Classic Rotary Phones Forum

Telephone Talk => Collector's Corner => Large Hoards of Phones => Topic started by: Doug Rose on September 14, 2010, 08:49:32 PM

Title: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on September 14, 2010, 08:49:32 PM
About five years ago Janet and I went to a flea market and tucked way in the back under a table I saw a handset cord sticking out of a big wooden box. That handset cord turned out to be 19 Western Electric Metal Manual 302 sets and 1 with a dial. There were a few spare handsets and parts from broken phones. They came from an old hotel/motel in NH that had been closed for years. Building was being gutted and the box was found in the basement under piles of debris. Seller felt they were sitting there for years as the hotel had upgraded to newer phones in the past. One lone 500 set also came along for the ride as proof of the upgrade. All 302s were metal, most date 5/41. A few had E1s, but the majority were F1s with most elements dated 5/41 as well. For metal phones and bakelite rolling around in a box they were in really great shape. Some actually looked new, except for the huge amount of dirt and grime on them. Thankfully the basement was dry, no corrosion. Eventually he decided $90 for the lot was fair. Who was I to argue! I sent Jan for the SUV and I guarded my find. He was thrilled with the money and was laughing to his friends as Janet and I loaded "that junk" into our SUV. Every time I leave for a yard sale or a flea market, I think of that summer find!....Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on September 14, 2010, 08:51:28 PM
does any one have a blank for a manual 302 i want to make a manual one?
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on September 14, 2010, 08:54:55 PM
Doug, that's a great story.  I have yet to add a 302 with an E1 to my collection.  I'm still looking.

Kenny, I know I have a couple dial blanks that fit a 202.  I'm not sure if they will work on a 302 or not.  Seems like they should as both have 3 inch dials.  Anyone know if they will work?  If so you're welcome to one.

Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on September 14, 2010, 08:55:59 PM
ok send me prices and i found a clear finger wheel buried in the bottom of my trunk
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on September 14, 2010, 08:57:46 PM
Kenny, if it will fit you can have it.  I'll send you a PM about it once we learn if they are the same dial blank.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on September 14, 2010, 08:58:05 PM
okie dokie  ;D
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: easytiger on September 14, 2010, 10:18:03 PM
I shot some inside photos of a D1 dial blank and 302 dial blank.  With some fundamental differences, they don't look interchangeable to me.  

The 302 blank looks to be a finshed metal outer plate attached to a metal "body" which has a connection board attached.  The D1 looks to be just a metal plate attached to the housing by a crossbar.

The metal plates also look designed/formed a little differently on the finished side.  The 302 plate has a sort of concave curvature to it, while the D1 plate looks more convex.

There are also a few minor differences in the dial ring impressions on the finished side - different punch-out configurations.

I didn't shoot any finished side photos, but can if there's a need/interest.

Of course, there could definitely be variations - these being just a couple.



Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on September 14, 2010, 11:27:59 PM
Thank you for taking the time to do that.  I didn't think they were interchangeable but wasn't sure.  I forgot about the attach points for the wires too.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Greg G. on September 15, 2010, 02:29:14 AM
Quote from: Kidphone on September 14, 2010, 08:49:32 PM
About five years ago Janet and I went to a flea market and tucked way in the back under a table I saw a handset cord sticking out of a big wooden box. That handset cord turned out to be 19 Western Electric Metal Manual 302 sets and 1 with a dial. There were a few spare handsets and parts from broken phones. They came from an old hotel/motel in NH that had been closed for years. Building was being gutted and the box was found in the basement under piles of debris. Seller felt they were sitting there for years as the hotel had upgraded to newer phones in the past. One lone 500 set also came along for the ride as proof of the upgrade. All 302s were metal, most date 5/41. A few had E1s, but the majority were F1s with most elements dated 5/41 as well. For metal phones and bakelite rolling around in a box they were in really great shape. Some actually looked new, except for the huge amount of dirt and grime on them. Thankfully the basement was dry, no corrosion. Eventually he decided $90 for the lot was fair. Who was I to argue! I sent Jan for the SUV and I guarded my find. He was thrilled with the money and was laughing to his friends as Janet and I loaded "that junk" into our SUV. Every time I leave for a yard sale or a flea market, I think of that summer find!....Doug

That beats my last haul of 17 phones, and they sure weren't like yours!  Some of them great, some not so great, and if I factor in the gas, I paid twice what you did.  What eventually became of all your metal 302s?

UPDATE:  For posterity, Doug's post below is referring to this 1930 WE "Old Brass" 202 that used to be my avatar.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on September 15, 2010, 09:58:27 AM
Greg....The 302s went the way of eBay in the year that followed. It turned out to be a very profitable find for "that junk."  The phones cleaned up easily, mostly just a wet cloth and a wax. Amazingly, all phones that were complete in the box worked. I also got a few spare phones/parts in various states of disrepair, that I used to build new phones. The paint on the phones was very displayable, a couple nearly perfect. It was by far my best single find.

As I remember, your 17 phones included that wonderful 202 in your picture, so I'm not too sure it beats your find. This was a great find for me, but none of them made it into my collection. I think you win as  you added many phones to your collection. There were no losers in these two finds!! ...Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Craig T on September 15, 2010, 04:57:01 PM
Quote from: Kidphone on September 14, 2010, 08:49:32 PM
That handset cord turned out to be 19 Western Electric Metal Manual 302 sets and 1 with a dial.

That is what gets me up every Saturday morning to go out and look! Still wishing  :)
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Jim Stettler on September 16, 2010, 12:23:03 PM
The largest amout of phones/ect I ever got was a very large collection for $8,000. The collection was worth $20-30K at the time. It was to large to inventory. It included a Strowger Stick, A short Mckinly wall phone. A long distance telephone candlestick, Conneticut taper shaft, Large Gamewell call box, Montgomery Ward 2 box glass front,  A step switch lamp, many, many more phones and parts.

More recently I bought a stash of about 50 phones. About half were old black sets and the rest were modern plastics including a white 5302.

Jim S.

Kenny, I think I have a 302 blank in the shed, It should turn up over the weekend. I will let you know.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: HarrySmith on September 16, 2010, 12:28:43 PM
The best I scored so far is off Craigslist. i have an ad I run about old phones, offering my services and offering to buy old pahones and phone stuff. I got an email from a guy in West Palm Beach who said he used to collect but no longer is into phones, he siad he had a couple of boxes to get rid of. I met him about halfway between here & WPB. he asked $200.00 for the boxes, I offered $100.00 and he accepted. Ended up with 21 phones, old & new plus parts. Attached is picture of phones as I unpacked the boxes.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: JorgeAmely on September 16, 2010, 03:03:27 PM
This is the largest stash of phones I have ever purchased. All arrived in a 2' by 2' by 2' box and took about a month to arrive from New York to California. All were wrapped "burrito" style.

As you can see from the picture, the phone I really wanted brought along a bunch of brothers and sisters. The wait was worth it.

Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: bingster on September 16, 2010, 04:07:40 PM
The largest stash I ever got was a group of four from a little antique store in Virginia.  They had a pair of G-mount hanging handsets, a metal 302 and a North Galion.  I was a teenager at the time, so I couldn't afford to buy all of them at once, but after six months I did wind up with the whole lot.  I still have them, too.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on September 16, 2010, 06:03:20 PM
The largest stash I bought at one time came from eBay.  I bought a box of six or seven W.E. 554's.  Unknowingly included in the lot was a Mahogany 554.  I didn't realize until almost a year later that I had picked up one of the most difficult to find soft plastic sets.  I think I paid about $20 plus shipping for the lot.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Craig T on September 16, 2010, 06:14:25 PM
Quote from: JorgeAmely on September 16, 2010, 03:03:27 PM
This is the largest stash of phones I have ever purchased. All arrived in a 2' by 2' by 2' box and took about a month to arrive from New York to California. All were wrapped "burrito" style.

As you can see from the picture, the phone I really wanted brought along a bunch of brothers and sisters. The wait was worth it.



Jorge, since you got the Beige touch tone you were after, send me that Gray one on the bottom right  ;D
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: JorgeAmely on September 16, 2010, 09:57:56 PM
Dennis:

Wrong. I really wanted the wall mounted black phone.

Gray? What gray? It looked green to me and sold it for $2 at a garage sale we had a couple of months ago. Plus it stank like rotten cheese; you wouldn't have wanted it at home.

Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on September 16, 2010, 10:37:38 PM
Jorge, that was CraigT that commented on your beige touch tone............
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: JorgeAmely on September 16, 2010, 11:18:20 PM
Sorry Dennis. My mind was ready to reply to you since you and I went to the mat for that bunch of phones. Ahh, those were the good old days!
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on September 17, 2010, 09:16:19 AM
Quote from: Jim S. on September 16, 2010, 12:23:03 PM
The largest amout of phones/ect I ever got was a very large collection for $8,000. The collection was worth $20-30K at the time. It was to large to inventory. It included a Strowger Stick, A short Mckinly wall phone. A long distance telephone candlestick, Conneticut taper shaft, Large Gamewell call box, Montgomery Ward 2 box glass front,  A step switch lamp, many, many more phones and parts.

More recently I bought a stash of about 50 phones. About half were old black sets and the rest were modern plastics including a white 5302.

Jim S.

Kenny, I think I have a 302 blank in the shed, It should turn up over the weekend. I will let you know.
Jim...I remember the recent find that had the white 5302. That was quite a find and certainly outclassed mine....Outstanding....Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on January 19, 2011, 04:41:25 PM
This sunday I will have a HUGE find if the weather permits it!!!!!!
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on January 19, 2011, 04:55:44 PM
Quote from: Kennyc1955 on January 19, 2011, 04:41:25 PM
This sunday I will have a HUGE find if the weather permits it!!!!!!
Kenny...are you going to give us a hint?...Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on January 19, 2011, 04:56:40 PM
A Few 100  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Thats all I'm saying ;D ;D
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Phoniac on January 19, 2011, 05:01:58 PM
I can remember from years ago the stories some of them talked about. One that comes to mind was a friend or acquaintance of mine that worked for Ma Bell. He had came into an old church to do some sort of repair job and after words the minister came to him and asked if he'd take a box of old phones back with him they had in a closet. Well lo and behold! It was a box full of candle sticks (NO, not the kind that hold candles) and ringer boxes.
I still dream of that happening to me...... and then I wake up and tell myself, That aint happen'en.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on January 23, 2011, 10:08:08 AM
I'll be back at 3-4 with it all if it all goes as planned(it better)
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dan on January 23, 2011, 06:09:26 PM
well it's six, you get em ken?
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on January 23, 2011, 11:32:46 PM
The guy who was going to take me had to work but he's off next sunday  :-\
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on February 21, 2011, 08:18:35 AM
Kenny....what ever happened to your phones?? Did you get them??...Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on February 21, 2011, 06:34:12 PM
No such luck.  >:( :(
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on February 21, 2011, 07:03:27 PM
I had two massive finds, one here on PEI, and one which I picked up in New Brunswick.

The first was found in New Brunswick from a fellow collector - a truckload containing a Uniphone #6, Dawn phone, Doodle phone, 500 set with G6 amplified headset. Two KSU's shown in back row, an NE QUJ9B shown back right, and a QUJ10A shown (partly hidden) back, and many key sets. All phones are Northern Electric/Telecom.

The second batch were at a motel near Wood Island during the 70 Mile Coastal Yard Sale. There were 19 Northern Electric/Telecom phones in this batch, and after culling and cleaning, there were 16 added to the collection plus 3 phones to be used for parts, due to case cracks, bad or missing handsets, etc. These were bought for $2 apiece. Some took some work to get them going, but all but the 3 parts phones work now. The next year, I returned to the same place during the sale, and bought up 5 more he had dug up in the meantime, plus a 50 cent KS-8455L2 Bell System Line Loop Tester.

Included here:
2 Dark Brown, 2 Yellow (one an interesting yellow/black hybrid), 1 Pink or darker Beige, 3 White, 2 Beige, 2 Moss Green, and 4 Black

Slightly off topic (as it isn't a dial phone) but perhaps my best find was at a yard sale (but more complicated than that, as I had to buy it from a fellow who spoke up for it a few seconds before I saw the phone). It was a pre-Northern Electric Bell Canada 3 boxer, with Blake transmitter. This phone was manufactured at the Bell Canada Montreal Mechanical Dept. in 1889 half a decade before the formation of Northern Electric. It ended up costing considerably more than the $5 asked for it in the sale, but a very low price compared to its real value. Had I only been there a few seconds earlier! Would have saved myself a couple of hundred $'s! But in the end, I wound up taking it home with ME!



Dave
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: AE_Collector on February 21, 2011, 09:30:03 PM
Quote from: DavePEI on February 21, 2011, 07:03:27 PM
Had I only been there a few seconds earlier! Would have saved myself a couple of hundred $'s! But in the end, I wound up taking it home with ME!

Dave

That 3 box phone is going to be a tough "find" for you to top. To make you feel better about missing out on it at $5 just remember that if you had been 10 minutes later in arriving you wouldn't even know of its existance on the Island!

Terry
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on February 21, 2011, 09:40:06 PM
Quote from: ae_collector on February 21, 2011, 09:30:03 PM

That 3 box phone is going to be a tough "find" for you to top. To make you feel better about missing out on it at $5 just remember that if you had been 10 minutes later in arriving you wouldn't even know of its existence on the Island!

Terry

So right! Now, the rest of the story. I was driving towards Montague looking for yard sales. I missed the driveway of the sale, and turned around in the next. As I turned around a fellow drove into the sale. He went to the seller, and pointed at this item and that. The guy was an antique dealer. He bought the phone seconds before I arrived. I told the seller I wanted it, and he informed me it had just sold.

I spoke to the new owner and said I would love to buy it, and offered him considerable incentive. He finally agreed to sell it, and I ended up taking it home. Thank goodness he didn't really know what it was worth!

Good thing I didn't get there earlier. I would have felt so guilty buying it for $5 :D
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on February 21, 2011, 09:45:44 PM
That's a great story Dave.  So what IS it worth?  (For those of us that have no clue).
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on February 21, 2011, 09:50:13 PM
Quote from: Dennis Markham on February 21, 2011, 09:45:44 PM
That's a great story Dave.  So what IS it worth?  (For those of us that have no clue).

Hi Dennis: The first offer I had for it was from a well known telephone dealer - $2000. Since, a museum visitor offered $5000 as it pre-dates NE. I think that was a little much, but he was a fellow who should know the value. Despite this, I kept the phone. It is my prize possession- selling it would be like selling my first-born!

This just made me feel better about buying it for $305! The other guy did ok, but so did I...
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on February 21, 2011, 10:23:18 PM
Dave, that's amazing!  I'd say you did OK.  And you're right, the other fellow did well too.  He didn't even have to carry it home.  Did he know what it was or just wanted an nice old wooden phone?
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on February 21, 2011, 10:26:56 PM
Quote from: Dennis Markham on February 21, 2011, 10:23:18 PM
Dave, that's amazing!  I'd say you did OK.  And you're right, the other fellow did well too.  He didn't even have to carry it home.  Did he know what it was or just wanted an nice old wooden phone?

He knew it would bring a pretty penny when he sold it, but not how much! As I mentioned, he was an antique dealer, and probably expected it to bring the usual $150 to $200 asked around here for a woodie in antique shops. It would have wound up in his shop. But I guess making $300 profit on it immediately was enough to persuade him!

Photo: Face of Blake transmitter box. The side of the top box gives the information it was made in Montreal 1889.

At the time, I couldn't really afford the $305, but felt I would regret it forever had I not offered enough to entice him to sell.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on February 22, 2011, 09:20:15 AM
Dave...this is an outstanding phone. Worth every extra dollar.

How could anyone, even with ZERO phone knowledge sell this for $5. Usually old wood at a yard sale or a flea market is a minimum $100 for junk.

A Blake and a Long pole what anexceptional find....Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on February 22, 2011, 09:21:01 AM
Quote from: Kennyc1955 on February 21, 2011, 06:34:12 PM
No such luck.  >:( :(
What Happened? or didn't happen....Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on February 22, 2011, 09:39:37 AM
Quote from: Kidphone on February 22, 2011, 09:20:15 AM
Dave...this is an outstanding phone. Worth every extra dollar.

How could anyone, even with ZERO phone knowledge sell this for $5. Usually old wood at a yard sale or a flea market is a minimum $100 for junk.

A Blake and a Long pole what anexceptional find....Doug

Hi Doug:

I wish I would make finds like that all the time. Yes, I agree with you. I can't understand why the original seller didn't want more. But I am happy.

One can go years between finds like these - it has been about 5 years since I made these finds. One of the Forum members has helped me out a lot with great phones and advice over the years, which I will be eternally grateful for as well. Without his help, the museum would be fairly sparsely populated.

Lately the luck is declining, but just this morning I was contacted by someone over in N.S. who is giving me a Uniphone #2 and a Blue (very discolored) Contempora just for the cost of shipping. They were just sitting in a pile in his workshop, and wanted them to be restored and seen. Both need a lot of cleaning up, but will be nice to add them to the collection. I already have a burled Walnut Number 2, but this is a black example. Most people wind up with a black one first, then if they are lucky will later add a burled walnut one - I would have to do it differently, at least with #2s.

Interesting little ad below:
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on February 22, 2011, 02:28:44 PM
QuoteWhat Happened? or didn't happen....Doug

The cows got out two sundays and this week He didn't show up. I had never asked around about him, I did last week. It  tuns out.... well to put it gently I'm not the first person he  has lied to.

I'm sorry about this whole mess.  I should have kept quiet until he pulled through. I hope nobody thinks I am lying.  :-[
Thanks,
Kenny C.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on February 22, 2011, 02:36:33 PM
Quote from: Kennyc1955 on February 22, 2011, 02:28:44 PM
QuoteWhat Happened? or didn't happen....Doug

The cows got out two sundays and this week He didn't show up. I had never asked around about him, I did last week. It  tuns out.... well to put it gently I'm not the first person he  has lied to.

I'm sorry about this whole mess.  I should have kept quiet until he pulled through. I hope nobody thinks I am lying.  :-[
Thanks,
Kenny C.
Bummer....I thought you found the Holy Grail of phones. Hopefully next time. I doubt anyone thinks you were lying, you're too cool for that....Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Russ Kirk on February 22, 2011, 03:08:14 PM
Quote from: Kennyc1955 on February 22, 2011, 02:28:44 PMI hope nobody thinks I am lying.  :-[
Thanks,
Kenny C.

No, nobody thinks that Kenny. We are all friends here...

Russ
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on February 22, 2011, 04:03:24 PM
Thansk guys but he isnt going to hear the end of this  ;D
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on February 22, 2011, 04:06:32 PM
It's not nice to fool a phone collector with promises of LOTS of old phones!
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Kenny C on February 22, 2011, 07:34:26 PM
I guess you cant belive those coon hunters ;)
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dan on February 22, 2011, 10:22:40 PM
Kenny at your young age you'll have 3-4 X the phones us old timers have by the time you are 30!
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on May 23, 2011, 09:34:01 AM
Hi All:

Just back from my museum, where a large number of 500's, 2500's, Harmony, etc. were received this morning. Along with them came a 354, another Model 33 Calculagraph, Princess, Contemporas, and a box full of NOS cords, dial centers, plastics, handsets, etc.

These had been promised a few months ago - I had almost given up on them. I have placed them on a new display case I recently built awaiting their arrival, to photograph (after I recover from the effort of setting them up, etc.) Not all would fit on, but I will take a photograph also of the remaining pieces after I get a bit of rest.

Most are Northern Electric, but there is one aqua blue WE 500 set in the bunch... In total, there are 30 in all, plus the great box of spares!

Here are photos including most of them. There wasn't enough space to display all on the counter, so had to include some on the shelves of the display and in the box. Parts and a few others shown in the last photo.

The parts included a number of NOS dial plastics (haven't counted them but in the vicinity of a dozen), spare handsets, including one with volume control, receivers, transmitters, and a large number of NOS in the bag spade cords. The handsets include about a dozen NOS Harmony handsets in great colours.

There were also three beige NOS Round dial plates for TT dials, and 3 NOS beige face mats for 2500's.

