1958 Leich 115c

[Alexander]

I recently got this off e-bay for $35, and was pleasantly surprised with how it showed up. Based on the ad, I expected it to be farm fresh and full of spiders and dirt. Once I opened it up, I was amazed with how clean it was! The only fault it has is a small crack on the shell where the line cord feeds in. It's not super noticeable, so I'm going to leave it be.

it's got an Automatic Electric dial, but the rest is still a mystery since I haven't taken it down to the frame yet for cleaning. I absolutely love this phone!!

[Alexander]

Just finished the first pass at cleaning up the shell. Just hot water, a soft rag and a few spritzes of WD40 to get some sticker residue off. I might have to reconsider patching that crack...then sanding out what few scratches there are.

[paul-f]

Very nice, Alexander.

The 115 is one of the less frequently seen variants.  This topic has some good background:
  http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=4194.0

Also, one of my favorites: http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=3312.msg131340#msg131340

[persido]

That's a nice phone, I don't have one of those in my collection, did they come in many different colors?
Scot

[paul-f]

Yes.

http://www.paul-f.com/color.htm#Leich

[HarrySmith]

Those sometimes show up on eBay and get very little attention, I have seen them sell for an opening bid of $9.99. You might have to search hard as they usually get listed wrong and since they are not Western Electric they fly under the radar. Might be easier to find a parts phone rather than fix that gash. I restored and sold one on eBay a few years back that I got out of the trash pile at a phone show.

[WesternElectricBen]

Here is one for $24 on eBay: http://tinyurl.com/o47ybmy. A very interesting phone indeed, I'm considering picking one up. 

Ben

[HarrySmith]

Yes, they are interesting. I had fun working on it, even required a little modification to the opening for the "plungers" after I flipped the case for desk use from the wall position. IIRC I got a pretty good price for it as it cleaned up nicely and had a shine like new!

[Alexander]

That's definitely a nice phone!

I'm almost done cleaning mine up, my next set of days off should see it ready to hang (if I can figure out how, there's no obvious mounting holes lol). All I have left is the handset and cord. I still might polish it up more, but I like how it looks already. Mine shined up very easily, and aside from some paint splatters the one up right now should clean up just as easy from what I can see. The dial was easy to switch around too, just two screws and some wires re-routed. If I hadn't blown my wad over the holidays on 4 phones, I'd try to snatch that one up too!

Here's some comparison shots with a WE500. Incidentally, if anyone knows an easy way to remove the white hazing on the pic of the 500 below, I'm all ears...it came from nail polish remover. Live and learn I guess, thank god its a much newer shell (68) than the rest of the phone (54). The Leich is a little longer and a little taller, but slightly narrower when compared to the 500, but seems much bigger to me when looked at separately:

[unbeldi]

I think the most interesting way to display these is as I show here.
Mine actually came to me as a wall phone with the dial oriented this way. The mounting holes are in the center of each of the rubber feet.  Just put it up against the wall and drive some screws in.

[Alexander]

I'm definitely going with the wall hanging option! It'll stand out more that way for sure.

Thanks for clearing up the mounting holes question, I thought that might be it but didnt want to do it without confirmation

[Kenton K]

That's definitely a nice phone!

I'm almost done cleaning mine up, my next set of days off should see it ready to hang (if I can figure out how, there's no obvious mounting holes lol). All I have left is the handset and cord. I still might polish it up more, but I like how it looks already. Mine shined up very easily, and aside from some paint splatters the one up right now should clean up just as easy from what I can see. The dial was easy to switch around too, just two screws and some wires re-routed. If I hadn't blown my wad over the holidays on 4 phones, I'd try to snatch that one up too!

Here's some comparison shots with a WE500. Incidentally, if anyone knows an easy way to remove the white hazing on the pic of the 500 below, I'm all ears...it came from nail polish remover. Live and learn I guess, thank god its a much newer shell (68) than the rest of the phone (54). The Leich is a little longer and a little taller, but slightly narrower when compared to the 500, but seems much bigger to me when looked at separately:

Usually light sanding with 1500 mesh, or magic eraser, then novus/brasso usually removes superficial blemishes. Live and Learn!

KK

[Nick in Manitou]

It looks really striking as a wall phone...now I have something else to add to my list of phones to watch for!

Nick

[unbeldi]

It looks really striking as a wall phone...now I have something else to add to my list of phones to watch for!

Nick

Yes, as a wall phone it cannot be casually mistaken for a 500 set, which is easy when they are lined up in a row on the shelf.

[Alexander]

Usually light sanding with 1500 mesh, or magic eraser, then novus/brasso usually removes superficial blemishes. Live and Learn!

KK

Magic erasers ordered! Hopefully that'll take care of it, I'd hate to think I ruined a perfectly decent shell.

I wonder if Fitz metal polish (use it for guns) will work....I'll be smart(er) this time and test it on the inside first.

It looks really striking as a wall phone...now I have something else to add to my list of phones to watch for!

Nick

Yes, as a wall phone it cannot be casually mistaken for a 500 set, which is easy when they are lined up in a row on the shelf.

If its on a shelf, even if you realize it's not a 500, it still doesnt stand out much....as a wall phone it's an instant reaction. I've had a couple friends stop by and when they see it sitting on my table they just did a casual look, but when I picked it up and held it in the wall position I got instant 'wows' followed by 'thats cool' ...cant wait until I finish it and can display it properly as a working display!