Here is another Ingram & Richards sign, this one quite rare but is poor condition. It still managed to bring $118 to some lucky bidder:
Ingram Richardson Public Telephone Local Phone Porcelain Enamel Sign (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ingram-Richardson-Public-Telephone-Local-Phone-Porcelain-Enamel-Sign-Ing-Rich-/201137953409?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=zrUly3TQbPHdjhAVUEjDgFu31PY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc)
Here is sign, according to Bob Alexander's Antique Telephone Advertising Volume 3 which he values at $500-600 in good condition:
Actually, this one from p. 431 of Ron Knappen's Payphone History is a better match:
I was the "lucky" winner of the sign. Needless to say, I did not catch that extra zero I entered into EZSniper :o It didn't help that my five year old was crawling on me trying to get the iPad so she could play with her Stawberry Shortcake app. Oh well. I came home this evening to find it on my doorstep. The porcelain is in great shape except for the huge missing areas. It is definitely right up my alley, since it is an early 1900s sign used in New England. I will likely have this one professionally restored. Note the "C" in the photo above, which as far as I can tell is unique to this type of sign. I need to find a decent photo or scan of an identical sign that shows more detail than the scan from Ron's book.
I am not usually a fan of restoring signs but this one could use a touch-up. Restoration by Van Kannel Sign Restoration (http://www.vankannelsignrestoration.com/) will be $150-175. Here is a look at some of their work:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/p720x720/10504981_826251784059615_8266978141822698893_o.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/p600x600/10520510_826252020726258_8731714342816523888_o.jpg)
I found a better pic in Kate D.'s Teleph0nes Antique to Modern
Don VanKammel e-mailed this picture of the fished sign, now I just need to pay for it!!!
Looks like it came out nice. looked around their site a bit, they do good work.
Here is a side by side:
(http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=12421.0;attach=105597;image)(http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=12421.0;attach=111376;image)(http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=12421.0;attach=110907;image)
That's impressive! How is it restored? Do they use paint?
kk
No he uses porcelain enamel, which is a type of glass. Apparently he reproduces the original process used to make the sign.
I am impressed. Please let us know how the sign looks when you have it in your hands. I have a couple that may be worthwhile getting restored
Wonder how they get it to blend so well? do they skim the existing portions that may be only slightly worn?
anyway, looks like you got a "like new" sign at a fraction of the cost. should display nicely. congrats.
I received the sign in the mail today. It looks perfect. The color is darker than in the picture, an exact match to the old enamel. Don is a magician!!!
What was the final price? I've got two that are rare and may be worth the cost to get restored.
$175. I now have a $300 refrigerator magnet!
"Public Telephone" is much less common on early signs than "Pay Station" is. The reason is that in the early days of the telephone a "Public Telephone" was a telephone that a subscriber could use for free and have the call billed to his account. "Pay Station" referred to a phone that you needed to deposit coins into (or pay an attendant) to operate, in order to make calls that were paid for on the spot. Interestingly, the term "Pay Station" eventually fell into disuse, and was replaced by the term "Public Telephone" while the old public telephones were superseded by pay stations.