WE 20-B All Brass Stick

[Doug Rose]

A few weeks a go Jan got up early and went to our local flea and came back with a nice haul of phones. I saw this "lamp", gave it a quick glance and Jan put on the to do shelf. Second rainy day of vacation so I took a look at it......Its a 20-B with no marking on the transmitter and a Nov 92 on back of the transmitter cup. Knurled nut....Hershey kiss perch to boot.

I know its been debated for years that a brass stick was either painted black or nickel-ed, but this is is simply amazing shape with no black or nickel to be seen. Anywhere. It cleaned up great with Brasso and medium, then find steel wool. A real nice find....Doug

[wds]

That's a real nice original phone.  The transmitter is really old - predates the 229.  I would assume it is an uninsulated transmitter, so why are there two wires going through the back of the cup?

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Wow Doug; hard to believe that phone was once so bad you didn't give it a second look!

Great job! Definitely looks great in brass!!!

[Sargeguy]

Interesting.  This is one of the later 20-Bs without the patent dates on the base, rather than the back of the perch.  "WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY" transmitters don't pre-date the *229* which was one of the earliest solid-back transmitters, but they are old.  I think they are underrated, personally.  Looking at the back of the plunger and seeing which number is stamped there (a 3 or a 7) would tell us more about it's age. 

If you look closely at the picture that shows the front of the perch, and look at where the top part goes into the bottom part of the 2-piece perch, you can still see a patch of the original nickel plating, and there is another tiny spot beneath the 20-B stamp.

[Doug Rose]

Hey Christian...I saw it sitting in the basement on my workbench and just glanced at it. I never picked it up until today. SURPRISE! It was very dirty and was made into a lamp with no  drilling.  This is it until I decide to sell or keep it. I took it completely apart and it took only a couple of hours to look like this, shined up easily, which is not always the case with old brass as you know. Everything is intact, so it will just be wiring it up if goes. It is Janet's find, so we shall see 

Dave..I will try to get it to work with one cord coming out of the transmitter 

Greg....I will open it to check the back of the transmitter....Doug

[Doug Rose]

for those that have asked, it is on eBay this week....Doug

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301668326321

[unbeldi]

The 229 transmitter was developed ca. 1895 on the basis of the Anthony White patent, which is that 1892 patent cited on the unit.

[Doug Rose]

Karl...are you saying you think this is a 229 tranmitter by reason of the "92  transmitter cup?...thx...Doug

[unbeldi]

Karl...are you saying you think this is a 229 tranmitter by reason of the "92  transmitter cup?...thx...Doug

No. I am just providing the time base of the official record here.  I can't examine the transmitter by pics, and transmitters got swapped all the time, many probably didn't last very long, and ABT/WECo developed close to one hundred different types (not all for candlesticks) from this time to ca. 1925.

I think careful examination of a series of solid-back transmitters, starting with the original White design, should tell the approx. date of yours.  Some of the changes over time of the internals, the mounting, etc, are well documented.

I don't know actually just how long they used the 1892 patent date on the sticks, but it was the major design for the next 30 years.

The White patent was probably the last patent of the pre-WECO period.  It was still assigned to ABT.

[Sargeguy]

The 1892 refers to the solid back transmitter patent of which the *229* and 229w were the most common and longest used.  The 229 is identical to the 250 except that the latter was intended for mounting on arms, not candlesticks.  Different numbers on the banana tag do not necessarily refer to the electronic characteristics of the transmitter, it could refer to whether there was a hole drilled in the back for use on a deskstand, whether it had no lug for mounting on an arm, etc.  These Western Electric Company transmitters have been found on a range of old phones: 3-boxers, fiddlebacks, and candlesticks, so they are probably equivalent to a 229/250.