What did I find? (bought off Craigslist) Candlestick subset etc...

[shortrackskater]

I just bought this set from someone off Craigslist. She told me it was dropped during a move. The earpiece is destroyed. The mouth part has a chunk out of it... and I don't have that piece.
I have no clue as to how authentic the candlestick part is. Someone let me know. The ear piece looks "too new" to me but I don't know about the looks of these things. The capacitor, though, between the terminals on the receiver looks more modern.
I think the subset is original ... according to my google searching, it's a Western Electric 634 Anti-sidetone Subset used circa 1928-37.
There was also a ringer box in there. Empty ... just the bells. I'm not sure what this would have been for but it came with the deal.
I paid $25 for everything.

[poplar1]

Appears to be a Kellogg desk stand. The receiver shell and cap are repros. The receiver unit is a Western Electric U-3 or equivalent.

The subset was originally a Western Electric 534A (ca.1920-1930) and it was converted to a 634BA, probably in the 1940s. It was used with antisidetone 202s, 211s, 151ALs, etc.

[shortrackskater]

Thanks!
Anything on the empty ringer box?
Is the desk stand worth anything - meaning... If I was to sell that part, am I better off buying the replacement parts or sell it as is?

[poplar1]

 The oak box was for an extension ringer, for example on the same premises as a complete wooden wall magneto telephone. Note the wires connecting the two outside terminal posts to the hinges. The hinges were part of the circuit connecting the line to the ringer. Probably made around 1893 -- 1915. (1893 is the year Graham Bell's original patent ran out and other companies began production.)

The Kellogg might be worth around $50 without the receiver or $80 if you bought an original receiver for it. First thing I'd do is remove the Korean add-on parts, but that's just me. Maybe why I have so many incomplete phones around here.

[shortrackskater]

Thanks for the information again. I could immediately tell that the receiver was fake. Just looking at the insides - the metal part looked way too shiny and cheap and just the plastic... well plastic was the red flag. I've tossed that part out already. I saved the receiver part and the screw on cap just for the heck of it. I'll remove the mouthpiece and throw it away too. I also just read, for the second time, the thread on spotting fake candlesticks too. Some of that is obvious... like glued on tags! How would people NOT know? Seems like common sense to me.
I'm happy I got that subset! That's going to be great for future phones.

One more question... What would the inside of that old ringer box look like? I'll do a search here too. And yes I immediately noticed that the wires were connected to the hinges too... very interesting. And for authenticity, I could tell by the tongue in groove on the sided that it was old.

And finally... what's the insert in the bell for? Was it just to quiet the ring down? Weird.

[shortrackskater]

Anyone?

[unbeldi]

And finally... what's the insert in the bell for? Was it just to quiet the ring down? Weird.

The insert is a 101A gong attachment, a resonator to enhance the volume of the ringer.  In later ringers of the C4A-type in the 500-type telephone, the gongs always had a resonator built-in.

[TelePlay]

Anyone?

Don't have one, have several WE 127s, but it seems to be this one.

     http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Antique-Wood-Telephone-Ringer-Box-5x5x6-034-/142370570272

[shortrackskater]

Thanks all! Now I see what's inside. I'll have to look for some parts. I love the box.

[Alex G. Bell]

The insert is a 101A gong attachment, a resonator to enhance the volume of the ringer.  In later ringers of the C4A-type in the 500-type telephone, the gongs always had a resonator built-in.

It also has one steel gong.  Steel gongs were typically used for ringers made during WW-II when copper for brass was in short supply.  1943 was the only year that steel pennies were minted.

[shortrackskater]

I never even thought of that... it does have a different quality to the ring tone now that I've got the subset working.
Thanks everyone, again.