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eBay Kellogg Pyramid Phone With DIAL!!

Started by Doug Rose, November 13, 2010, 04:05:28 PM

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Doug Rose

I have never seen one of these with a dial and it sure looks like the real deal to me. It doesn't look like an after market add on, BUT then again I have never seen one with a dial. Very professionally done if it is an after market job. Delivered today's with one piece of broken Styrofoam separating the handset and the base. My pleas for stuffing the box with newspaper went ignored. It was moving all around the box. The phone gods were looking out for me...NO DAMAGE. This is a beauty!!...Doug

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220694643443&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
Kidphone

LarryInMichigan

I have not seen these with dials, and there is no mention of a dial option in the Kellogg catalog.  Perhaps the dial was added by a professional refurbisher.

Larry

Phonesrfun

-Bill G

paul-f

Phoneco has been doing them for many years.  I believe they've used several different dial mounts.  Their "success" has undoubtedly encouraged imitators.

http://www.phonecoinc.com/topic.asp?map=1&horh=home&gorl=list&group=main&category=Bake&topic=01029
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Doug Rose

Paul...look how the dial on the Phoneco repro is almost to the bottom of the phone, like the dial is touching the table the phone sits on. Mine the dial is in a easy to dial position, the Phoneco version is not. Its probably not real, but as Bill states, it sure looks professional....Doug
Kidphone

LarryInMichigan

Can we see pictures of the inside of the shell where the dial housing is attached?

Larry

paul-f

Quote from: Kidphone on November 13, 2010, 09:12:23 PM
Paul...look how the dial on the Phoneco repro is almost to the bottom of the phone, like the dial is touching the table the phone sits on. Mine the dial is in a easy to dial position, the Phoneco version is not. Its probably not real, but as Bill states, it sure looks professional....Doug

Doug:  As I said, Phoneco used several dial mounts over the years.

Here's a photo they used in their catalogs dated November 1997 thru March 1999.  Look familiar?

The photo that's currently on the site first showed up in the March 2000 catalog.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Phoneco did it -- just that they're one possible maker.  Their catalog was so well distributed in the late 1990s that antique dealers were setting their prices based on the Phoneco prices.  Many of them even signed on to distribute Phoneco's refurbed phones.  I remember seeing several large displays of Phoneco phones by different dealers at the large Brimfield flea markets.  Other refurbishers would have been tempted to copy their work.
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LarryInMichigan

No offense intended, but I think that the dial look unnatural.  For one thing, it appears to be partially blocking the finger holes under the cradle and must make the phone difficult to carry.  For another, it just doesn't fit into the design.  Other phones of the period which had optional dials had the dial housing fit into the overall design.  The Kellog 9917 and  SC 1211 are good examples.

Larry

Just4Phones

Quote from: Kidphone on November 13, 2010, 04:05:28 PM
Delivered today's with one piece of broken Styrofoam separating the handset and the base. My pleas for stuffing the box with newspaper went ignored. It was moving all around the box. The phone gods were looking out for me...NO DAMAGE. This is a beauty!!...Doug

This is probably the main reason why I have been staying away from EBAY lately and especially why I wont pay big bucks.  I have received MANY poorly packed phones rattling around in the boxes (some broken) even after I practically begged the seller to pack carefully and separate the handset from the base.  I have even offered more money for better padding!!!  You lucked out with this phone arriving safely and it's a beauty.  BOL with it.

Joel 

paul-f

Larry: I'm in total agreement.

ISTR having a short conversation with Mary at one of the phone shows regarding Phoneco's creative license in the refurb department.  In addition to this phone, they briefly added dials to the Kellogg 700 sets and put 4" number 7 or 9 dials in "5302s."  (Of course the payphones and country junction phones could contain just about anything!)

I was informed that many of their customers weren't phone collectors and were perfectly happy with phones that looked old -- but insisted that they have working dials.  Collectors have lots of other models to pick from in the catalog and could always call or write to discuss their wants.  Phoneco was always very flexible in working with collectors, and would finish phones to order if requested.

Any collector who deals with Phoneco is best off to ask lots of questions before ordering to make sure you get what you expect.  (This has been discussed in other topics.)
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Doug Rose

Quote from: LarryInMichigan on November 13, 2010, 10:47:21 PM
No offense intended, but I think that the dial look unnatural.  For one thing, it appears to be partially blocking the finger holes under the cradle and must make the phone difficult to carry.  For another, it just doesn't fit into the design.  Other phones of the period which had optional dials had the dial housing fit into the overall design.  The Kellog 9917 and  SC 1211 are good examples.

Larry

Larry...none taken. You can pick it up with ease from the back through the finger holes. I went into this with my eyes wide open. I had seen dials added very sloppily in the past to these. This is very professionally done. I will remove the Kellogg name tag and ad a number card and leave it as is.

Thanks to all for there feedback on this, I am more than happy with it....Doug
Kidphone

Doug Rose

Quote from: paul-f on November 13, 2010, 10:36:07 PM
Quote from: Kidphone on November 13, 2010, 09:12:23 PM
Paul...look how the dial on the Phoneco repro is almost to the bottom of the phone, like the dial is touching the table the phone sits on. Mine the dial is in a easy to dial position, the Phoneco version is not. Its probably not real, but as Bill states, it sure looks professional....Doug

Doug:  As I said, Phoneco used several dial mounts over the years.

Here's a photo they used in their catalogs dated November 1997 thru March 1999.  Look familiar?

The photo that's currently on the site first showed up in the March 2000 catalog.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Phoneco did it -- just that they're one possible maker.  Their catalog was so well distributed in the late 1990s that antique dealers were setting their prices based on the Phoneco prices.  Many of them even signed on to distribute Phoneco's refurbed phones.  I remember seeing several large displays of Phoneco phones by different dealers at the large Brimfield flea markets.  Other refurbishers would have been tempted to copy their work.
Paul...I saw those same guys at Brimfield, although since eBay, I never go anymore. This does have a real Kellogg dial, not an AE or a plastic phoneco repro dial as the ad shows. Probably not real, but it is a keeper....Doug
Kidphone

LarryInMichigan

#12
At the local flea market this morning, I saw a nickel-plated WE 20AL with a British GPO dial attached to the base with a rather large and bulky housing.  It really looked odd, and it reminded me of this post.  The phone was connected to a wood subset which I did not recognize.  I wonder if the same refurbisher did both of these.

Larry

paul-f

#13
Larry:  I suspect there was no shortage of creative refurbishers who improved on phones in one way or another.  Adding dials was once important to preserve the usefullness of aging phones and was doubtless done for many years by many hands.

A display of phones with added dials could be quite impressive.  In addition to Doug's neat example, I can recall seeing dials added to other bakelite sets, manual desk stands and on wood wall phone shelves. I'm sure if we look around, we'll find numerous examples.  

This could be material for a new topic...
   http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=3797.0
   
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paul-f

Here are photos from 2 more past auctions that show other K900 sets with dials. 

IMHO, the second one put the dial in an awkward position.  It's certainly not as aesthetically pleasing as Doug's set.  Also, it looks like they put an AE metal fingerwheel on a SC dial.
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