Long Island Telephone Company

[poplar1]

Here's one you probably *don't* want. I believe these were sold by a company called Long Island Telephone Company or (gasp) Eastern Electric Co.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/290914515081

Notice the following features:

1. Upper housing is held on by a self-tapping screw through the side of the backplate. (Original 10-G lock present but defeated.)

2. Fake instruction card--"Area Code 151," no plastic cover. Instruction card holder attached with oversized rivets and not even straight.

3. 101A induction coil added where the coin relay used to be.

4. Missing vault door, replaced with dummy plate.

5. Crude plug and socket to connect the upper housing.

6.  195G cast iron backplate married to a repainted beige 233G upper housing.

These were sold in Playboy magazines and others for $59.99 or so. About what this one is worth now including shipping.

[paul-f]

Here are a few ads that show the pricing history and some of the "features."

Does anyone have additional background info on the company or its products to add?

[Doug Rose]

scans of paperwork

[savageje]

Lol. Looks like that price just kept going down along with demand. I've seen a lot of 3-slot pay phones with really bad modifications in the wild. The worst ones I have seen replace the whole coin validator assembly with a crude sheet-metal chute. I've also seen some with a p-type ringer jammed into the vault area covered over with a dummy plate. I've seen prices for some of these at $200-$300 in antique stores and at shows. I love to rescue abused phones, but at those prices and with that much to repair, I've had to pass on a lot of these.

[paul-f]

scans of paperwork

Thanks Doug!