News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

Against-All-Odds Finds- Our Best Finds saved from possible Death

Started by WEBellSystemChristian, November 26, 2014, 08:49:16 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

WEBellSystemChristian

I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread dedicated to some of our greatest phone-related finds from some of the most unbelievable places, such as KWilder's Aqua WE Mushroom found in the trash! What are the odds that a truly rare treasure like that was found and saved just days before it could have been thrown in a junk yard?!?

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13111

You don't have to nominate your own find for this thread, just one on this forum that you think was an incredible find saved from being destroyed or junked.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

1954NE500

I saved a VERY RARE Northern Electric rose beige 500 from June, 1958 in the winter of 2003 from the jaws of death from a local thrift store which is very notorious for destroying rare vintage electronics.
It is the ONLY KNOWN rose beige Northern Electric 500 in Canada.
They destroyed some very rare vintage TVs including a 1968-69 Philco 23 inch color TV with legs which is very, very rare and also a very rare store tube tester as well from the 1950's/1960's, which they totally smashed which could have been worth over $200.

WesternElectricBen

Quote from: 1954NE500 on November 27, 2014, 10:17:47 PM
I saved a VERY RARE Northern Electric rose beige 500 from June, 1958 in the winter of 2003 from the jaws of death from a local thrift store which is very notorious for destroying rare vintage electronics.
It is the ONLY KNOWN rose beige Northern Electric 500 in Canada.
They destroyed some very rare vintage TVs including a 1968-69 Philco 23 inch color TV with legs which is very, very rare and also a very rare store tube tester as well from the 1950's/1960's, which they totally smashed which could have been worth over $200.
I'm guessing it's also the only known 1958 Rose Beige ever produced, too. :)

Ben

jsowers

Please post pictures. We'd like to see that rose beige phone and anything else anyone rescues.
Jonathan

WEBellSystemChristian

Quote from: Dan/Panther on November 28, 2014, 02:09:55 PM
I don't know if this qualifies, as it wasn't destined to the trash, but it was rescued.

D/P


I would absolutely say that it qualifies! If someone who knew nothing about field trial 500s or someone who saw no value in that phone would throw it away in a heartbeat!
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

TelePlay

This seems to be a parallel topic to one started seven months ago now with 5 pages of "rescued" phones, with both before and after photos . .

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=11814.0

   . . . unless the intent of this topic was to be for only those phones actually found in a trash can in relatively good condition (with only normal wear and tear) and if not spotted and retrieved would really be in a landfill right now.

Any thoughts?

WEBellSystemChristian

#6
Quote from: TelePlay on November 28, 2014, 03:20:30 PM
This seems to be a parallel topic to one started seven months ago now with 5 pages of "rescued" phones, with both before and after photos . .

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=11814.0

   . . . unless the intent of this topic was to be for only those phones actually found in a trash can in relatively good condition (with only normal wear and tear) and if not spotted and retrieved would really be in a landfill right now.

Any thoughts?
I originally intended for this topic to be about phones that were either found in the trash, or were planning on being thrown away by the previous owner. Another example was ESalter's Rose Beige 500 found in a trash heap with some 1990s phones at a swap meet, or persido's 1937 302 found in the trash can at a garage sale.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=7570.msg83971#msg83971


http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=5411.msg66087#msg66087

These are treasures that would have probably been thrown into a junk yard if a phone collector (or someone who had a feeling that it had some value, and was bought by a collector after it was found) hadn't found it in time. The price of the phone doesn't matter, just the place it was found (trash pile, trash can, dumpster, junk yard, etc.). The design of the topic was to show off phones that had been found "against the odds", or before they could have been destroyed. We can all assume D/P's '48er had been in a junk yard at one point or another, because of the amount of smashed or missing pieces on it, and because of it's original overall bad condition when it was first found.

Hopefully that's a good enough explanation of what I wanted this thread to be about.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

TelePlay


Dennis Markham

Thank you TelePlay for pointing out the similar topics.  I thought I had remembered a similar post.  I removed my contribution from this thread as I made a post on the other.  Thank you for clearing up the differences.

~Dennis