Magneta Telephone - Paris

[poplar1]

Roger Conklin, a fellow collector who was actually installing Kellogg common battery switchboards in 1952, when Kaplan cut over, agrees that Kaplan had a "magneto" switchboard and not a "Magnéta." He said he never saw any foreign switchboards at the US operating companies.

Here is his response:

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I would agree it was likely a magneto switchboard..  Kaplan is not listed in my Telephony's Directory for 1934, but that is probably because they failed to provide data to Telephony to include.  

I checked and found I have a 1938 Telephony directory which indicates there were 152 magneto telephones there as of December 1937. J U Herbert was the manager.

I never saw any foreign switchboards when I worked for Kellogg in the field in the US as an installer, but I sure saw some very old Kellogg and Stromberg-Carlson switchboard that were on their last legs, but still working well.  There were also Chicago, Monarch and other magneto switchboards in service back then.

When I installed a new Kellogg Crossbar 750 line switch in Forrest City , Iowa in 1952, the farmer owned lines which served the rural area outside of Forrest City were served by an old 1910s vintage Kellogg magneto switchboard.  I installed a trunk circuit on that old switchboard so the farmers could communicate with Forrest City and the rest of the world after the dial cutover in Forrest City .  It was also slated to be eliminated as the rural lines were rebuilt for automatic service and were to be connected directly to the Kellogg Crossbar switch,, but had to keep working for a few more months.  The farmers would continue to own and maintain their lines up to the city limits, but had obtained REA funding to rebuild their outside plant which would allow them to eliminate their own separate switchboard.

I also installed a Kellogg Manual common Battery switchboard in Fortville , Indiana in 1951 for a magneto to common battery conversion.  That exchange belonged to United Telephone  Company of Indiana which took over the Fortville Tel. Company a few years later.  It was a bedroom community for Indianapolis .  The Magneto switchboard was in a different building so I never actually saw it and therefore do not know who manufactured it.

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[G-Man]

With all due respect to Roger, who I personally know, a couple of years as an installer's helper during college with Kellogg in the 1950's, does not make him well enough versed to make him the ultimate authority on all of the different types of equipment that the operating companies were using at the turn of the last century.

While the majority of operating companies stayed loyal to the U.S. manufacturers, a few did use equipment imported from Sweden, Belgium, Germany, the U.K. and other countries from around the world.
There is no disputing that the Kaplan switchboard was a magneto switchboard, only whether it was manufactured by Magneta of Paris, France.

I think it is a good possibility that it was manufactured by them since for one, I doubt that it was a typo in Kaplan's history, and because of the likely affinity that Louisiana's French/Cajuns retained for the customs and products of their home country.

It is possible that the farmers of that period organized a farmer's telephone co-op and with their family contacts in France, found a "good deal' on imported equipment.

And for the record, I doubt they obtained foreign equipment strictly for marketing purposes.
On a separate note, there was a Magneta telephone company operating in the United States around 1916. To make it clear, this was an operating company and not a manufacturer.

[G-Man]

Also-

About Us
Delcambre Communications was established in 1945 by Lane LeBlanc and provided local and long distance service to approximately 52 customers in the Delcambre area using a Magneta switchboard. In June of 1956, a new analog switch was purchased from Stromberg-Carlson that provided dial tone service to the customers. Rotary dial telephones were a common fixture in the homes of many residents in our community as well as telephone booths in some local businesses.

In May of 1960, a Ship-to-Shore Marine Service was established to provide communications for all vessels along the Louisiana gulf coast. To provide this service, a one channel double side band radio was used. Eventually a change to single side band system was made to allow communication on each band, which doubled the number of conversations at one time. The single side band has a 100 mile radius range and was used by boats traveling in the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway. In June of 1972, two VHF channel radios were installed, which increased the ship-to-shore communications twofold. The VHF bands were used by boats traveling in the Vermilion Bay, nearby canals, and marshes of South Louisiana, covering a radius of approximately 50 miles. With the move to cell phones the marine service has since been closed down.

A new Siemens digital switch was installed in September of 1989 to provide state of the art telephone services such as call waiting, call forwarding, and later caller ID. Gone were the rotary phones replaced with new multi featured phones.

The 1990's introduced the beginning of the information age which gave us the internet. Dial up internet was provided to our customers in the late 90's and later upgraded to high speed DSL internet, which allowed customers to use their internet service without tying up their phone lines.

Hurricane Rita blasted into Delcambre in September of 2005 flooding the community. The phone company's central office was flooded, destroying the digital switch. Instead of replacing the unit with another circuit switch, the company opted to replace it with a more modern softswitch, giving the company a massive technological upgrade. The company has since built an elevated central office in order to houses this new equipment.
We are confident, that even as a small company, we can provide outstanding communication service as well as respond to your needs and problems as a person rather than a number. Our employees will not only serve you as a customer, but also as a member of your community. We hope that we can always play a major part in providing you with the best affordable communications service available.

Mr. Lane passed away in February of 2008, but we are still locally owned and operated by Matt LeBlanc, a nephew of Mr. Lane. Matt has been with Delcambre Communications for over 30 years and he plans to continue to provide the most up to date features and services available to the customers of Delcambre Communications.

