My find of the day. Bronze Bell Canada Sign.

..... · April 21, 2017, 12:56:21 PM

My find of the day. This Bronze Sign came off the Bell Canada Central Office Building In Belleville, Ontario. It weighs in at 35 LBS.
The fellow I got it from took the personalized plaque off and was going to remove the frame and clean the brass. I got it before he started to clean it, thank god.

mentalstampede · April 21, 2017, 01:16:50 PM

Very nice! I'm glad you got it before the seller had a chance to take it apart.

Ktownphoneco · April 21, 2017, 01:40:33 PM

Nice find Doug ! Bell were really big on brass signs and plaques, and even though they were all over the place at one time, they're hard to find nowadays. Definitely a "lucky" acquisition.

Jeff

..... · April 21, 2017, 01:47:51 PM

Quote from: Ktownphoneco on April 21, 2017, 01:40:33 PM
Nice find Doug ! Bell were really big on brass signs and plaques, and even though they were all over the place at one time, they're hard to find nowadays. Definitely a "lucky" acquisition.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

What year do you think it is? I believe 1950's. I'm trying to guess what the value of it would be. Definitely more then I paid for it, I hope.

CDN Doug

..... · April 21, 2017, 04:19:21 PM

I took the back off the frame to see if there were any dates. Nope, nothing there. I did notice that one corner of the sign, the stud had to be cut off to remove it from the wall. There is still a little piece of cement stuck in that corner. I did put it back into the frame to keep it just the way I bought it.

Ktownphoneco · April 21, 2017, 04:26:32 PM

Doug ... It's an old brass name plate, but exactly how old is hard to determine. The name changed from the Bell Telephone Company of Canada to simply Bell Canada in 1968, so it's at least that old. But Bell usually installed a brass name plate when the building was fully completed and employees started to occupy the building, so if you can find out when the building was officially opened, it's probably going to be a good indicator of the age of the name plate. You might visit the building and see if there's a corner stone. If so, it will quite likely have the date on it. If not, city hall should have a historical record of the premises, and the County Registry Office will have paper work or a digital record of when the building was built.
Value : It's definitely a valuable piece of history, and if nothing else, there's a few dollars in brass involved.

Jeff

Ktownphoneco · April 21, 2017, 04:29:44 PM

Doug ... The frame is a "LOT" newer than the brass name plate. By the way, the fellow who was awarded the name plate on his retirement, died in February of this year. Didn't take the family long to start unloading Keith Elliott's collectibles.

Jeff

..... · April 21, 2017, 04:50:46 PM

Thanks for the info Jeff, I checked it out and now I can put a face to the name. I see from the inscription on the name tag that his brother Bruce worked for Bell as well. Here is his obituary, May he rest in peace.

Russ Kirk · April 21, 2017, 06:43:33 PM

That sign is a real treasure! It would be nice to keep the obit with the sign, maybe tape it to the back.

..... · April 22, 2017, 07:49:35 PM

Gave the plaque a little clean up. Removed the remnants of some dried cleaning paste someone used in an attempt to clean it.
I used a toothbrush, water and a damp cloth with good results. Some before and after pictures.

Payphone installer · April 23, 2017, 10:30:15 AM

I collect these signs,that is a hard one to find.

..... · April 23, 2017, 01:08:32 PM

Quote from: Payphone installer on April 23, 2017, 10:30:15 AM
I collect these signs,that is a hard one to find.

How about posting some pictures of yours. I would love to see some different ones.

19and41 · April 24, 2017, 08:19:35 PM

That is quite a find! Congratulations!

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My find of the day. Bronze Bell Canada Sign.