Estate sale find - AE Type 21 Hotel Phone

[Greg G.]

Anita and I stopped by an estate sale that was on our way home Saturday from errands.  I saw this and a black AE80e.  This had an original price tag of $98.  Told them I would offer half that, they said Sunday was half-price day.  So we went back the next morning to get this and the AE80e.  This one was still there, but somebody thought the 80e was worth the full price of $15 and it was sold.  I wasn't too disappointed, but it would have been a nice companion for my white 80e, and half-price ($7.50) would have been about the most I was willing to pay.

Anyway, I was able to get this for $49 plus sales tax (it was an estate sale service, so they had to collect state sales tax).  Hooked it up and it works except it doesn't ring (frequency ringer).  Obvious flaws are the receiver has a big hole in it, so I plan to replace that, but also want to experiment with filling in the hole with some resin/putty/pigment I've used on other phones and see how that turns out.  The dial won't return on it's own.  I had to assist the return to see if it dialed out, but fortunately I only had to dial 1-1 to test it through my PBX, so it will be shipped off to be cleaned/lubed/calibrated.  

I had some doubts when I looked at the receiver diaphragm, it didn't appear to be metal, but it worked.  Once I got the receiver cap off with the help of a hair dryer, turns out there was a piece of masking tape right over the center. Not sure why, but it didn't come off easily.

There is a loud click when I press and release the switch hook.  It also seems to be ultra-sensitive, e.g. when I rub my finger over the switch hook, I can clearly hear that sound in the receiver.  The receiver cord appears to be cloth under that red wrap.  The transmitter cup is also stuck, won't come off by hand, I don't want to force it for fear of breaking it.

Not sure if I'll bother with the very crude backboard it was mounted on, but I'll hang on to it for now, it may come in handy and look a lot better if I sand it down and repaint it.

So, parts needed are a receiver housing, ringer.  Maybe a cloth receiver cord, depends on what's underneath that wrap (I don't like that wrap at all).  Line cord, dial maintenance (Steve Hilsz) and general cleaning and polishing.

[Greg G.]

A few more pics.

[LarryInMichigan]

That's not a bad find for $49.  The ringer is a33.3 Hz freq ringer, so making it ring ay 20 Hz may be a challenge.

Larry.

[Greg G.]

That's not a bad find for $49.  The ringer is a33.3 Hz freq ringer, so making it ring ay 20 Hz may be a challenge.

Larry.

Definitely will need another ringer for it.  

On a side note, I cleaned off that backboard and straightened out the crooked brace on the back.  It measures 14.25 X 11.5 and actually makes a good lap-board when my work bench is full.

[Greg G.]

I need a ringer for this phone, not sure what key words I should use in a search on ebay.  Is this just called a hotel phone, or is there a model number?

[AE_Collector]

I'm Going to call it an AE 21 Wall Set. There is an AE 21 Desk Set (Candlestick) as well. Stub may correct me but that's my first guess. Basically the ringer is just the larger older style AE ringer but the bells are mounted differently than if it were on the base plate of an AE 40 or AE 34. I haven't studied them closely to see what would be involved in trying to use the much more plentiful large ringers from a 34 or 40. I say large because they then redesigned them into the smaller package that we are all more fmailiar with.

Terry

[stub]

Brinybay,
              Nice find there Briny!!! As Terry stated, it is a AE 21 Wall Set , with booster circuit (boosted side tone) that's the reason for the ultra-sensitivity and  loud clicks when going on and off -hook. The induction coil has two windings.
             Here's the best I can do for now on the SL ringer -  D-56329 A  .
             Sorry I haven't posted a response earlier but I'm still stuck on dial-up and still haven't seen all the pic of this phone yet   stub

[Greg G.]

AE is notorious for not putting dates on anything, so what era does this hale from?

[AE_Collector]

Real wild guess of about the early 1920's. Nothing to back that up but the AE 21 stick ws from about that time frame I believe. By 1935 the AE 35 was out which would have replaced the 21 wall phones.

Terry

[mst269]

AE is notorious for not putting dates on anything, so what era does this hale from?

My 21 wall set, just like yours but with a SL ringer, still had the inspection tag inside.  As you see, mine's dated March 18, 1930.

Richard

[AE_Collector]

I will bet that is a refurbishers tag not AE's. thus it might have been the phones second time around by then. Does anyone know what G & K from the bottom of the tag might be?

That said, hey definitely were being made in 1930 as I was given an AE 21 that is like new that was in a CO here in BC from the time of its original conversion from Manual to Automatic (SxS) in 1930. These were the wall phones provided for customers wanting a dial wall phone at that time. Desk phones would have been either AE 21 sticks or AE 1A Monophones.

Terry

[mst269]

I will bet that is a refurbishers tag not AE's. thus it might have been the phones second time around by then. Does anyone know what G & K from the bottom of the tag might be?

The stamping of the L601B3 at the top exactly matches the type and ink color on the wiring diagram inside the phone- I think it's original AE.  I have seen something else from AE with an "F." number and "G&K" at the bottom- I'd guess it was their printer.  I just have to think of what it was and which phone it was in....

Richard

[Greg G.]

Real wild guess of about the early 1920's. Nothing to back that up but the AE 21 stick ws from about that time frame I believe. By 1935 the AE 35 was out which would have replaced the 21 wall phones.

Terry

Not terribly wild, about the late 20s, early 30s:  http://tinyurl.com/3qvvbaf (dead link)

[Greg G.]

AE is notorious for not putting dates on anything, so what era does this hale from?

My 21 wall set, just like yours but with a SL ringer, still had the inspection tag inside.  As you see, mine's dated March 18, 1930.

Richard

Mine has that same type tag, only it's hard to read: L 613B3 ?  No date that's readable.

[AE_Collector]

Well that more or less confirms Richards conclusion that it WAS an AE form. Must have been a "phase" that AE went through! F86 for Form 86 probably. Is there any indication of a date having been stamped on yours Briny?

Terry