Auction 56 - American Bell Co. Wall Phone

[Russ Kirk]

My guess is
$825.00

[Dan/Panther]

$2000.00

D/P

[Dan]

289.89

[cchaven]

my guess is 1200.00

Jeff

[Craig T]

I will guess $788, I had in a much lower bid until I read the rest of the thread.

[McHeath]

10,000 big ones.

Not that I know anything at all about this rig.  But if it's really from 1877, and judging by the early activity it has caught the eye of some collectors, it could go sky high. 

[Doug Rose]

Question....if this is only one box from a double or triple boxer; is it that rare. I am not a woodie expert, but if you had this; how would you display it? Wouldn't you need the other impossible to find parts. Maybe all together with a Blake transmitter box and a  long pole along with the third battery box and the wood back plane its worth big bucks. That is why originally I questioned this. Myself, if I saw this at a flea market, I'd probably pass it by unless it was a $20 piece. Even if I had the knowledge that you folks volunteered. Its only a part. If I had it on my wall in my phone room, it would look incomplete to me. Just my humble opinion. Your opinions?...Doug

[bingster]

Think of it like the Blake transmitters.  Alone, they go for astounding amounts of money, even though the rest of the phone is missing.  The same goes for the long pole receivers--they go for big bucks, even though everything they're supposed to be attached to is gone. 

[Doug Rose]

Think of it like the Blake transmitters.  Alone, they go for astounding amounts of money, even though the rest of the phone is missing.  The same goes for the long pole receivers--they go for big bucks, even though everything they're supposed to be attached to is gone. 

Agreed...but its not a Blake transmitter or a Long Pole...that I would have known without help. The Blake transmitter would be the show stopper and the long pole right behind it. In my opinion, if you have everything else this is a winner, if not, its just a part. I guess we shall see. I've been wrong before...Doug

[Doug Rose]

Here is an ad of what the complete phone looked like.....Doug

[McHeath]

As for it being only a single part of a phone, I think when you get to dealing with stuff that's really old like this there is a certain amount of acceptance that would have to happen that you don't have, and probably won't, have the rest of it.  How many phones from the late 1870s and early 1880s are left?  Even in pieces there can't be many.  I've seen collectors pay big bucks for parts of things that are exceedingly rare, and this may be the same.  That said I don't know that it's worth 10k by any means, who knows, but I could certainly see it go for a couple to few hundred as it's got to be very rare just by what it is.  The label alone is a gold mine I would think, super early Bell, not made by Western Electric, in a great 19th century typeface and style.  

[Jim Stettler]

Question....if this is only one box from a double or triple boxer; is it that rare. Wouldn't you need the other impossible to find parts. . Your opinions?...Doug

The Impossible to find parts aren't really that impossible, just pricey. If I bought it at a flea market I would probably trade it to John A. or Walt A. (neither are on the forum), or to one of the other very early wood collectors.

The other option is to confer with the wood collectors and have some parts created.
Some wood collector also have hunks of old growth wood for creating replacement parts.

There are several telephone craftsmen out there.

It would be a very expensive phone to have restored if you hired it done.
Jim

[Jim Stettler]

I realized that Bell wasn't American Bell until 1880-1899. In 1877 it was National Bell.
I went back to re read the auction.
Someone else gave him the proper info on his top box in the Q&A section..

Jim

[Bill Cahill]

Gee, I don't know. There's alot missing, but, it's obviously early, and, rare.
My guess,  290.79.
Bill Cahill

[Greg G.]

Here is an ad of what the complete phone looked like.....Doug

Wow, there sure were some monstrosities "back in the day"!  (But we still like them, don't we?)  I wonder how 500 sets will look to people 100 years from now?