Two British No150 Candlesticks

[FABphones]

Two sticks arrived this week. I had been looking for a couple of 150 Candlesticks for a while to sit alongside one I already have. These are the pair I decided on. The first, a manual. The second with a #12 dial - I have a small dialcard #10 dial that I found about a year ago which I have been looking to place back into an appropriate phone
Thread: http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=22927
this stick will fit the bill nicely. A Siemens dial going back into a Siemens phone.

The reason I chose these particular two is because they haven't been brassed out. Both look as if they have taken a few calls in their time but have their original paint. They are in need a bit of TLC and putting right (wrong end cap, bolt in back to front etc), but nothing too drastic. I have cords in my spares box, and a few other parts should they be needed.

Dates are 1922 1928 / 1928 (will double check date in better light). Need to lookup who 'I' is, but 'S' is Siemens. All correct in the earpieces, not had the bases off yet. Both were formerly No2 sticks, which has been struck through and restamped No150.

These are the out of the box photos:

[FABphones]

Side by Side photos:

[HarrySmith]

Nice pair I agree that appears to be 28 next to the "I". What is the meaning of the "235" stamped below the date?

[FABphones]

Have looked up the 'I'; Ibex Telephones, Harrow. I will double check as have never heard of them before today.

Still researching 235 but it appears to have no significance:
https://www.britishtelephones.com/identify/candle1.htm

More info on the No150 here:
https://www.britishtelephones.com/t150.htm

[RB]

Very nice set!
I like the way the ware shows how the part was held by the sweaty palmed gorillas who used them every day.
No offense to the gorillas.
a couple cords, and some tlc, and you will have a sweet pair of bishops.
I like that style!
Congrats

[Jack Ryan]

Nice pair I agree that appears to be 28 next to the "I". What is the meaning of the "235" stamped below the date?

The number 235 is the revision number. Revision numbers started at 234 (said to be a mistake) so it is revision 2.

Jack

[Jack Ryan]

Have looked up the 'I'; Ibex Telephones, Harrow. I will double check as have never heard of them before today.

I is the International Electric Co. Ltd - London

Ibex is "IBX".

Still researching 235 but it appears to have no significance:

As noted already, that is revision 2 of the original Tele No 2.

Regards
Jack

[FABphones]

Have looked up the 'I'; Ibex Telephones, Harrow. I will double check as have never heard of them before today...

I is the International Electric Co. Ltd - London...

Thanks for that Jack, I wasn't convinced Ibex was correct. I have come across a bit of misinformation on a few sites looking this one up.

As yet I can't find anything on International Electric Co Ltd (only info on a company founded in 1957).
Do you have any links so I can do a bit of reading up on them? I've never come across an 'I' stamp on these phones before (and I have looked at many over the years) so am keen to do a bit of research. Thanks again.

ETA: For anyone who needs to reference manufacturer codes, this is the best list I have come across ( I should have looked there first    )
https://www.britishtelephones.com/manucode.htm

[Jack Ryan]

Do you have any links so I can do a bit of reading up on them? I've never come across an 'I' stamp on these phones before (and I have looked at many over the years) so am keen to do a bit of research. Thanks again.

I don't really know anything about it. I assume it was one of the smaller manufacturers.

INTERNATIONAL ELECTRIC CO., Ltd.
Ashley Road, Tottenham, N.17. T. A.: " Intelco 'Phone, London." T. N.: Tottenham 132 and 2047. Established 1911. Capital.631,000..Directors: Chas. C. W. Simpson, H. R. Roose, T. G. Cowan E. Rowland Davies.

Manufactures.—Electric cables, wires, accumulators, lamps, telephones. (Me) Also field exchanges during WW2.

Try:
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/International_Electric_Co

Might be some links there worth following.

Regards
Jack

[FABphones]

...Try:
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/International_Electric_Co

Might be some links there worth following.

Regards
Jack

Thanks again. I had looked on that site and have double checked but nothing more to read. All good though as the little discovered so far makes this Candlestick all the more interesting, particularly as it would seem there are not too many Candlesticks out there bearing this 'I' stamp (I must have looked at hundreds, this is the first I have come across). Something I will look out for more in future.

My other Candlestick is a Plessey - 'PL' - they appear to be the most common manufacturer stamp I come across.

[FABphones]

I opened up a couple of spare earpieces today. The innards are the same as the earpieces already on the phones.

The endcap on the right was one of the hardest to remove that I have come across. It received a few soaks in WD40 and finally a warm up with the hairdryer. The heat helped soften the WD40 soaked crude and it turned easily (eventually). WD40 and a strap wrench never lets me down.

Second photo shows some of what was 'glueing' it together.

Am guessing the endcap on the left (the one with single hole, don't know if this style has a name), not the pepper pot style on the right, is the oldest.

Jack, may I call on your expertise - can you confirm either way?

[Jack Ryan]

Am guessing the endcap on the left (the one with single hole, don't know if this style has a name), not the pepper pot style on the right, is the oldest.

Jack, may I call on your expertise - can you confirm either way?

I'm not an expert on these and can't be definitive on this issue.

The caps with the round hole were made first (old catalogues only show the single hole version) and most are like that. The "pepper" cap came later but did not replace the single hole version.

I don't see how to intersperse images and text so you'll have to jump back and forth.

I think all the single hole receivers are marked "2" i.e. Earpiece No. 2.

The pepper caps are a different story - many are unmarked and some are reproductions. Of those that are marked, they are also marked No 2.

The first image (Pepper - PX No 2) was made by Phoenix Telephones & Electric Works Ltd. The second (Pepper - PX No 2 (2)) is too but it is not finished as well - the holes have very rough edges like the fettler cleared the holes with a nail. I'm not sure if it slipped by QA or if someone reproduced Phoenix caps.

The third (Pepper - S No 2) is a Siemens cap. It is made of hard rubber so is oldish but there is another marked SB in a cursive script that is even older - definitely much older than the later single hole caps (implying there was no single changeover from single hole to pepper).

The last (Pepper - No 2) looks fairly new and I don't recognise the markings.

The pepper cap is like the Earpiece No. 18 used on the handset No 164 with Inset 1L. It is tempting to say that the receiver caps changed to suit the handset style except the (pepper) receiver caps seem to be older that the handset caps.

As both the pepper cap and single hole cap have the same ID, neither the GPO nor the PMG recognised them as being different.


Can I suggest that you post higher resolution images? It is not possible to zoom in and have a good look. Thanks.


So, in the end I didn't help much. Sorry about that.

Jack

[.....]

Very nice, congrats.

[FABphones]

...in the end I didn't help much. Sorry about that.

That helped plenty, thanks.

Photos below of the two earpieces/endcaps from the spares box, both marked 2 and S (Siemens).
That works out nicely as it is the Siemens phone which needs the correct endcap.

Fourth and fifth photos are the '22' endcap which came on the Siemens Candlestick, and which needs replacing.

[HarrySmith]

Interesting. I am guessing the thumb size indentations on the end caps are for the same reason WE added bumps to their receiver end caps. It was to allow the sound of the howler to be heard if someone did not hang up and put the receiver down on the end.