Enigmatic 293 wall phone

[Sargeguy]

I saw this 293 wall phone on eBay:

http://tinyurl.com/m9wxwfu

The ringer is marked with an "S" and what is with that binding post on the "roof"?  Apparently a wire that led to the switch.  The buyer has provided several pics but none of the model #.

[poplar1]

At least we have another letter for the list of WE shops---S for St. Louis.

[Sargeguy]

Enigmatic indeed, the phone was supposed to arrive Thursday.  I sat around all afternoon, and although some other packages (the H4 cord haul included) arrived, this one did not.  Around 7pm it's status was changed to "notice left".  It did not arrive yesterday so I visited the PO today.  They had my package and they gave me a BS story about how the carrier was concerned that I did not live there and held the package for safety, implying that I was being ungrateful.  I pointed out that they had delivered other packages, including one for my next door neighbor.  She told me it was most likely a "different carrier" and that they have "a lot of new carriers".  After leaving, I looked at my address and there was scribbling all over it like someone had tested a few different pens.   

[Sargeguy]

Here are some pics of the phone as I received it.  The biggest problem is the big gouge where the lock was busted.  I thought it was just masking tape, like the strip on the bottom, but no, it's a big gouge.  I have a spare walnut box that I could use the wall from, but this one is oak.  Also missing is the hook and transmitter and the straps.  It looks like this was turned into a subset.  It also looks like it was a 293A that was re-designated a 293S then re-re-designated a 293A again.

[Sargeguy]

I had originally decided to strip, sand and re-finish it since the finish was so grungy and there were so many scratches and dings on the surface.  Before doing so I decided to fool around with the finish and see what could be accomplished.  I rubbed it down with a wadded up paper towel soaked in alcohol wrapped in cotton t-shirt fabric.  This removed most of the cruddy shellac build up while smoothing out the rest to cover scrapes and dings.  I found the notation "INS SEPT20" scratched into the front of the door.  The masking tape had "Ind Coil" written on it.  It pulled off a lot of shellac when removed, which was the only major "Doh!" moment. 

[Sargeguy]

One thing somewhat interesting about this phone is that the wooden parts are all made from a single solid plank.  Other "dark" oak phones I have refinished usually have wood that was cut from a plank that consisted of two different pieces of wood glued together.  The different grains can be seen juxtaposed on the cover and side panels.  I have a theory that they sometimes used a dark finish to hide such defects.

***update*** based upon a survey of the collection (2 oak 293As, 2 oak TYPE 124s) and 2 oak subsets) oak 295A subsets are made from the cheaper wood, 293A phones are made of the higher quality wood.  Here is a photo of a 295A that shows what I mean:



The top half is a very loose grain whereas the lower half of the panel is a tighter grain.  This recent eBay magneto box illustrates what I mean perfectly: