this phone,my mother had purchased it from an antique dealer who told her it was old,with no other info.

I would like to know any info at all about it. i have attached photos.

There is no names anywhere on the phone, the base and handle are marble and the other parts are brass. That's about all.

Thanks for your help, Mike

I think it's definitely Italian because it's marked Face Standard, see also:
http://www.idf-hit.com/eng/istituzionale/storia.aspx