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Automatic Electric 1A Maybe

Started by oldguy, August 01, 2020, 05:33:11 PM

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oldguy

I won this what looks like a AE 1A to me from Shopgoodwill.com for $64.00 + $13.21 shipping = $77.21. It appears to have been restored/upgraded by some company like Old Phone Shop or someone similar. I like the look even though it's not totally original. does anybody recognize the phone or label on the bottom.
Gary

rdelius

Phoneco label on bottom. Dial might be a newer type modified to fit .

oldguy

Thanks rdelius. Phoneco wants $325.00. Since I like the looks of it, I think I did ok. It will go on the shelf with my Continentals & Imperials.
Gary

Doug Rose

Gary....looks great! You done good my friend...Doug
Kidphone

paul-f

Here's the current Phoneco catalog entry that Gary mentioned. The model number is on the label in the photo above.
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

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Jack Ryan

Quote
The independents were always in styling contests with Western Electric.

Really? I think WE was more often playing catch-up. In Europe they had to style their phones more like Ericsson's to be competitive.

Jack

rdelius

I agree with jack about this.Independants had self contained sets, handsets and dials first.

paul-f

I also agree with Jack that WE played catch-up in many areas.

I also agree with the Knappens' statement -- interpreting it that non-WE companies used styling as a key means of differentiating their products from the (usually bland) WE designs (and avoiding patent issues).

When I started collecting, most of my collection was bakelite sets from AE, SC and Kellogg, as they are much more interesting than most mainline WE sets.
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

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Jack Ryan

Quote from: paul-f on August 02, 2020, 01:23:02 PM
I also agree with the Knappens' statement -- interpreting it that non-WE companies used styling as a key means of differentiating their products from the (usually bland) WE designs

Yes, it can be read that way. I'm not used to seeing it intended that way though.


Quote
(and avoiding patent issues).

What did you have in mind here Paul?

That was certainly true in the early 1890s but did it impede development since (as patents often do). There was convergence with many of the independent manufacturers on the 500 set but I think many of them were suffering from lack of market share (development funds) by then. Just AE held out.

The 500 became ubiquitous but by 1960 it was a bit of a brick. Other manufacturers were later to embrace modern plastics but that enabled them to refine the styling with the benefit of smaller components. Compare an Assistant with a 500 for example.

Sorry if I'm off on a tangent but I find these aspects of development, not just technical development, interesting.

Jack

Stormcrash

The round base may be more "elegant" but I believe WE switched from a round base to an oval one as it was more stable for dialing. Guess you could say Western would put practical needs ahead of styling

Jack Ryan

Quote from: Stormcrash on August 02, 2020, 09:18:50 PM
The round base may be more "elegant" but I believe WE switched from a round base to an oval one as it was more stable for dialing. Guess you could say Western would put practical needs ahead of styling

I read that the change was a styling issue. The D Handset Mounting became lower and wider - more like the Monophone. In this case WE released a Handset Mounting after AE but it took three model changes to approximate the Monophone in function and styling.

WE did do a better job of dial candlestick telephones. Moving the shaft to the rear was a good idea - AE caught up with the AE 21.

WE chased AE with dials though - every time WE got close the silence of the AE dial, AE made their dial quieter.

Much of what WE did was to create robust hardware that would last a long time and mostly it was big enough to say "take it leave it" so I can see how it wouldn't bother with niceties.

Jack