Still a lot of sorting to do! These cost me the grand total of nothing! The gentleman who brought these continues to look out for more. My favorites - the aqua blue 500, green 500, the yellow 500 in the box in the last photo, and the two red 500's. The yellow 500 needs a new handset cord, but there are a couple of NOS yellow cords in the spares box.

As I worked sorting these I came across one which was a refurbed 1955 - sadly, they had changed the plastics, and dial, but the base is beautiful and the ringer and network are original. Sadly too, the original feet had been removed and replaced with modern ones during its refurbishment. Generally, all 500s  are dated between 1955 and 1976.

Note: The early NE round dial surround 2554 in the top photo.

Dave
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on May 24, 2011, 06:15:13 AM
Yesterday evening, I spent some time working on some of the phones above.

As it typical for 60s to 80s era PEI phones, most are hooked up for party line use. I converted 10 of them back to single line, testing each afterwards with my tester for ring, transmit, receive, and dial.

A new finger-wheel has been placed on the Princess - it was one of the last ones I had time to do.

I need to do the same with many of the Contemporas and Harmony phones, as well as the rest of the 500s, the early 2500, the 354, etc. Some of the rest of the 500s need a handset cord, and many of them need me to make up a line cord. So, I will take my time doing this over the next few days.  

I am trying to decide whether to start tonight with the 2500, 354, or the yellow 500 in the box with the cut cords (the other yellow one - the one with the sticker has been done, converted, and checked but IMHO the one in the box is the nicest). Decisions, Decisions, Decisions. But its all fun, and thankfully I have the cords for them!

All so far are in near mint condition, just needing physical cleaning. A few will need sticker removal, but none are badly faded or damaged.

Having fun!

Dave
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Willytx on May 24, 2011, 02:15:32 PM
Very nice haul! I had to check again to see this wasn't in the classifieds.  ;)

Those 500s don't say 'Operator' under the zero. Is that a Northern Electric thing?
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on May 24, 2011, 02:22:05 PM
Quote from: Willytx on May 24, 2011, 02:15:32 PM
Very nice haul! I had to check again to see this wasn't in the classifieds.  ;)

Those 500s don't say 'Operator' under the zero. Is that a Northern Electric thing?

Nope. These came from Bell/Aliant from obsolete inventory. I have known for several months they were going to come. Actually, I expected more NOS stuff in original boxes - that doesn't mean I'm not totally thrilled, but I am told they are still gathering more for the museum. I am hoping it spells a small level of support for the museum's existence!

Yes, the lack of Operator is an NE/NT thing. I forget the exact year, but it was removed some time in the 70s to meet bilingual language laws, i.e. French/English. As Operator in french is Opérateur, they opted to omit the word and just have the Zero and not offend the french customers or run into conflict with the laws.

Dave
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Willytx on May 24, 2011, 03:16:29 PM
You think they would have compromised on 'Oper'.

It's always nice to learn another way to identify a phone just by looking at it.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Adam on May 24, 2011, 06:53:13 PM
It should be noted that at the time Northern Electric and then Northern Telecom was making 500-type dials without the word OPERATOR, they were also making them the normal way as well, you can find them both ways in the wild.  They just used the ones without OPERATOR in certain regions.

A Northern Electric/Northern Telecom 500 dial, even one with OPERATOR, is easy to spot, because the font with the letters is not as bold as the font with the numbers.  On Western Electric dials, the boldness of the font of the numbers and letters is the same.  It's very obvious is you have an NE and a WE set side by side.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on May 24, 2011, 07:54:45 PM
'Nuther Update!

I did as I said tonight, and went over to work on the 354, 2554, and on the yellow 500 in the box with cut cords. Regarding the yellow one, the handset cord has been replaced, and the ringer wiring switched to private line wiring, and it passes its tests 100%

The 2554 with a round dial insert turns out to be a 1967 - the year before the re-designed case started appearing here. It too, is switched over from party line, and passed its tests with flying colours.

Now, I discovered the 354 is a 1953  - only one year too late  to be a birthday phone for me. All parts are dated 1953. The phone has been re-wired for private line use, has been cleaned up, and passes its tests 100%. I brought it back over to our house to remove some paint on its lower edges. Once again, Easy-Off did its trick, and it now only needs minor buffing.

More tomorrow! Probably first will be the red 500 I didn't get around to doing last night.

Update May 25th - all phones have now been done, and stickers removed. Some still need minor buffing (especially the 354), but they are looking great, and are now like the rest of the museum phones - ready for use...

Dave
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Adam on May 25, 2011, 01:49:43 AM
My claim that NE/NT phones with OPERATOR on the dial were used in some parts of Canada where they don't speak French has been questioned.  (Which is perfectly fine with me, a major reason we're all here is to learn more about our hobby!)

The NE/NT dials without OPERATOR on the dial has always been a fascinating subject for me.  Never having lived in Canada myself, I admit I may be wrong about the claim that some parts of Canada got NE/NT phones with OPERATOR on the dial where it was appropriate.  That supposition on my part is partially based on the fact that on eBay, one sees as many NE/NT 500-type sets with OPERATOR on the dial as without it.

So, can anyone who actually lives or has lived in Canada confirm that NE/NT sets with OPERATOR on the dial were actually used in parts of Canada?  Or were these sets that we now see on eBay with OPERATOR on the dial only made by NE/NT for export?

Like I said, this is one of my favorite corners of telephone trivia.  I'd love it if someone can shed more light on this.  Thanks.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on May 25, 2011, 06:19:05 AM
Quote from: masstel on May 25, 2011, 01:49:43 AM
My claim that NE/NT phones with OPERATOR on the dial were used in some parts of Canada where they don't speak French has been questioned.  (Which is perfectly fine with me, a major reason we're all here is to learn more about our hobby!)

Any NE/NT/Nortel phones made in Canada (not all were made in Canada - later on, some NT/Nortel sets were assembled in the US) with Operator were ONLY made for export. You will find earlier dials with Oper or Operator on 302's and Uniphones and 5302s (as they used 302 type dials), but as of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism was established in 1964 and the subsequent Official Languages Act in 1969 and then amendments in 1988 Northern Electric/Telecom stopped manufacturing the "Operator" dials for Canadian use. This was across Canada. All products in Canada had to be bilingual, and not just in Quebec.

We have large pockets of french speaking people across Canada, and not just in Quebec. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Labrador, Nova Scotia, North West Territories, New Brunswick, and PEI also have substantial numbers of french speaking people -  the Maritimes from the Acadian settlements, many of the others from European and Métis roots. (Incidentally, the Louisiana Cajuns had their french roots coming from the French fleeing the Maritime Provinces during the Deportation in the 1700's - just a historical aside). By simply removing the word operator from later dials, they satisfied the requirement for bilingualism.

Because NE/NT/Nortel did a huge export business, it is quite possible that such dials were made for the export market. NE marketed itself quite successfully to indepedant telephone companies south of the border and around the world.

What may also cloud this issue too, is from time to time, 500 sets are advertised on eBay as Northern Electric or Northern Telecom, but in reality are Western Electric or ITT with Northern handsets. I see an SC frankenphone on eBay currently with an NT housing, and an "Operator" dial, but I strongly suspect the dial itself was an SC.

FYI - I was born in Canada, grew up in Canada, and live in Canada.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Adam on May 25, 2011, 10:05:36 AM
OK, what you're saying makes sense.  I'd love to know why they made so many for export, where they went and why so many seem to show up on eBay.

Quote from: DavePEI on May 25, 2011, 06:19:05 AM
What may also cloud this issue too, is from time to time, 500 sets are advertised on eBay as Northern Electric or Northern Telecom, but in reality are Western Electric or ITT with Northern handsets. I see an SC frankenphone on eBay currently with an NT housing, and an "Operator" dial, but I strongly suspect the dial itself was an SC.

Possible, surely, in some cases.  But, like I said, NE/NT 500-type dials are VERY recognizable, even with OPERATOR on them, because of the lighter font on the letters than the numbers.

Thanks Dave for the info.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Wallphone on May 25, 2011, 01:34:58 PM
There was a thread on the "Operator" on Northern phones on the TCI List that started about a day before this one. It was stated that Northern stopped using "Operator" around 1970. And if you found a Northern phone dated after 1970 that still had the "Operator" on the dial plate that they were most likely refurbished where they used whatever dial plates were available at the time. Nothing was mentioned about if Northern still put "Operator" on phones made for export.
Doug Pav
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: AE_Collector on May 26, 2011, 02:02:20 AM
Hi Dave:

Glad to see that the guy at Aliant finally came through for you. That kept you busy for a couple of days at least!

Terry (off the coast of Turkey)
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: kleenax on December 09, 2012, 09:55:27 PM
I'm a little late to this thread (looks like about 3 yrs:), but oh well!  You people always get me going when I see topics like this on here!

I have only been collecting/hunting phones since about 1996, but for some here, I guess that's a long time.

The Train Depot find that was previously shared here was by far my largest (over 7,000 phones), but most were from the 70's.

Probably the next would be about 300 phones (all old/vintage) that took me 3 trips with my pickup truck to haul home.

I have had a bunch in the 10-20 phone count.  Some photos not previously shared are below. I LOVE the treasure hunting!

Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Just4Phones on December 09, 2012, 11:15:35 PM
Are any of your 10 buttons for sale?   They are my weakness  ;D
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: kleenax on December 09, 2012, 11:55:05 PM
Quote from: Just4Phones on December 09, 2012, 11:15:35 PM
Are any of your 10 buttons for sale?   They are my weakness  ;D
All of those 10-button examples are now in the JKL Museum; sorry.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: AE_Collector on December 10, 2012, 11:17:28 AM
Quote from: kleenax on December 09, 2012, 09:55:27 PM
I'm a little late to this thread (looks like about 3 yrs:), but oh well!  You people always get me going when I see topics like this on here!

I just found this thread way back in forum history so I sticky'd it to put it in the lime lite and bring it back to life. There are many threads that had lots of contribuions and lots of views but eventually they go dormant and slip off the front page sometimes never to be seen again. Has anyone heard from MagicMo (Maureen) lately?

