Auction 87: Western Electric 30A (?) 100 Station Peg Dialer from 1902-1904

[AE_Collector]

Let's try this as Auction Contest #87.

Rare-Western-Electric-Pin-hole-telephone-oak-phone-part

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230959455109

I am not sure exactly what it is but I am guessing it is either an Intercom capable of up to 100 stations OR something WECo made to compete with the guys who were trying to compete with the Bell System (patents)! Does anyone have a better description of what the heck it is?

Will it go for $15, $150, $1500 or $15,000 (or somewhere in between)?

Get your bids in by 6PM (ish) in North American time zones April 10, the day before the auction finishes on April 11. Try to leave roughly 5% breathing room either side of existing bids.

Terry

S C O R E B O A R D
$328.46 - Brinybay
$785.00 - AE_Collector
$925.00 - TelePlay   WINNER (Item Sold for $910.00)
$980.00 - K1WI
$1100.00 - Russ Kirk
$1250.00 - wds
$1500.00 - twocvbloke
$1750.00 - Mr. Bones
$2008.00 - MagicMo
$3000.00 - Sareguy
$7500.01 - HarrySmith

[TelePlay]

My guess will be $925 and I hope someone explains to us what this is and how it is used . . .

[wds]

I'll guess $1250

[Mr. Bones]

I'll toss my hat into the ring at $1750.00, for what it's worth.

Best regards!

[MagicMo]

My dart landed on $2008.00
Mo

[Mr. Bones]

My dart landed on $2008.00
Mo

Lol! Darn! Wish I could find my dad-ratted Pop-O-Matic!!!

[Sargeguy]

If I recall correctly, these were experimental sets used somewhere in New York State (?)  I think there is info on the candlestick version on the web someplace, but 15 minutes of furious Googling revealed nothing.
My uneducated guess?....$3000? 

[HarrySmith]

I asked on the lists about it and I was told it is a very rare Western Electric peg dialer intercom. I was also told all the dial guts are missing and would be impossible to replace.
My guess is $7500.01

[K1WI]

$980

[Greg G.]

$328.46

[Greg G.]

I asked on the lists about it and I was told it is a very rare Western Electric peg dialer intercom. I was also told all the dial guts are missing and would be impossible to replace.
My guess is $7500.01

Anybody know what the dial guts consisted of?  Any docs on this thing at all?  Impossible to even make some non-functioning parts just for looks?

[paul-f]

There are some photos showing the missing external parts in:

 100 Years of Bell Telephones, Mountjoy, p. 130
 Telephones: Antique to Modern, Dooner, p. 57
 The Telephone Connection, Dommers, p. 50

It's also worth checking early WE catalogs and Ron Knappen's compendium.

[Russ Kirk]

$1100

[AE_Collector]

There are some photos showing the missing external parts in:

  100 Years of Bell Telephones, Mountjoy, p. 130
  Telephones: Antique to Modern, Dooner, p. 57
  The Telephone Connection, Dommers, p. 50

It's also worth checking early WE catalogs and Ron Knappen's compendium.

Do any of these have a better ID or name for this phone?

Terry

[twocvbloke]

Dunno what it is, how it works or how it's used, but, I'll bid $1500, hoping that's at least 5% of breathing space between wds and Mr. Bones' bids cos my maths are useless beyond additions and subtractions...