English Telephone Co Ltd ?

[FABphones]

I can find no trace/mention of 'English Telephone Co Ltd' (image below).

Does anyone here have any info?

Thanks.

[Jack Ryan]

I know very little about it except that it was a rental company that used to rent German telephones in the UK. Your phone was, however, made by Ericsson (by the look of the number).

It was (eventually) one of Shipton's trading names, Modern Telephones was another.

Andrew Emmerson just bought an English Telephone Co catalogue and I guess that makes him the expert on the subject.

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/E._Shipton_and_Co

Regards
Jack

[tubaman]

As Jack has said it's an Ericsson made phone. The N1900 is one of their versions of the GPO 706 - https://www.britishtelephones.com/ericsson/n1900.htm
Did you buy the phone, as I saw one just like that on eBay recently (probably the same one) and was tempted just by the fact it had the English Telephone Company marking.

[FABphones]

I know very little about it except that it was a rental company that used to rent German telephones in the UK. Your phone was, however, made by Ericsson (by the look of the number).

It was (eventually) one of Shipton's trading names, Modern Telephones was another....

Thanks for that Jack, I couldn't find any reference to English Telephone Co Ltd online. Bit obscure.

It is an Éricsson phone, early 706 type with the '#12' Chevron dial. The stamp was what drew me to it as don't see many (in my case, any) of those.

From the link:
...Colin Wills of a private company, the English Telephone Co, had an ambition to amalgamate many of the small telephone companies into one dynamic enterprise. In 1960, Edward Shipton decided to retire and sold his shares to Colin Wills'.

Thanks for the help rediscovering this piece of telephone history.

Regards.

[FABphones]

...Did you buy the phone, as I saw one just like that on eBay recently (probably the same one) and was tempted just by the fact it had the English Telephone Company marking.

Your post came in as I was typing the above. It is the same one. Was on the lookout for one of these early Chevron models, the not so common stamp on the bottom was a bonus.

...Plus I just can't resist bringing grubby old discarded phones back to their former glory. Cleaning this one up and having a look around it will be fun. 

[tubaman]

Well done - the chevron No 12 type dials are not easy to find. Looks like it has domed feet as well - another sign that it's quite early.
Look forward to seeing it all cleaned up.

[Jack Ryan]

I recently saw a phone sell at auction that was marked "The Ericsson-Bell Telephone Company". I had to hunt that one down but it turns out that it supplied the Glasgow Corporation Telephone Co (and others) before it was absorbed into the National and GPO.

The phone is rare and the colour red is like hen's teeth.

Sadly, I couldn't afford the telephone (hammer price UKP 15,500 + buyer's premium + tax) but I saved the pictures.

Regards
Jack

[.....]

I recently saw a phone sell at auction that was marked "The Ericsson-Bell Telephone Company". I had to hunt that one down but it turns out that it supplied the Glasgow Corporation Telephone Co (and others) before it was absorbed into the National and GPO.

The phone is rare and the colour red is like hen's teeth.

Sadly, I couldn't afford the telephone (hammer price UKP 15,500 + buyer's premium + tax) but I saved the pictures.

Regards
Jack

Now that's a unique telephone. Thanks for sharing.