Terry
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: MagicMo on January 10, 2013, 07:27:44 PM
Quote from: AE_Collector on December 10, 2012, 11:17:28 AM
Quote from: kleenax on December 09, 2012, 09:55:27 PM
I'm a little late to this thread (looks like about 3 yrs:), but oh well!  You people always get me going when I see topics like this on here!

I just found this thread way back in forum history so I sticky'd it to put it in the lime lite and bring it back to life. There are many threads that had lots of contribuions and lots of views but eventually they go dormant and slip off the front page sometimes never to be seen again. Has anyone heard from MagicMo (Maureen) lately?

Terry

Hi Terry! I'm still here, I sign on everyday to read through all the posts, I'm trying to learn as much as I can. In case anyone is interested I have not sold anything, I was actually throwing around the idea of selling at a telephone show. Any ideas? Good idea?
To answer the thread question: I dunno? I couldn't possibly begin to answer that. Let's just say a whole bunch! LOL!
Take Care,
Mo
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on January 10, 2013, 07:48:00 PM
Maureen... I will again implore you to take pictures of you picturephone and try it on eBay. You will be happy beyond your wildest dreams. Post you car phones on eBay as well, everything else is fine at a phone show. The picture phone is special. You will not be disappointed and will not ever feel you did not get the most you could for it. Dad would agree with me....Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Russ Kirk on January 10, 2013, 08:01:56 PM
Perhaps take the phone to a show, let people see it and generate some excitement.  Maybe have TCI write an article about it.  Then let the clubs and forums know when you are going to list.  That way most key bidders will be aware.  It is like doing free advertising.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on January 10, 2013, 08:17:37 PM
Quote from: Doug Rose on January 10, 2013, 07:48:00 PM
Maureen... I will again implore you to take pictures of you picturephone and try it on eBay. You will be happy beyond your wildest dreams. ....Doug

For what it's worth, I agree with Doug 100%.  If you decide to sell that picture phone, eBay is the place.  Anywhere else and you'll short yourself.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: MagicMo on January 10, 2013, 09:25:37 PM
Quote from: Doug Rose on January 10, 2013, 07:48:00 PM
Maureen... I will again implore you to take pictures of you picturephone and try it on eBay. You will be happy beyond your wildest dreams. Post you car phones on eBay as well, everything else is fine at a phone show. The picture phone is special. You will not be disappointed and will not ever feel you did not get the most you could for it. Dad would agree with me....Doug

Hi Doug, I totally agree with you and I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I never even thought about selling the Picturephone at a show, yet alone sell it period. I am seriously hung up on selling the Picturephone. In your opinion, would it be beneficial to hang on to it for a few years? I welcome others to comment as well.
I am slowly realizing it has become something more than just a phone that I can make money on. I know this sounds weird but it is going to be a difficult thing for me to sell. I was even thinking about contacting Bell Labs and asking for a large amount to donate in my father's name to his favorite charity- St. Judes Hospital. I'm not ready to take the Ebay plunge just yet. Your thoughts?
Thanks,
Mo
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: MagicMo on January 10, 2013, 09:26:31 PM
Quote from: Russ Kirk on January 10, 2013, 08:01:56 PM
Perhaps take the phone to a show, let people see it and generate some excitement.  Maybe have TCI write an article about it.  Then let the clubs and forums know when you are going to list.  That way most key bidders will be aware.  It is like doing free advertising.

Great idea!
Thanks,
Mo
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: AE_Collector on January 10, 2013, 11:12:09 PM
There is a definite tendency for certain types of phones to be sought after and then as more time goes by interest in them diminishes. Wooden magneto phones are a prime example. They have steadily been dropping in value for the most part. Things become too old for the people collecting them as they are no longer the stuff the collectors remember when they were young.

I know little about the Picturephone but my guess would be that we are roughly in a prime time frame to sell it. A few years more wont matter but 20 more years and the guys here who really want it will be downsizing their collections and moving into care homes!

Just my thoughts on timing.....

Terry
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: HowardPgh on January 22, 2013, 03:15:52 PM
The largest amount of phones I saw in one place was at a phone auction in Axton, VA.    1980s era.
Howard
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on January 22, 2013, 05:46:22 PM
This April, Janet's sister and brother in law were up visiting from Ft Lauderdale, they went off to our favorite Flea market in Northern MA on a beautiful Spring Sunday morning before the sun was up. I stayed home and got my beauty sleep. Didn't work  :o Jan calls me and she has met this dude who cleaned out a Hotel in NH. She bought everything that he had and we agreed to meet the following week. It was pouring rain. He showed, we showed and we filled our CRV with phones. Filled so we could barely move. We agreed to meet in a few weeks. More of the same, filled the CRV again. I mean I had boxes with eight 302s on my lap as Jan drove home. 100s of 302s, dial... manual, in great shape and all in boxes of Comdial and ITT 500 sets. Ton of parts.  IV 36 manual 302s ...Plus a lot of older stuff that I don't think came from the hotel, or maybe was from the phone system before.  ;D B1s, D1s Metal WE wall phones This what I have read about. Most of these phones were never touched. Matching dates. Even the broken phones were parts heaven. Janet was amazed at my negotiating skills. I amazed myself! He was happy, I was thrilled.

My guess is this hotel swapped out its phone system and went to a  500 set upgrade. These phones probably sat in a basement for decades. He didn't say how he came to get them, but he sure had a lot of phones. I still have a basement full of phones. Every time I open a box it is like a kid at a candy store. There are still 100s phones that I have not even seen. He had a WE switchboard that I had to pass on, no room.  :'(

We found his phone number and called him a few weeks ago to see if he had any more left. Jan met him in Manchester NH and she got the final 37 manual 302 sets he had last week so now the story can be told.

This was the Holy Grail!.....Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on January 22, 2013, 08:15:32 PM
Quote from: Doug Rose on January 22, 2013, 05:46:22 PM
This April, Janet's sister and brother in law were up visiting from Ft Lauderdale, they went off to our favorite Flea market in Northern MA on a beautiful Spring Sunday morning before the sun was up. I stayed home and got my beauty sleep. Didn't work  :o Jan calls me and she has met this dude who cleaned out a Hotel in NH. She bought everything that he had and we agreed to meet the following week.

This was the Holy Grail!.....Doug
You bet it was, Doug! I have gotten a few buys over the years, but compared to this, they are miniscule. Buys like that just don't show up here!

All Hail - Doug, the King of huge finds!

Dave
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Bill on January 23, 2013, 11:55:37 AM
Doug -

Was that hotel The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in Dixville Notch, NH? My family and I stayed there on several occasions about 25 years ago. At that time, they had their old manual corded switchboard on display in the lobby. Every time we went, I tried to buy that switchboard, but the manager insisted on keeping it "for the decor". I always wondered what happened to it. Did you by any chance pick it up?

Bill
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on January 23, 2013, 06:14:16 PM
Bill...he could not remember the Hotel's name. He had a switchboard and I had no room. It is gone now...DOug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: LM Ericsson on January 23, 2013, 07:42:57 PM
The Brass Armadillo Antique Mall, Phoenix, AZ
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on February 03, 2013, 08:16:36 PM
Quote from: Doug Rose on January 10, 2013, 07:48:00 PM
Maureen... I will again implore you to take pictures of you picturephone and try it on eBay. You will be happy beyond your wildest dreams. Post you car phones on eBay as well, everything else is fine at a phone show. The picture phone is special. You will not be disappointed and will not ever feel you did not get the most you could for it. Dad would agree with me....Doug
Mo....thank you for listening. This is almost as fun as if I had done this.....almost... ;D.....You did it!!!! You will never forget this, then again neither will we.....Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: MagicMo on February 04, 2013, 12:02:04 AM
Quote from: Doug Rose on February 03, 2013, 08:16:36 PM
Quote from: Doug Rose on January 10, 2013, 07:48:00 PM
Maureen... I will again implore you to take pictures of you picturephone and try it on eBay. You will be happy beyond your wildest dreams. Post you car phones on eBay as well, everything else is fine at a phone show. The picture phone is special. You will not be disappointed and will not ever feel you did not get the most you could for it. Dad would agree with me....Doug
Mo....thank you for listening. This is almost as fun as if I had done this.....almost... ;D.....You did it!!!! You will never forget this, then again neither will we.....Doug

How could I not after that? The word implore was the kicker. Thanks again Doug! You were SOOOO right!
Mo
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: 4123 on March 21, 2013, 06:57:09 PM
This story takes place in Oregon in the early 70's. I was working for a small independent telephone company called "Redwoods Telephone Company." Redwoods was owned by one person, and served the small community of Cave Junction, population 490. We were using an X Y switch at the time and almost everyone was on party lines with coded ringing. Redwoods also served the surrounding area that is heavily wooded and has lots of mountains.

It all started on Halloween night, when the local teenagers were having their annual rotten egg wars in front of the Dairy Queen. The next morning, the air was filled with the smell of rotten eggs up and down the main street in town. The kids were very thorough. It seemed like everything was hit including the three telephone booths located here and there within the city limits. The booths were the old green pine outdoor type with a four sided, pyramid shaped tin roof and bi-fold door with wire mesh safety glass. Inside each booth was a chrome Automatic Electric 3 slot pay station.

I had been working for Redwoods for only a few months and one of my many duties was to be in charge of all of the telephone booths in the valley. There were about fifteen of them. I did everything from cleaning and maintenance, to collecting, sorting, counting, keeping tract of and depositing all the money the booths made.

One of the booths had been hit especially bad. It was impossible to clean it with just a wet soapy rag like I did the other booths. I approached Don, the owner of the company and told him about my dilemma. Don not only owned several telephone companies, he also owned the local cement and gravel company as well. He told me to go to the cement company's truck garage and find the portable steam cleaner that they used to clean the trucks. The truck garage was actually a huge Quonset hut. It was so big, that there were enough parking spaces for many cement mixer trucks inside. There was also a large office building inside....a building inside of a building!

