All I can say is WOW! 18 phones! The look on this guy's wife says "Why are you taking a picture of my nutty husband?"
If she only knew how bad it could really be. ;D ;D ;D
http://www.ebay.com/itm/381568688307
Jim,
I count 47 phones in the photo. Anyone see more, or less? This is like one of those puzzles like finding things in a complex photo
The are people on this forum who probably have more than 47 phones. I'm not among them yet. I've seen pictures of other members collections and they probably have way more than 47 phones!
I know I do. This picture was taken last July and that's not all of them. I have added more since then. Plus I have two telephone booths.
CDN Doug
The phones in that guys "collection" look like mostly stuff from a then current Bell Phone Stores stock. Even the candlesticks look like stuff made in the late 70's to early 80's.
Am I off base here?
Quote from: McHeath on March 25, 2016, 01:11:37 PM
The phones in that guys "collection" look like mostly stuff from a then current Bell Phone Stores stock. Even the candlesticks look like stuff made in the late 70's to early 80's.
Am I off base here?
No, I don't think so. After all it is a 1982 Bell Telephone Magazine Advertisement.
CDN Doug
Quote from: McHeath on March 25, 2016, 01:11:37 PM
The phones in that guys "collection" look like mostly stuff from a then current Bell Phone Stores stock. Even the candlesticks look like stuff made in the late 70's to early 80's.
Am I off base here?
No, you are not off base. That looks like an ad out of a magazine, maybe a back cover, paid for by WE or the Bell Phone Center.
And when counting, I did not see a 500, 554, 302, D1, a stick or an original wood wall phone (the one shown is most likely the 80s (
ca) "repro" type).
Anyone else take the time to confirm the 47 or come up with a different count?
I would guess the real collector collected phones from the turn of the century to the '20s; phones that would have been trashed by Bell, and considered collectible to some extent at the time.
The exaggerated picture shows brand new phones, just to show the new line.
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on March 25, 2016, 04:55:12 PM
I would guess the real collector collected phones from the turn of the century to the '20s; phones that would have been trashed by Bell, and considered collectible to some extent at the time.
The exaggerated picture shows brand new phones, just to show the new line.
If I had taken the time to read the ad copy, I would have understood Jim's initial comment. Duh!
Yes, Jim, they found it unusual that someone they found had 18 phones when that is what, 1/10 of what many of us have? Maybe people didn't collect or were just beginning to collect that which WE was about to destroy as being outdated compared to the 52 phones in the ad.
Yes, it says 52 phones so I missed 5. Then, again, they might have cropped out a few. Anyway, Christian is right, it's their current line of new phones they have pictured and wanted to sell back then.
I can also understand how it would seem strange to collect phones in the '80s because the phone was still considered a utility rented to you by the telephone company. That would be like a car collector collecting various U-Haul trucks. ???
BTW, I count 48. There's one hiding behind the lampshade on the right.
My post was tongue in cheek of course. I'm guessing that at the time of this ad there were at least hundreds of people with a collection of more than 18 phones. More than a few installers saved phones from an uncertain fate. One longtime local told me his boss was unhappy if he brought back a 500U from a call, so it went "away". With the opening of the system to customer owned equipment, he opened a phone store. Of course he was unable to sell the bell system property, but these days his basement is full of parts and phones. No mushrooms however, they are long since gone or I would have bought them already.
I have to admit that my collection hit 4 digits on October 7Th of last year. Probably at least a third are not what you would call collectible; they were bought as parts phones. It's a terrible disease. I am working on a website virtual museum, and plan to start selling a chunk of the collection in a year or two. The ad just cracked me up when I read the text. I've never worked for a phone company but my collection hit 18 phones before I was 20. My first was a WE653 from my grandparents, I was about 10.
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on March 25, 2016, 10:14:49 PM
BTW, I count 48. There's one hiding behind the lampshade on the right.
Yep, missed that one!
I "spotted" the phones when recounting and got 48 as well.
The full, original photo must have been wider and included 4 more phones to get to 52. The sides of the photo show partial phones so to crop the photo to fit the page must have resulted in 4 not showing up at all.
They have phones everywhere except in the phone niche on the left wall, looks like a plant sticking out - someone having fun with an inside joke, right?
Also, it looks like there are 2 trimlines on the bottom shelf on the wall to the far left instead of 1.
----------------------------
EDIT 1: 49th phone in the photo/ad was marked with a yellow dot and attached to the post above
EDIT 2: Autonut seems to have found 2 more making that 51 phones in the picture below (red circles)
When I blew the picture up I saw what I believe to be two more phones. If you look at the lady's left elbow you can see a outline of another phone. Also maybe one behind the lamp shade top ridge beside the other phone. Could there be 3 phones in a row there?
CDN Doug
Quote from: Autonut on March 26, 2016, 09:03:04 AM
When I blew the picture up I saw what I believe to be two more phones. If you look at the lady's left elbow you can see a outline of another phone.
Actually, there could be two phones behind her left elbow (blue arrow) making the count 52, as suggested in the ad copy.
So the next question is: What is that on the wall inside the arch above her head? Another phone?
CDN Doug
Quote from: Autonut on March 26, 2016, 09:19:56 AM
So the next question is: What is that on the wall inside the arch above her head? Another phone?
CDN Doug
A Model 1 Picturephone?
John, did you use the same dot for the Yellow Doughnut Phone in the cabinet in the far back to the left and the Ivory Celebrity Phone just in front of it? In that case, the count could be brought up to 52 or 53 now!
I believe the phone behind the lampshade is a country-style wall phone (shortened version of the phone above it) and it would be wide enough to look like 2 phones.
Christian,
You are correct, there are two phones under one dot.
CDN Doug
I've lost count now. :o
uummm...
The hardest thing to do is count your own phones.
Quote from: Matilo Telephones on March 26, 2016, 10:28:56 AM
I've lost count now. :o
Arwin....I agree with you, I lost count a long time ago. I do have more than 52...... and a very understanding wife...Doug
Quote from: unbeldi on March 26, 2016, 10:33:41 AM
uummm...
The hardest thing to do is count your own phones.
Oh so true.
A couple times a year my wife and count our collections. We try to only count the ones on display, not the ones in storage or waiting repairs. So my phones are around 235 and her Basset Hounds are over 2000.