[poplar1]

I don't understand how a so-called  affinity for "customs and products of their home country" can possibly be cited as evidence. As far as I know, the Acadians who were deported from the Maritime Provinces of Canada in 1755 did not know any people in France that were manufacturing switchboards. 

[DavePEI]

I don't understand how a so-called  affinity for "customs and products of their home country" can possibly be cited as evidence. As far as I know, the Acadians who were deported from the Maritime Provinces of Canada in 1755 did not know any people in France that were manufacturing switchboards.  

True enough. And that is where the term Cajun came from. And there was at least 150 years off separation before telephones came around to even further any connection to France they might have had in 1755. Yes, in 1755 they would have known people in France as they would only have had one or two generations separation from their French cousins, but 100 years later after living in Louisiana any connections would have been lost as they developed their own culture there.

They spoke the same language (but an oddly evolved version, really a mix of several languages) - that is the only thing they had in common with France by then.

I don't think that can be used either as an argument for, or against their using a French manufactures Magnéta board or other equipment. If they did, it would have been because of a great sales campaign by Magnéta and undercutting the prices of North American manufacturers.

Dave

[poplar1]

It looks very nice.  Are there any dates on it?  I cannot seem to find any information about Magneta Telephone online.

Larry

Back to the original questions, the tag on the front says:

"MAGNÉTA TÉLÉPHONE  5, Rue Bouchardon, PARIS Tél Nord 32-18"

So the phone number for the manufacturer was "Nord 32-18." This format suggests that the phone was manufactured after October, 1912.  Before 1912, central offices were designated by numbers instead of names.


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octobre 1912 : remplacement du numéro du central par son nom. Ainsi, à l'abonné 25 desservi par le 12e standard du central téléphonique Gutemberg, on a attribué le numéro Gutemberg 1225 au lieu du 11225.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_du_t%C3%A9l%C3%A9phone_en_France

[Doug Rose]

Great phone Dave, sure is a beauty!...Doug

[wds]

Thanks to everyone for all the great info.  It is a good phone for my collection.  It seems the European phones were much more ornate than the American phones at that time.  Unfortunately they are also more expense, and harder to collect.  

[G-Man]

I hate to continue what is rapidly becoming off-topic, but...

First of all I did not cite this as "evidence" but rather as a possible explanation as to why both the Kaplan and Delcambre telephone companies purchased Magneta switchboards.

It would be silly to think that their ancestors were familiar with telephone switchboards as early as 1775 since the telephone itself was not invented until 1876.

There are still significant numbers of Cajun and Creole that speak French and in some remote parishes it is even the norm. Signage in both English and French is not uncommon.

Even though the Arcadians were kicked-out of Canada, they were welcomed in New France and it is likely they retained contact with family members in the old country while continuing with their traditionalist ways.

Most likely family members from the old country continued to immigrate to the "Promised Land" well into the 1930's renewing these ties to their homeland.

The former French colony of Louisiana is still using the Louisiana Civil Code of 1808 which draws from the roots of the Napoleonic Code.

To this very day people of various ethnic and nationalities continue to retain an affinity and loyalty for the customs and products from their home countries including the Cajun population in Louisiana.

In Louisiana there are French language newspapers, cable channels, radio stations and magazines. French music is prevalent as well and religious services are conducted in French.

A number of schools in Louisiana teach only in French.

Even in Canada, the separatist province of Quebec associates itself more with France than being part of the Canadian Commonwealth. Some have even proposed splintering away from Canada and forming an alliance with France.

This is not exclusive to Louisiana and the French; it also includes those of Italian, Polish, German, Irish, Oriental, descent as well.

There are sections of major American cities where the sights, language, dress and the smell of their food remind some of being in a foreign country.

[ReneRondeau]

Not directly related to this particular phone, but I also have long admired French phones. That one is really a beauty.

I had quite a few in the 1980s. Today I only have this one charmer, hanging in my hallway. I bought it at the Paris flea market in January 2002, a week or so after the Euro became the only official currency. Man, was that confusing.... Everyone had a custom mini-calcuator with them to automatically translate Euros to Francs since buyers inevitably asked "how much is that in Francs?" It obviously took a while to master it, even though prices had been posted in both Francs and Euros for a few years previous.

But I digress. This one is a Système Louis Pasquet, and the nameplate is prominently marked with "Propriété de l'État" -- Government Property. The receiver and 'mother-in-law' earpiece are marked "Association des Ouvriers en Instruments de Précision."

I had to ship the batteries home. I figured the odds of getting those through French airport security or US Customs a few months after 9/11 were pretty much nil.

I truly love this phone!

[G-Man]

WOW!! What a beauty!

Nice that you were able to get it back home intact.

Not directly related to this particular phone, but I also have long admired French phones. That one is really a beauty.

I had quite a few in the 1980s. Today I only have this one charmer, hanging in my hallway. I bought it at the Paris flea market in January 2002, a week or so after the Euro became the only official currency. Man, was that confusing.... Everyone had a custom mini-calcuator with them to automatically translate Euros to Francs since buyers inevitably asked "how much is that in Francs?" It obviously took a while to master it, even though prices had been posted in both Francs and Euros for a few years previous.