It took me awhile to find the portable steam cleaner. When I did, I discovered that it was way too heavy to lift into the telephone company van by myself. I searched for a long board so I could roll the steam cleaner up into the van. I finally spotted a board sticking out from on top of the flat roof of the office building that was inside the bigger building. The next step was to find a ladder.... I couldn't find one. I noticed some cubbyholes that I could use as steps to climb to the top. Up I went. When I stuck my head over the top, my heart skipped a beat! I couldn't believe my eyes! There were old wood telephones up there! Hundreds of them! There were dozens of large piles! There were single box, double box and fiddle back telephones everywhere! The transmitters were pointing out at odd angles, and the hundreds of cloth cords looked like little snakes lying around. A pile in the far corner was over six feet high! The telephones were covered with a thick layer of dust, bird and mouse droppings and spider webs. Some had their doors open with bird nests built on top of magnetos. There was so much dust that everything looked gray. It was like a dream. As I was staring, I noticed many 202's, candlesticks, and other stuff laced throughout the piles. I tried to take a quick mental inventory, but it was too mind-boggling!

I must have them! That was all I could think about. I tried to keep my mind on my work for the next few days. But most of the time I spent trying to figure out how to approach Don and take possession of those telephones. I couldn't sleep, I lost my appetite and became very nervous, worrying that I would not be able to talk him out of them. Don was the type of man who didn't throw anything away. I mean he hung onto everything he ever owned! I couldn't stand it any longer. I finally went to talk to him.

 

I was going to be very cool about the whole thing. You know, casually mention (with little interest) the fact that I found a lifetime supply of antique telephones on his property, and that I wouldn't mind moving all that old stuff out of there for him. It was all covered with dust and it was, in fact, a big fire hazard and a breeding ground for rodents.

Don is a smart man. Besides running telephone companies and other businesses, he teaches business administration at the local college in Grants Pass. He wouldn't be easy to fool....I was desperate. It was time to confront him. I walked right up to him and blurted, "Hey Don, what are you going to do with all those telephones above the office at the gravel yard?" He looked at me and said, "I hadn't given it much thought, why?" I said, "Well, ya know, I've sorta been collecting old telephones for a while now, and I saw some up there that I would really like to have!" Darn! I thought. I shouldn't have said that! At best now, I might only get a few. He said, "Come on up to the ranch one of these evenings, and we can talk about it." I wanted to say, "Let's talk about it now." Instead, I said "OK."

Twenty eight hours later, I was knocking on his door. I was as nervous as a kid on his first date. He yelled from inside, "Come on in, Ron." We sat down at the table in the kitchen. He immediately started talking about the telephones, saying, "I was hoping that my kids would someday show some interest in all those old phones." I just sat there staring blankly. He said,"They are antiques now, you know?" I just continued staring, saying nothing. He said, "Now the kids are all grown up and have no interest in them, at all" I started to perk up. "Do you want a cup of coffee?" he said. "No." I said. He stood up and went over to the stove and poured himself some coffee, and I just sat there staring. "Well, Ron." He said, "I'd really like to give them to you, but we have to make this a business transaction." My heart started thumping, and my eyes focused directly on his. I couldn't say anything. " Do you have a place to store them?" I nodded yes. "I'll tell you what Ron, I'll sell you all the telephones above the gravel office, and all the telephones in the other two warehouses for one dollar each.

I was trying to think! Other two warehouses? This couldn't be true! What two warehouses? A dollar each? What? I looked at Don and said, "OK".

"I'll call Gary in the morning and tell him you will be coming in to pick up the telephones." I was trying to act calm. "You may want to use the front end loader to get them down, that will probably make things easier...Do you know where the Old Stage Road or the Patton Bar Road warehouses are?" I gulped,"No." He told me how to get to the Old Stage warehouse and mentioned that there were "quite a few old wood telephones stored there along with the old Western Electric switchboards they used before installing the X Y switch at the Sunnyside Telephone Company." "The Patton Bar warehouse contains mostly older central office stuff, but you may find some old telephones there too," he said.

I said, "Thank you" and sort of floated out of his ranch house and back to my truck. I can't remember the drive home. I do remember barging through the front door of our house and yelling, "Olga, were rich!" (Telephone rich).

I was at the gravel yard with my flatbed truck when Gary showed up for work. He unlocked the Quonset hut and I raced in. I flew up the side of the office building so fast that I overshot it and hit my head on one of the ceiling rafters of the larger building! The telephones were still there. I didn't know where to start. As I started moving things around, the dust started flying. It got so bad that I was having trouble breathing. The smell of rodents was strong. Spider webs were sticking to my head. I loved it!

The first problem was trying to get some of the receivers and cords untangled. By then, Gary was there with the front-end loader's bucket all the way up to the level where I was. He had climbed up in the bucket and was watching me. He says, "here's a knife....cut em." I almost laughed, but I was choking on dust. We filled the bucket with the first load of telephones at about 9:00 A.M., the flatbed was full by noon. It took three trips with the truck filled to the brim each time. The count was more than three hundred complete telephones. There were two more warehouses to go!

The Old Stage warehouse was another Quonset hut, this time much smaller. Inside, there was the same musty smell that I experienced above the office the day before at the gravel yard. Telephones were everywhere. There were lots of 102's, 202's, ashtray phones, Leich's, A.E.'s, S.C.'s, etc. Each one with its own oak ringer box. There also were five Western Electric drop type magneto switchboards. And one very tall and narrow Kellogg drop type magneto switchboard with a hanging transmitter.

The Patton Bar warehouse was a little different. There were a dozen metal sided rotary dial cordboards with lights instead of drops. And, like Don said, there was a lot of C.O.equipment laying around....Getting rusty. It looked like someone had ransacked the place. Most of the gauges had been removed from the panels. There were no telephones....So far, the count was in excess of 600 telephones and 18 switchboards. I was overwhelmed.

Now it was time to go back and deal with Don. He was sitting at his kitchen table drinking coffee. As soon as I walked in, he started talking about the telephone repair center he once operated until 1950, right there on his ranch. It had accommodated over 25 independent telephone companies in Southern Oregon. At the time, he was the president of the Independent Telephone Company Association. He then showed me his podium that they let him keep when he finally left office. It was made out of a tapered shaft candlestick that I could not identify....or have.

Don then pointed out the window to a very long blue building about one hundred yards from his house. There was a gravel road going between the building and a very large barn. He said, "That's the telephone repair center over there. You may as well go over there and dig around for parts. There's a room in the middle of the blue building where we used to rebuild dials. There are also crates full of transmitters and receivers and stuff like that. While you are at it, look in the barn. That's where we stored all the dial sets. They are up on the third level."

By now, I was getting used to this. I casually walked over to the blue building and went inside. There's that musty smell again. Just inside the door, on the right, were shelves from the floor to the ceiling filled with almost every type of Grey pay station imaginable. 23D's, Wanamaker's, coin collectors attached to candlesticks and a lot of coin collectors with the side mount waiting to be attached to something. This was a whole new ball game! There were things hanging from the ceiling, laying on the floors and leaning against shelves that were filled with wondrous things that I couldn't yet see. It was hard to take. I had this thrilled feeling that wouldn't stop. I felt like a human Pogo stick, jumping around trying to take it all in. I looked to the left. There were more of the same kind of shelves. On them were porcelain signs. Most of them were Bell System signs . There was an unopened box that read, "One gross. Type 26 booth signs." There were stacks of flanged signs, big signs, little signs, Pacific Northwest Bell signs, Associated Telephone signs, Sunnyside Telephone signs, West coast Telephone signs, and so on.

I went further in. I came to a door on the left. I opened it, and entered. My nose was immediately hit with the smell of old machine oil. This was the dial room. The room was about 10' x 16' and had a smooth workbench around the entire perimeter. Pushed under the workbench were three old oak, caned operators chairs. Above the workbench were more shelves. There was another door at the end of the room that led to what appeared to be some kind of washing room with large tubs. There were steel grate-like things that were to be lowered into the tubs.

I started to look at the shelves in the first room. Needless to say, they were bulging with dials. There were shallow boxes full of dials that read things like, "Western Electric Type 2 unwashed, Type 2 washed, Type 2 cleaned-assembled-tested good, Type 4....etc., Type 5....etc., Automatic Electric Type 24....etc., Stroger 2 1/2"...etc. Stromberg Carlson...etc, Kellogg etc.etc.etc. There was one corner that must have been the assembly spot. There were boxes full of number card holders, number cards, Celluloid's, and other things. I had to sit down and take a breather! The operator's chair creaked as I sat in it. I felt good.

There is no way I can describe to you, all the contents of that building. I'll just give you a few examples. There were one hundred pound boxes full of complete transmitter arms, receivers, ringers, magnetos, mouthpieces and bells. I found a box full of "Flint Sanitary" glass mouthpieces...all but one were broken. There were outdoor skeleton bells, parts for booths, roofs for booths, wire mesh glass panels for booths, bi-fold doors for booths, and much more.

I finally worked my way back to what appeared to be the office. I stepped inside. Lined up across the back wall were complete sets of catalogues from Western Electric, Kellogg, Stromberg Carlson, Automatic Electric, Graybar, and others. There were piles of Telephony Magazines dating back to who knows when. There were drawers full of diagrams, schematics and instructions. There were phone books and advertising things. Again, it's hard to describe the contents of that office.

Just past the office door was the door leading outside. I stepped out into the sunlight. As far as I could see, going all the way back into the woods, was pole line equipment. There were thousands of insulators that looked like they were dumped there by a dump truck. There were telephone pole cross arms stacked in huge 20' X 20' blocks that were 6 ' high. There were dozens of wooden cable spools with old galvanized #9 wire on them. I walked down the gravel road into the woods. Parked in a clearing were old 1940's type telephone company trucks. There were line trucks, installer's trucks, splicer's trailers, pole trailers and so on. The trucks were still fully stocked with materials.

I hadn't looked in the barn yet, I was afraid to. It was huge. As I approached, it reminded me of a haunted house. The barn was three stories tall. I walked in the large double doorway and looked up. It was dark inside. I could see streaks of light coming from between gaps in the old siding. The entire inside structure of the barn was made out of telephone pole cross arms. Even the upper floors were cross arms lined up side by side. Just inside the big double door, to the left, was an indoor type oak telephone booth. Next to it were two outdoor pine telephone booths. The first floor was split into two sections with a wall between them. On the left side of the wall were things like "men working" signs, dozens of climbing belts hanging from hooks, bell system lanterns, peaveys, pole carriers, cant hooks, soldering pots, more signs, miscellaneous telephones, tools, tools and more tools. On the right side of the wall, was a stairway leading up to the second level.

