Info on several phones

[ken g]

I recently bought a collection of phones . I have done some research on these but have not found much . The collectors here can probably tell me more .  What i would like to know is the aprox. age and value of each phone .

This one looks all original . Can one get a replacement decal for this ?


This one i found a pic. of one alot like it but it has a dial . I believe this was original all painted black . This one shows evidence of had been painted white . Someone in the past had removed all the paint . The image online showed this phone turned around with the wood box at the bottom .
This phone looks like it was made this way due to paint in places by a paintbrush that could not have happened if it were built like the online image .


This looks like part of something else ?


This one i saw one other image provided by a member of the antique radio forum but it had a dial on it ( that i think was added )

[poplar1]

The "apartment house telephone" was manufactured by Western Electric around 1916-1930. If you rotate the phone 180 degrees, then the wood box 180 degrees, then the holes will still line up, the paint brush marks will be the same, but the phone will now be at the top and the box at the bottom.

[Greg G.]

The "apartment house telephone" was manufactured by Western Electric around 1916-1930. If you rotate the phone 180 degrees, then the wood box 180 degrees, then the holes will still line up, the paint brush marks will be the same, but the phone will now be at the top and the box at the bottom.

Like this one, except this has an AE dial which I keep meaning to replace with a correct WE dial but haven't yet.  It looks like somebody switched the box and phone of Ken's phone around to suit their own tastes.  I have to say they did a good job of removing the paint, I rather like the looks of the bare wood.  Value depends on who's buying it.  Physically it appears to be in good shape, but it's not oriented in the original manner, although it appears that it could be corrected w/o much problem.  The phone can be made to function, but the box would be a problem because they were intended to "buzz" certain things or people, for example mine has 3 buttons marked "Door Latch", "Manager", and "Janitor", but only the first and last one were made to function, the middle one has a blank.  If you're an electronic wiz, the box could possibly do something if you wanted to put some time and effort into it.  Are the schematics inside?

[Sargeguy]

On some models there was a switch on the front to change between inside and outside lines.  Yours has a blank.   The whole thing would have been painted black.

[HarrySmith]

Nice phones!
Welcome to the forum

[ken g]

Thanks for the info on the one appartment house phone . I turned the copper box around along with the lable  & tags .

By the looks of the number of 'looks' and the replys , The other phones i posted must not be any good and none of it is of any value . Saying '' they are worth what someone will pay '' does not help me and indicates '' worthless''  . I guess just mount them to an old door and let kids play with them .

[Greg G.]

Thanks for the info on the one appartment house phone . I turned the copper box around along with the lable  & tags .

By the looks of the number of 'looks' and the replys , The other phones i posted must not be any good and none of it is of any value . Saying '' they are worth what someone will pay '' does not help me and indicates '' worthless''  . I guess just mount them to an old door and let kids play with them .

Not worthless, I just meant collectors are harder to please than non-collectors, and therefore usually don't pay as much.  More pictures of the insides would help, including the receiver, and whether or not the phone functions (not usually a big issue, they're not hard to get working and you'll find plenty of help here).  You can get a general idea of what similar phones sell for by doing a search on ebay.  I've kept a few examples.  Prices can fluctuate.  I remember a few years ago these phones took off in price because somebody posted a picture of how nice they can look when meticulously restored.  Note:  These examples may not be the exact same model or have the exact same parts, e.g. one has a bulldog transmitter, another has the switch at the bottom that was mentioned, another with an AE dial like mine.  They're also a bit dated, I've had these a couple of years. 

I know nothing of the other phones in your collection, don't even know who they are made by, except that the first and last one look to be European.

[Sargeguy]

The JYDSK is worth around $100 on a good day.
The Stromberg-Carlson looks like it is in good shape with intact paint, so probably $75-125.
The last phone I do not know, probably not that much.

[ken g]

Thank you !! That is what i wanted to know . Seems the top phone would be worth more but guess its a common phone . 

Also thanks for the info on the apartment phone . All the ones shown here have a dial as mine has none . Behind the blank plate and the plugged off side buttons are cut wires . It would be nice to find the missing parts but probably not possible and sence its been stripped of paint also , its probably not worth much now . 

[Greg G.]

Thank you !! That is what i wanted to know . Seems the top phone would be worth more but guess its a common phone . 

Also thanks for the info on the apartment phone . All the ones shown here have a dial as mine has none . Behind the blank plate and the plugged off side buttons are cut wires . It would be nice to find the missing parts but probably not possible and sence its been stripped of paint also , its probably not worth much now .

You can always repaint it, that won't detract from the value.  I didn't notice the lack of a dial, not even a dial blank.  I found a few in the sold listings on ebay, apparently it's a 533A: http://tinyurl.com/nvdytgg, but none of the examples are apartment phones.  If you post a picture of the inside of the phone, we can analyze it more.  You'll also find the model number and schematics on the inside, provided someone didn't destroy them when they "brassed" it out.  Just loosen that screw in front and the cover swings open.

[Matilo Telephones]

That last telephone is an ATEA CB telephone type 40.

http://www.kulentuur.be/ateamuseum/atea_op_internet/telefoons_jan/1940_localbattery.htm

[Jack Ryan]

That last telephone is an ATEA CB telephone type 40.

A typo Arwin, it is LB as you correctly pointed out in your link.

ATEA was a part of the Automatic Electric group at that time.

Jack

[Matilo Telephones]

Drat, yes. Sorry for that. LB

[ken g]

More good info , thanks !  My apartment phone is looking like more of a put together made for a certain use back then . Who knows . I kinda like it like it is but if its a real example and not a ''frankenphone'' it will be worth the time to restore it . I will try to get more pictures on . I would like to find the missing buttons & the front switch .