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Got a Kellogg Banjo!!

Started by Dan, January 12, 2012, 10:40:14 AM

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Dan

I have been wanting one of these for a while. No dates anywhere to be found on it, but it has leather feet (1950-1958?) . I know Dennis has a white one. Are there other colours out there??? Love the look and straight cord too.







Not too bad for $35
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

Dennis Markham

Nice phone, Dan.  I can't tell from the photos....is that the Bakelite handset?   They called that a "gumdrop" handset.  Later, they were more like Western's G3's and plastic.  I'm not sure of the year of production on them.  I do have a couple I believe marked '58.

Colored Banjos are few and far between.  I don't recall seeing one on eBay in recent memory (for me that's  not long). :)

I did recently pick up one in Ivory.  I also have one in Yellow and Green with some damage on the side of the Green set where someone pop-riveted a modular plug.  But even with damage they are something to hang on to if found in the wild.

LarryInMichigan

Congratulations Dan!  I have a black banjo phone sitting on the desk next to me at the moment.  I really like the handset because it is comfortable to hold.  I got mine on ebay a year or so ago  It needed alot of cleaning and polishing.  Almost all of the parts on mine, other than the base plate, shell, and handset are WE.

Larry

Dennis Markham

In looking back on previous posts about the "banjo phone",  Mike Neale (Kellogg Mike) says that as far as he knows they were not dated (like Western Electric dated their parts).  Here is the topic where this was previously discussed:

http://tinyurl.com/7bootjz

Mike's web site and Kellogg Page can be found here:

http://www.strombergcarlsontelephone.com/kellogg/kellogg_main.htm

You will see a couple of links referring to the DK500.  I cannot get one of the pdf's to work for me.

I'll have to go back and re-check my banjos to see where I came up with that '58 number.

Dan

#4
Thanks guys. The handset is bakelite and it is really clean and hardly used. It had a frequency ringer (two wire) and I put in a 1956 WE regular ringer. I just wiped her off with 409 and a little turtle wax F21 spray. I know it is all original. How did a new mexico phone get to ohio? Who knows.

Thanks for the links on the banjos. I'll read up on them.
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

twocvbloke

Quote from: Dan on January 12, 2012, 10:44:52 PM
How did a new mexico phone get to ohio? Who knows.

Could say the same about my two WE500s, one form Seattle/Washington, the other didn't have a dial label but was from the US anyway... :D

GG



I have a couple of dark gray ones with numeric dials and G-type handsets.  These were almost certainly used in PAX service (PBX with no outside lines).  Found in an urban junk shop @ 25 years ago for cheep. 

Dan

Could you post pictures of those GG, I would love to see them.
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

GG



Sure, once I get my photo setup operational (which also entails clearing about a 3' square space on my workbench) and have time to go dig those out of storage.