But I digress. This one is a Système Louis Pasquet, and the nameplate is prominently marked with "Propriété de l'État" -- Government Property. The receiver and 'mother-in-law' earpiece are marked "Association des Ouvriers en Instruments de Précision."

I had to ship the batteries home. I figured the odds of getting those through French airport security or US Customs a few months after 9/11 were pretty much nil.

I truly love this phone!

[Doug Rose]

That is amazing!! More pictures please. How much did you pay, if you don't mind me asking? That is a one of a kind phone. Beautiful!!....Doug

[ReneRondeau]

(Sorry to be hijacking this thread....)

No, not one of a kind. There are some exactly like it to be found on Google, though when I just looked now there were fewer than I saw 10 years ago. Some collector sites have been taken down.

Here are a couple of quick snapshots. My camera stinks. One shows it in situ, with a 1903 Shelby lightbulb above it. If you have heard about the so-called "Centennial Light Bulb" that has been burning continuously in a fire station in Livermore, CA since 1901, this one is an exact duplicate. Based on an interior label I date this one between 1903 and 1905; I burn it every night, though I do shut it off the rest of the time. So far it's been going 2-1/2 years. Gorgeous mushroom-shaped bulb. But once again, I digress....

The porcelain instruction sign mounted next to the phone is an antique I picked up in Paris on another occasion. It's not really appropriate for this phone because the instructions talk about turning the crank to make a call, but I thought it was a fun 'go-with' and mounted it anyway.

Louis Pasquet was famous enough that he became the Secretary-General of the French PTT (Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones) in 1916. (Info found on French Wikipedia.)

I'd be embarrassed to say how much I paid............................. I am quite sure I way overpaid for it, but it was just one of those things. I was wandering through the market with a buddy of mine and happened upon this piece on a wall. It was love at first sight and even though I negotiated the price a bit, I would have gladly forked over the asking price simply because I couldn't imagine going home without it. Eleven years later, no regrets.

[ReneRondeau]

Interestingly enough, I found that in my very first post almost 2 years ago I posted the same picture, and Doug, you had the same reaction then!

I was hunting on Google.fr and found a picture of an incomplete one mated to a non-matching magneto, mounted to a backboard, which was part of an auction last year:



But -- when I looked at the list of prices realized, that lot is missing. It must have been withdrawn. darn, I wanted to see what it got!

I find several in sort of candlestick configuration, like this:



And a poor photo of a black one:



A tiny thumbnail image that doesn't lead to a larger one, alas. Dated 1902 on the website, probably incorrect.

[poplar1]

Also-

About Us
Delcambre Communications was established in 1945 by Lane LeBlanc and provided local and long distance service to approximately 52 customers in the Delcambre area using a Magneta switchboard. In June of 1956, a new analog switch was purchased from Stromberg-Carlson that provided dial tone service to the customers. Rotary dial telephones were a common fixture in the homes of many residents in our community as well as telephone booths in some local businesses.

In May of 1960, a Ship-to-Shore Marine Service was established to provide communications for all vessels along the Louisiana gulf coast. To provide this service, a one channel double side band radio was used. Eventually a change to single side band system was made to allow communication on each band, which doubled the number of conversations at one time. The single side band has a 100 mile radius range and was used by boats traveling in the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway. In June of 1972, two VHF channel radios were installed, which increased the ship-to-shore communications twofold. The VHF bands were used by boats traveling in the Vermilion Bay, nearby canals, and marshes of South Louisiana, covering a radius of approximately 50 miles. With the move to cell phones the marine service has since been closed down.

A new Siemens digital switch was installed in September of 1989 to provide state of the art telephone services such as call waiting, call forwarding, and later caller ID. Gone were the rotary phones replaced with new multi featured phones.

The 1990's introduced the beginning of the information age which gave us the internet. Dial up internet was provided to our customers in the late 90's and later upgraded to high speed DSL internet, which allowed customers to use their internet service without tying up their phone lines.

Hurricane Rita blasted into Delcambre in September of 2005 flooding the community. The phone company's central office was flooded, destroying the digital switch. Instead of replacing the unit with another circuit switch, the company opted to replace it with a more modern softswitch, giving the company a massive technological upgrade. The company has since built an elevated central office in order to houses this new equipment.
We are confident, that even as a small company, we can provide outstanding communication service as well as respond to your needs and problems as a person rather than a number. Our employees will not only serve you as a customer, but also as a member of your community. We hope that we can always play a major part in providing you with the best affordable communications service available.

Mr. Lane passed away in February of 2008, but we are still locally owned and operated by Matt LeBlanc, a nephew of Mr. Lane. Matt has been with Delcambre Communications for over 30 years and he plans to continue to provide the most up to date features and services available to the customers of Delcambre Communications.

dtc history 


FROM Marcy Landry TO You   
 
Show Details

FromMarcy Landry   

Togarsdubell@yahoo.com 







Hi David. 
You are correct it was a magneto. Sorry we don't have any info on the magneta company.

 

Marcy Landry



Phone: 337-685-2311