As I ascended the stairs, straight ahead, I could see a section that was not telephone related. There were a lot of old bicycles and other things. There were boxes stacked all the way up to the bottom of the third floor. At the top of the stairs, I turned and looked behind me and saw dozens of large wooden crates with words written on them. I went to the first one. It said, "misc. workbench". I opened it . It looked like someone had roughly pushed everything off a display table at an antique telephone show, into the box. Other boxes read "302 body's, metal" or "hotel phones," or "transmitters and receivers," or "misc. shelves," and so on. Also, on the second floor were central office items like transformers, rectifiers, amplifiers, ring generators and all kinds of tube equipment. The list goes on and on.

All that was left was the third floor. I could see it, but there was no visible way to get up there. I spotted a 4' x 5' platform type thing hanging from a pulley that was attached to a track that extended the entire length of the barn at its peak. The platform was hanging all the way up, at the top of the barn. I followed the cable with my eyes all the way down to the level that I was standing on. There was a big-geared crank there. Using the crank, I lowered the platform down to my level. There was no way to crank myself up on that thing! This was turning into a quest! I went back down stairs and found the ladder department. I chose a solid oak lineman's model, a super long one, because there was a 15' gap between the second and third floors.

I climbed up the ladder. Guess what I found? That's right, more telephones! Hundreds of them! Mostly, there were 302's in boxes with dials and ringers. There were also Kellogg ashtray phones, Redbars, etc. The count on the third floor was in excess of 500 telephones. Most of them were equipped with dials.

Well, that's the end of this story. After all was said and done, the total count was over 1800 dial telephones, 600 wood magneto telephones and an unbelievable amount of parts and everything else you can imagine.

Every year, on Halloween night, I think about the great egg wars that led me to the "Antique Telephone Collectors Dream Come True."  

 

NOTE. This story took place over 30 years ago. This find changed my life. Shortly after, Don sold the Redwoods Telephone Company to a much larger independent company. Nothing in the warehouses was included in this sale. By the way, I did acquire most of those fifteen wooden outdoor booths when they were retired from service. It took me many years to go through this enormous amount of telephones and artifacts. At first, I made a lot of mistakes....big mistakes! I sold off or traded large numbers of telephones and parts to professional antique telephone dealers who knew a lot more than I did. I look at it now as my education. I thank them for helping to train me. Don still sits at the table in his kitchen drinking his coffee. He now owns banks. Since this story was written, I have found two more similar telephone warehouses that were not associated with the people in this story. They weren't quite as large, but just as much fun.

PS. Don passed away in 2010.

Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on March 21, 2013, 07:51:12 PM
Ron.... a warm welcome to the Forum. Anyone who has been collecting telephones awhile knows Ron or knows of Ron. One of the most amazing collection of telephones in housed in Ron's Museum. If you were in the ATCA for anytime in the past thirty years, you know Ron.

Great story Ron and thanks for sharing with us. Again,  welcome and do not be a stranger....Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: DavePEI on March 22, 2013, 10:09:45 PM
Quote from: 4123 on March 21, 2013, 06:57:09 PM
This story takes place in Oregon in the early 70's.

All I can say is WOW!, Ron!

Dave
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: AE_Collector on March 23, 2013, 01:09:58 AM
Yes, welcome Ron. I knew who it was as soon as I saw your "handle" 4123. Your stories are always so much fun for us phone collectors to read!

Terry
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Dennis Markham on March 23, 2013, 10:40:57 AM
Thank you for that post Ron.  Reading it was like reading a good book.  I couldn't wait to read the next line!  As Dave said, "Wow!"

I look forward to reading more from you in the future.

Welcome to the Forum!

~Dennis
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: WEBellSystemChristian on March 24, 2015, 09:54:09 AM
Does anyone mind if I restart this thread?

My biggest haul was last year, when I visited the home of a collector of all sorts of vintage things, who had recently passed away. The people working to take care of his possessions were going to throw most of this stuff away, but my Uncle (an attorney) was overseeing the estate. He mentioned to the people that I was interested in old phones, and they agreed that I can take most of the phone stuff away! When I got there, I was baffled at what I found! I was expecting a couple small boxes with maybe four or five phones total, not this! :o It took maybe an hour to load all of this stuff up. It was 4 or 5 degrees below zero, but I didn't care!

I made off with several gigantic boxes full of cheap '90s phone stuff, but the real prizes were in the 2nd picture. Everything (except for the 40AL on the scissors mount) was free. There was one phone in the 'cheap' box that didn't go to Goodwill or Salvation Army, and that was a mid-1980s ITT 2500 in black, and that's the Master Bedroom Daily Driver!

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=11036.0
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Greg G. on March 24, 2015, 12:37:13 PM
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on March 24, 2015, 09:54:09 AM
Does anyone mind if I restart this thread?

Not at all, no rules against that here.  Better to add to an old thread on the same subject than to start a new one.  I remember "back in the day" of rec.whatever lists people had a conniption fit about reviving old threads, but I never did understand why.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: HarrySmith on March 24, 2015, 12:51:00 PM
Nice haul!
So you have an extra scissors mount then?
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: WEBellSystemChristian on March 24, 2015, 01:04:53 PM
Quote from: HarrySmith on March 24, 2015, 12:51:00 PM
Nice haul!
So you have an extra scissors mount then?

Yep!

It's an AE. I think I tried to mount a WE20AL to it, and it actually fit!
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Greg G. on March 25, 2015, 11:55:08 AM
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on March 24, 2015, 09:54:09 AM

My biggest haul was last year, when I visited the home of a collector of all sorts of vintage things, who had recently passed away. The people working to take care of his possessions were going to throw most of this stuff away, but my Uncle (an attorney) was overseeing the estate. He mentioned to the people that I was interested in old phones, and they agreed that I can take most of the phone stuff away! When I got there, I was baffled at what I found! I was expecting a couple small boxes with maybe four or five phones total, not this! :o It took maybe an hour to load all of this stuff up. It was 4 or 5 degrees below zero, but I didn't care!

I made off with several gigantic boxes full of cheap '90s phone stuff, but the real prizes were in the 2nd picture. Everything (except for the 40AL on the scissors mount) was free. There was one phone in the 'cheap' box that didn't go to Goodwill or Salvation Army, and that was a mid-1980s ITT 2500 in black, and that's the Master Bedroom Daily Driver!

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=11036.0

Nice haul!  Did the dog come with it?
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Payphone installer on November 11, 2017, 08:21:26 AM
About 20 years ago prior to eBay the only access to old telephones and parts was hunting antique shows or the classified ads in the club newsletters. It was and still is important to talk to telephone collectors on the telephone. I and two other collectors were busy tracking down old payphone parts. One the collectors came across a guy who owned a telephone company up in NewYork. In the process of talking to his he stated he had a bunch of parts in a barn behind his house. We talked more to him and myself  and one other collector just decided to go there. We arrived visited for awhile and then walked into a shop inside a long wood barn. Everywhere were payphones and parts. All of it was the rarest of the rare. It turned out this independent company refurbished payphones and had a deal with a scrap guy who received what was supposed to be scrap from a Bell Telephone company. The scrap guy was funneling the stuff to this guy. 25 years before we arrived the operation was shut down because the guy who rebuilt the phones died. All the stuff had been there for years. We bought it all. It was the mother load. We hauled it back in a big truck and then sorted it for months. That is the story of one of my best finds. Jim
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Doug Rose on November 11, 2017, 08:37:10 AM
Jim....I love stories like that. Something you will never forget....thanks for sharing...Doug
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Contempra on November 11, 2017, 08:39:32 AM
For my part, it was the year spent at an antique dealer. there were 3. A 500 desk phone and the other two to be mounted on a wall. $ 20 each. all with a fingerwheel ...

PS : I still like this forum. :D
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: WEBellSystemChristian on November 11, 2017, 09:44:19 AM
Here's an attempt to restart this thread in it's new location.

My Dad used to be good friends with the guy who was in charge of disposing of everything from Wisconsin Bell. If a piece of equipment of any kind from Wisconsin Bell was tossed or recycled, it went to him. He had literally several warehouses stuffed with phones and equipment at any given time before he sent it out for scrap. He even drove an early '60s Econoline phone truck filled with phones. This was during the '70s and '80s, before, during, and after the breakup.  Just imagine what went through his hands!

He died sometime in the late '80s, so I never got a chance to meet him.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: AE_Collector on November 11, 2017, 11:46:41 AM
Just merged the two seperate "Killer Deal" topics back into one.

Bring on more Killer Deals!

Terry
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: kleenax on January 22, 2018, 09:21:42 AM
A lot of new collectors on here, so I will share (again) the largest find of phones I have personally ever found!
It was in an old, abandoned Railroad Depot in Montrose, Michigan, that was 40' x 80', and was FULL of phones and stuff! We estimated that there were more than 7000 to 8000 phones.
Photos show as it looked when we found it, and then after all of the sorting, etc was done, at an ENORMOUS telephone yard sale that I put on at the local church gymnasium in 2003. There is a GREAT story behind all of this that will be written up in the TCI newsletter.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Contempra on January 22, 2018, 10:07:36 AM
Wow !!!!! what a big find indeed !..
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: AE_Collector on January 22, 2018, 12:47:41 PM
Yes you were involved in sorting and selling for a long time in that one Ray. You probably still have boxes of parts from that find. I recall the picture of a group of 10 button AE 182/192 Starlite phones you found there.

