Stats Telefonen German Telephone

[Doug Rose]

I always thought this was a super tough phone to get. I have only seen cracked and damaged ones on eBay. I just got it for $45 and he lives in the same town I do. NO SHIPPING!! I'm getting it tonight. Am I wrong abut this phone? I was certainly surprised I was the only bidder. Handset might be wrong, looks an AE.  Any ideas??.....Doug

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170937010192

[LarryInMichigan]

I saw that this morning.  I didn't know if if was worth much, and it is rather ugly.  I am guessing that it is actually Danish, not German.  It looks like it has an AE handset. 

After a few bad experiences, I have decided to try to avoid buying items which are listed with only tiny pictures.  I cannot understand why so many people post miniature pictures like this one: http://www.recycler.com/details/18674944/vintage-telephone.  I asked for a larger picture of the WE wall phone, and the seller told me that she does not have one.  I didn't think that any digital cameras output such small images.

Larry

[twocvbloke]

I didn't think that any digital cameras output such small images.

Larry

Ones from the 1990s do...

[Doug Rose]

This is the handset I am looking for. I know its a longshot, but if you have one, message me....Doug

[dsk]

It is a very special design, but I believe it is Danish. I'm not sure when the Germans started to say Telefon, They used their own translation: fernsprecher (fern =far away sprecher = speaker)
Telefon is common for Sweden, Denmark, and Norway too.

dsk

[paul-f]

This is the handset I am looking for. I know its a longshot, but if you have one, message me....Doug

I thought that photo looked familiar.  I posted that one on the internet in 2008 when asking for info on a phone I was providing as a movie prop at the time.  I got it at an antique mall in New Hampshire.  It's in perfect condition with nice black cloth cords.  I especially like the dial, as the whole top including the number plate turns with the fingerwheel.

Here's the response I got from a European collector:

> This is a Danish phone.
>
> I was made by "Telefonfabrik Automatic" in Copenhagen. The model is
> 1936 as the year it was introduced. In Denmark it was the first "all
> bakelite"
> model
> not used by the Copenhagen Telephone Company (KTAS), but most by a "FKT"
> and
> "Statstelefonen"  smaller telephone companies in Denmark. The
> production ended during WW2 because of lack of materials. Your
> particular one was used by "Statstelefonen" who operated in the
> southern part of Jutland. They had "Standard Electric" automatic
> rotary 7A and 7D exchanges up until about 1975.
>
> The 1936 model was not very popular because of the design. If you
> dropped in the floor it broke completely.

I don't have a spare handset.  You might try some of the European collector sites.  There are links on the club sites and TCI Library.

- - - - -

Regarding the 320 x 240 photo -- it's standard QVGA resolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_display_resolution).

My first digital camera was tethered to a tower computer, as most of the logic was on a large plug-in card inside the computer.  It was made by Intel and its maximum resolution was 320 x 240.  (Yes there were lower resolution modes.)  That was in the early 1990s.  Some of the early photos on my site were taken with that camera.  It was a real challenge to frame everything and light it properly, so no cropping was necessary.  There wasn't a pixel to spare!

More recently, it's been a popular resolution for low quality video clips posted on blog sites.

[twocvbloke]

My first digital camera was inside a mobile phone...

Still, I have the mother's old Casio camera, it takes at most 640x480, minuscule compared to today's cameras...

[paul-f]

old Casio camera, it takes at most 640x480, minuscule compared to today's cameras...

That's VGA.  For those who like to see things in chart form, I found this entertaining "summary" presentation...

[Doug Rose]

Paul/DSK...you are correct, it is Danish as the handset I am looking for is an exact match to a KTAS phone I have. Both phones have the moving dial plate. If anyone has  a handset, message me....thanks...Doug

[Doug Rose]

I got to work on the phone today and it is really quite cool. It is all bakelite including the base. With the high cradle, I will need to find the correct handset as the AE fits, but doesn't look quite right. It is a working phone. I am baffled how to open the phone. After cleaning it I could not figure out how to open it. I removed every screw I cold see and the base still hung on tight. It is really in perfect condition so I do not want to damage the bakelite. Bakelite is beautiful and has a great shine to it. This had been opened recently as it has a cheap modular line cord and the AE handset!! I'm off to Maine tomorrow, so it will have to wait another week....Doug

[teka-bb]

Hello Doug,

I may have one and will look when I get home from the US.

Shipping to you will be high but I will be returnig to the US in the future and others will visit me that can take it to the US and ship it to you.
It does mean you won't get it soon.

Let me know in case you want me to look for one when I get home.

[Doug Rose]

Hello Doug,

I may have one and will look when I get home from the US.

Shipping to you will be high but I will be returning to the US in the future and others will visit me that can take it to the US and ship it to you.
It does mean you won't get it soon.

Let me know in case you want me to look for one when I get home.

Remco ...I would LOVE to get the handset. When you get home message me for the price and shipping. Any idea how to open this bad boy. I removed every screw I could see, got the top off with the loop, but the the base stays secure to the shell......many thanks....Doug

[teka-bb]

Hi Doug,

You should be able to take the cover off the phone by removing the 2 screws that hold the little top 'hatch' with the loop.

I recently opened one of these telephones at the JKL museum and the 2 screws were all I needed to remove to get it open.

[AE_Collector]

When are you heading home Remco? Time for your fun to end just like mine did almost a week ago.

Terry

[teka-bb]

I regret having to leave November 15 from LAX.
But it has been great fun.
I will post pictures of some of the phone stuff we saw when I get home.