Terry
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: 4123 on January 22, 2018, 12:57:04 PM
AN ANTIQUE TELEPHONE COLLECTORS DREAM COME TRUE   (A true story)
                                                        By Ron Christianson                             
   This story takes place in Oregon in the early 70's.  I was working for a small independent telephone company called "Redwoods Telephone Company." Redwoods was owned by one person, and served the small community of Cave Junction, population 490.  We were using an X Y switch at the time and almost everyone was on party lines with coded ringing.  Redwoods also served the surrounding area which is heavily wooded and has lots of mountains.
          It all started on Halloween night, when the local teenagers were having their annual rotten egg wars in front of the Dairy Queen. The next morning, the air was filled with the smell of rotten eggs up and down the main street in town. The kids were very thorough. It seemed like everything was hit including the three telephone booths located here and there within the city limits. The booths were the old green pine outdoor type with a four sided, pyramid shaped tin roof and bi-fold door with wire mesh safety glass. Inside each booth was a chrome Automatic Electric 3 slot pay station.
   I had been working for Redwoods for only a few months and one of my many duties was to be in charge of  all of the telephone booths in the valley. There were about fifteen of them. I did everything from cleaning and maintenance, to collecting, sorting, counting, keeping tract of and depositing all the money the booths made.
   One of the booths had been hit especially bad.  It was impossible to clean it with just a wet soapy rag like I did the other booths. I approached Don, the owner of the company and told him about my dilemma. Don not only owned several  telephone companies, he also owned the local cement and gravel company as well. He told me to go to the cement company's truck garage and find the portable steam cleaner that they used to clean the trucks.  The truck garage was actually a huge quansit hut. It was so big, that there was enough parking space for many cement mixer trucks inside. There was also a large office building inside....a building inside of a building!
   It took me awhile to find the portable steam cleaner.  When I did, I discovered that it was way too heavy to lift into the telephone company van by myself. I searched for a long board so I could roll the steam cleaner up into the van. I finally spotted a board sticking out from on top of the flat roof of the office building that was inside the bigger building. The next step was to find a ladder....I couldn't find one. I noticed some cubby holes that I could use as steps to climb to the top. Up I went.                                                                                                                                          When I stuck my head over the top,  my heart skipped a beat! I couldn't believe my eyes! There were old wood telephones up there! Hundreds of them! There were dozens of large piles! There were single box, double box and fiddle back telephones everywhere! The transmitters were pointing out at odd angles, and the hundreds of cloth cords looked like little snakes lying around. A pile in the far corner was over six feet high! The telephones were covered with a thick layer of dust, bird and mouse droppings and spider webs. Some had their doors open with bird nests built on top of magnetos. There was so much dust that everything looked grey. It was like a dream. As I was staring, I noticed many 202's, candlesticks, and other stuff  laced throughout the piles. I tried to take a quick mental inventory, but it was too  mind boggling!
   I must have them!  That was all I could think about.  I tried to keep my mind on my work for the next few days. But most of the time I spent trying to figure out how to approach Don and take possession of those telephones. I couldn't sleep, I lost my appetite and became very nervous, worrying that I would not be able to talk him out of them. Don was the type of man who didn't throw anything away. I mean he hung onto everything he ever owned!   I couldn't stand it any longer.  I finally went to talk to him.

   I was going to be very cool about the whole thing. You know, casually mention (with little interest) the fact that I found a lifetime supply of antique telephones on his property, and that I wouldn't mind moving all that old stuff out of there for him. It was all covered with dust and it was, in fact, a big fire hazard and a breeding ground for rodents.
   Don is a smart man. Besides running telephone companies and other businesses, he teaches business administration at the local college in Grants Pass. He wouldn't be easy to fool....I was desperate.  It was time to confront him.                                                                                                          I walked right up to him and blurted, "Hey Don, what are you going to do with all those telephones above the office at the gravel yard?" He looked at me and said, "I hadn't given it much thought, why?" I said, "Well, ya know, I've sorta been collecting old telephones for a while now, and I saw some up there that I would really like to have!" Darn! I thought. I shouldn't have said that! At best now, I might only get a few.  He said, "Come on up to the ranch one of these evenings, and we can talk about it." I wanted to say, "Let's talk about it now." Instead, I said "OK."
    Twenty eight hours later, I was knocking on his door. I was as nervous as a kid on his first date. He yelled from inside, "Come on in, Ron." We sat down at the table in the kitchen. He immediately started talking about the telephones, saying, "I was hoping that my kids would someday show some interest in all those old phones." I just sat there staring blankly. He said,"They are antiques now, you know?" I just continued staring, saying nothing. He said, "Now the kids are all grown up and have no interest in them, at all" I started to perk up. "Do you want a cup of coffee?" he said. "No." I said.  He stood up and went over to the stove and poured himself some coffee, and I just sat there staring. "Well, Ron." He said, "I'd really like to give them to you, but we have to make this a business transaction." My heart started thumping, and my eyes focussed directly on his. I couldn't say anything. " Do you have a place to store them?" I nodded yes. "I'll tell you what Ron, I'll sell you all the telephones above the gravel office, and all the telephones in the other two warehouses for one dollar each.
   I was trying to think!  Other two warehouses? This couldn't be true!  What two warehouses?    A dollar each?  What?  I looked at Don and said, "OK".     
   "I'll call Gary in the morning and tell him you will be coming in to pick up the telephones." I was trying to act calm.   "You may want to use the front end loader to get them down, that will probably make things easier...Do you know where the Old Stage Road or the Patton Bar Road warehouses are?" I gulped,"No." He told me how to get to the Old Stage warehouse and mentioned that there were "quite a few old wood telephones stored there along with the old Western Electric switchboards they used before installing the X Y switch at the Sunnyside Telephone Company."  "The Patton Bar warehouse contains mostly older central office stuff, but you may find some old telephones there too," he said.
   I said, "Thank you" and sort of floated out of his ranch house and back to my truck. I can't remember the drive home. I do remember barging through the front door of our house and yelling, "Olga, were rich!" (Telephone rich).
   I was at the gravel yard with my flatbed truck when Gary showed up for work. He unlocked the quansit hut and I raced in. I flew up the side of the office building so fast that I  overshot it and hit my head on one of the ceiling rafters of the larger building!  The telephones were still there. I didn't know where to start. As I started moving things around, the dust started flying. It got so bad that I was having trouble breathing. The smell of rodents was strong. Spider webs were sticking to my head. I loved it!
   The first problem was trying to get some of  the receivers and cords untangled. By then, Gary was there with the front end loader's bucket all the way up to the level where I was. He had climbed up in the bucket and was watching me.  He says, "here's a knife....cut em." I almost laughed, but I was choking on dust. We filled the bucket with the first load of telephones at about 9:00 A.M., the flatbed was full by noon. It took three trips with the truck filled to the brim each time. The count was more than three hundred complete telephones. There were two more warehouses to go!
   The Old Stage warehouse was another quansit hut, this time much smaller. Inside, there was the same musty smell that I experienced above the office the day before at the gravel yard. Telephones were everywhere. There were lots of 102's, 202's, ashtray phones, Leich's, A.E.'s, S.C.'s, etc. Each one with its own oak ringer box. There also were five Western Electric drop type magneto switchboards. And one very tall and narrow Kellogg drop type magneto switchboard with a hanging transmitter.    
   The Patton Bar warehouse was a little different. There were a dozen metal sided rotary dial cordboards with lights instead of drops. And, like Don said, there was a lot of C.O.equipment laying around....Getting rusty. It looked like someone had ransacked the place. Most of the gauges had been removed from the panels. There were no telephones....So far, the count was in excess of 600 telephones and 18 switchboards. I was overwhelmed.
   Now it was time to go back and deal with Don. He was sitting at his kitchen table drinking coffee. As soon as I walked in, he started talking about the telephone repair center he once operated until 1950, right there on his ranch. It had accommodated over 25 independent telephone companies in Southern Oregon. At the time, he was the president of the Independent Telephone Company Association. He then showed me his podium that they let him keep when he finally left office. It was made out of a tapered shaft candlestick that I could not identify....or have.   
   Don then pointed out the window to a very long blue building about one hundred yards from his house. There was a gravel road going between the building and a very large barn. He said, "That's the telephone repair center over there.You may as well go over there and dig around for parts. There's a room in the middle of the blue building where we used to rebuild dials. There are also crates full of transmitters and receivers and stuff like that. While you are at it, look in the barn. That's where we stored all the dial sets. They are  up on the third level."
   By now, I was getting used to this. I casually walked over to the blue building and went inside. There's that musty smell again. Just inside the door, on the right, were shelves from the floor to the ceiling filled with almost every type of Grey pay station imaginable. 23D's, Wannamakers, coin collectors attached to candlesticks and a lot of coin collectors with the side mount waiting to be attached to something. This was a whole new ball game! There were things hanging from the ceiling, laying on the floors and leaning against shelves that were filled with wondrous things that I couldn't yet see. It was hard to take. I had this thrilled feeling that wouldn't stop. I felt like a human Pogo stick, jumping around trying to take it all in. I looked to the left. There were more of the same kind of shelves. On them were porcelain signs. Most of them were Bell System signs . There was an unopened box that read, "One gross. Type 26  booth signs." There were stacks of flanged signs, big signs, little signs, Pacific Northwest Bell signs, Associated Telephone signs, Sunnyside Telephone signs, West coast Telephone signs, and so on.
    I went further in. I came to a door on the left. I opened it, and entered. My nose was immediately hit with the smell of old machine oil. This was the dial room. The room was about 10' x 16' and had a smooth workbench around the entire perimeter. Pushed under the workbench were three old oak, caned operators chairs. Above the workbench were more shelves. There was another door at the end of the room that led to what appeared to be some kind of washing room with large tubs. There were steel grate-like things that were to be lowered into the tubs.
I started to look at the shelves in the first room. Needless to say, they were bulging with dials. There were shallow boxes full of dials that read things like, "Western Electric Type 2 unwashed, Type 2 washed, Type 2 cleaned-assembled-tested good, Type 4....etc., Type 5....etc.,  Automatic Electric Type 24....etc., Stroger 2 1/2"...etc. Stromberg Carlson...etc, Kellogg etc.etc.etc.  There was one corner that must have been the assembly spot. There were boxes full of number card holders, number cards, Celluloids, and other things. I had to sit down and take a breather! The operators chair creaked as I sat in it. I felt good.
   There is no way I can describe to you, all the contents of that building. I'll just give you a few examples. There were one hundred pound boxes full of complete transmitter arms, receivers, ringers, magnetos, mouthpieces and bells.  I found a box full of "Flint Sanitary" glass mouthpieces...all but one were broken. There were outdoor skeleton bells, parts for booths, roofs for booths, wire mesh glass panels for booths, bi-fold doors for booths, and much more.
   I finally worked my way back to what appeared to be the office. I stepped inside. Lined up across the back wall were complete sets of catalogues from Western Electric, Kellogg, Stromberg Carlson, Automatic Electric, Graybar, and others. There were piles of Telephony Magazines dating back to who knows when. There were drawers full of diagrams, schematics and instructions.There were phone books and advertising things. Again, it's hard to describe the contents of that office.   
   Just past the office door was the door leading outside. I stepped out into the sunlight. As far as I could see, going all the way back into the woods, was pole line equipment. There were thousands of insulators that looked like they were dumped there by a dump truck. There were telephone pole cross arms stacked in huge 20' X 20' blocks that were 6 ' high. There were dozens of wooden cable spools with old galvanized #9 wire on them. I walked down the gravel road into the woods. Parked in a clearing were old 1940's type telephone company trucks. There were line trucks, installer's trucks, splicer's trailers, pole trailers and so on. The trucks were still fully stocked with materials.
   I hadn't looked in the barn yet, I was afraid to. It was huge. As I approached, it reminded me of a haunted house. The barn was three stories tall. I walked in the large double doorway and looked up. It was dark inside. I could see streaks of light coming from between gaps in the old siding. The entire inside structure of the barn was made out of telephone pole cross arms. Even the upper floors were cross arms lined up side by side. Just inside the big double door, to the left, was an indoor type oak telephone booth. Next to it were two outdoor pine telephone booths. The first floor was split into two sections with a wall between them. On the left side of the wall were things like "men working" signs, dozens of climbing belts hanging from hooks, bell system lanterns, peaveys, pole carriers, cant hooks, soldering pots, more signs, miscellaneous telephones, tools, tools and more tools. On the right side of the wall, was a stairway leading up to the second level.
   As I ascended the stairs, straight ahead, I could see a section that was not telephone related. There were a lot of old bicycles and other things. There were  boxes stacked all the way up to the bottom of the third floor. At the top of the stairs, I turned and looked behind me and saw dozens of large wooden crates with words written on them. I went to the first one. It said, "misc. workbench". I opened it . It looked like someone had roughly pushed everything off a display table at an antique telephone show, into the box. Other boxes read "302 body's, metal" or "hotel phones," or "transmitters and receivers," or "misc. shelves," and so on.  Also, on the second floor were central office items like transformers,  rectifiers, amplifiers, ring generators and all kinds of tube equipment.  The list goes on and on.
   All that was left was the third floor. I could see it, but there was no visible way to get up there. I spotted a 4' x 5' platform type thing hanging from a  pulley that was attached to a track that extended the entire length of the barn at its peak. The platform was hanging all the way up, at the top of the barn. I followed the cable with my eyes all the way down to the level that I was standing on. There was a big geared crank there. Using the crank, I lowered the platform down to my level. There was no way  to crank myself up on that thing!  This was turning into a quest!  I went back down stairs and found the ladder department. I chose a solid oak lineman's model, a super long one, because there was a 15' gap between the second and third floors.
   I climbed up the ladder. Guess what I found?  That's right, more telephones!  Hundreds of them!  Mostly, there were 302's in boxes with dials and ringers. There were also Kellogg ashtray phones,  redbars, etc. The count on the third floor was in excess of 500 telephones. Most of them were equipped with dials.
   Well, that's the end of this story. After all was said and done,  the total count was over 1500 telephones, and an unbelievable amount of parts and everything else you can imagine.
   Every year, on Halloween night, I think about the great egg wars that led me to the "Antique Telephone Collectors Dream Come True."




NOTE. This story took place nearly 40 years ago. This find changed my life. Shortly after, Don sold the Redwoods Telephone Company to a much larger independent company. Nothing in the warehouses was included in this sale. By the way, I did acquire most of those fifteen wooden outdoor booths when they were retired from service. It took me many years to go through this enormous amount of telephones and artifacts. At first, I made a lot of mistakes....big mistakes! I sold off or traded  large numbers of telephones and parts to professional antique telephone dealers who knew a lot more than I did. I look at it now as my education. I thank them for helping to train me.  Don passed away about 5 years ago. Since this story was written, I have found two more similar telephone warehouses that were not associated with the people in this story. They weren't quite as large, but just as much fun.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: AE_Collector on January 22, 2018, 01:22:18 PM
Lots of great reminders of some of the largest and best telephone finds ever here on CRPF today! Great to see you back here Ron and Ray.

Of course, one of my favourites from Ray is this find:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=5639.0

Terry
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: kleenax on January 22, 2018, 01:33:33 PM
Ron, in regards to your post about Redwood Telephone Co:

I was inspired to start actively searching out old phones after reading your story many years ago!  You the man! ;-)
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: HarrySmith on January 22, 2018, 01:54:07 PM
Amazing story Ron. Can I ask what you ended up paying Don for all that stuff? Just $1 per phone?
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: 4123 on January 22, 2018, 02:09:40 PM
Yup!  $1 per telephone.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: kleenax on January 22, 2018, 02:28:08 PM
As an addendum to my #94 post on the Montrose Train Depot find: Hopefully, you can see the Google links that I placed below.

That day of the Church gymnasium sale, a very tall, elderly gentleman came in and stated to me: "hell, I've more and better phones than this!" And keep in mind, that was 2004, and all I managed to get was his name and give him my phone number; that's it. I would later find out that he was the business partner of the man that had filled the Train Depot.

Now, Flash forward to 2014, and he actually CALLED me! He was now 94 yrs old, and said he was finally ready to get rid of his phone hoard.

I got 4 full-size pick-up truck loads of payphones and LOTS of other phones from him! 39 payphones, and the "newest" one was 1959! 50 WE 102's, 54 - WE 202's, ......

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/100244066488499036666/album/AF1QipMTgJjpum_8zQ4IpIma6TvRB7a4WXh3mfcngK3W
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/100244066488499036666/album/AF1QipMponbQ8z2NYldXPsGQ28F8F7FnM1KWgDxXDKz9
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Jim Stettler on January 22, 2018, 03:36:58 PM
Ron and Ray,
I am familiar with both your stories over the years and shared them with other collectors,
I am glad that you both have  narrated your finds on the killer deals thread.
Great deals all around.
Happy Collecting and thanks for sharing,
Jim S.
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: HarrySmith on January 22, 2018, 03:53:13 PM
Quote from: 4123 on January 22, 2018, 02:09:40 PM
Yup!  $1 per telephone.

WOW! Amazing! Did you get all the parts for $1 each also?
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Slal on January 23, 2018, 10:19:10 PM
Quote from: 4123 on March 21, 2013, 06:57:09 PM"I'll tell you what Ron, I'll sell you all the telephones above the gravel office, and all the telephones in the other two warehouses for one dollar each."

That is amazing!  Significantly puts things in financial perspective.  My entire AE collection is worth nine dollars.  O_o !

Throw WE into it and the whole shootin' match is worth 20 bucks!

Mr. Christianson, you have my gratitude.  If you're ever in the San Antonio Texas send me a mail and dinner is on me.

With respect,

--Bruce Edward Bocquin
Title: Re: What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location
Post by: Key2871 on March 20, 2018, 01:47:46 PM
What a great find you guys have had...
I remember I had a couple, in about a two month span. It was about 15+ years ago. I was looking at yard sales in the local paper, and happened to see one advertising a telephone system, so I thought my wife and I would go take a look.
I had been looking for an affordable 1A2 Key System, maybe with some phones. Well That's what it was, an ITT 501, with a 207C rotary intercom inside, and it included about 20 or 30 mostly 831 sets. I was in heaven, just what I've been looking for, but what was the price?

I asked one of the nice guys running it, (oh it was a benefit yard sale, to raise money for a charity.) Anyway, I said how much for the telephone system?, And are all the phones included? Make me an offer he said, I thought boy for this amount of phones and a great system... I thought he would want a lot of money. So I said take $20.00 for it? He said... SURE! I darn near jumped. Then he started yelling to all his other people I sold the telephone system.. For $20.00!! And every one cheered.
I couldn't believe my luck, I have been making what amounted to 1A systems for a while, all the time improving it, but wanting a REAL key system.

Well I got it home, all the wires were cut (of course) But a few feet of 25 pair, and punch tool got the key system part working, on to the rotary dial intercom. It took a while to figure it out, but got that working too.

Well a month goes by, and I want more phones, touchtone would be great I thought. So I called a telephone company near by, I had bought a 564 from a few years before. I was told by the gent on the phone, he was in the process of selling out, and I said well I'm interested in some 1A2 key stuff, to that he replied oh I have that stuff in a warehouse and don't even do anything with it anymore. What did you want? He said, I'm looking for phones I said... A bit of quiet, and he said tell you what Since I'm outta here in a few weeks, and I know the company buying mine doesn't want any of that old stuff, Ill make you a deal. Ill sell you everything I have. I said how much, another quiet moment $200.00 he said. I thought for a bit and said how many phones and parts?
I said, A LOT he said, I stared off this company installing and repairing that equipment, so its fifteen plus years of stuff. I asked where it was located, he said a storage place in Meredith. He said when you coming to get it...  I said let me talk with my boss about some time off and Ill  get back with you in an hour.

I talked with my wife, and then decided we could go on vacation The following week, so I called the guy back and said Monday, next week. He said good, because I'm closing that week, so I won't even mention that stuff. So Monday morning comes, I'm excited as a kid in a toy store, I had a big mini van and was trying to decide to take it the seats in the back. Well I'm glad I did, because I filled it to the brim. I don't think I could have fit another set in there.
I ended up with over two hundred 10 button desk sets, wall sets. Some 554's and 2554's the six button sets amounted to around 75 or 80.
Brand new sets KSU's and parts coming out the windows of my basement.

The bumper or my mini van was dragging on the road every little bump I hit. What wasn't good for whole sets, I parted out. Made several dozen good phones, and offered them to the ATCA crew, Cheap. Because I was so inundated with equipment I just wanted to dwindle the pile as quick as I could.
I still have parts from that hoard, the cream of the crop. It was a LOT of work cleaning and listing and packing the phones. But what a BLAST!