Selling Dictograph Intercoms

[Nick in Manitou]

Here or eBay?

I have been asked to sell a couple Dictograph intercoms for a widowed friend.  (I get nothing out of it but a warm feeling for doing a favor for a great old lady!)

The units were in the office of her late husband's business and his name still appears on one of them.

She says that after he retired, she used these units in her classroom and the kids loved talking to each other - even though they were just a few feet apart!  Later, the cords out the back of the units were cut and the kids would pretend to hear each other through the units even though there was no longer an actual connection.

The units have what I would call light wear on them and it seems to me that a minor cleanup and polish of the wood would make them look really good.  The insides are clean and do not seem to have been messed with.  I can see one contact that looks to be broken and will attach a photo that shows that.  Also one stack of contacts has one leg of a threaded u-bolt broken (but I have the broken part and the stack still seems tight).

Dates on the transmitter and receivers are 1950 for the 5 lever unit and 1953-54 for the 7 lever unit.

The handset and mount on the 5 lever unit are black and they are brown on the 7 lever unit.  No noticeable damage to either and only light wear...they should polish up easily.

I took a bunch of photos if there is interest I could post them here or PM them to someone.

The lady is of limited funds and in her 80s.  I told her that I might be able to find someone on the internet that would be interested because I saw some that had sold on eBay.

I would prefer to sell them here if there is interest because if the helpful community that I have found here.

Any interest?

Thanks,
Nick

[gpo706]

Nice kept sets, hope they find a good home.

Does it say "Telematic" on the badge rather than the usual "Dictograph" badge?

[wds]

Whats the asking price for both?

[Nick in Manitou]

GPO,

The 5 lever unit says, "Telematic" on the side with the levers, and the 7 lever unit says, "Dictograph" in a script font against the wood on the non-lever side of the unit (I guess that is the side that the visitor to the office would have been looking at).

[Nick in Manitou]

WDS!

Very sorry for the lack of response!

Was discussing probable sale with another forum member via P.M.s and got busy with In-Laws in town and just forgot to respond!  Very sorry.

If the deal in process does not work out for some reason, I will let you know via P.M.

Thanks for your interest and most embarrassed and sorry for not responding to your question.

Nick

[DavePEI]

These both have arrived in excellent condition. Rick did one of the best packing jobs I have ever seen, and both arrived without a scratch! In fact, unpacking them was at least a 1/2 hour job Thank you, Rick!

Now, has anyone got any wiring documents for them - I have found one diagram for an Australian made system, but would love to find one more applicable to these phones. They will be placed in an operational display in the museum.

Dave

[Owain]

A few links and forum at
http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=72541
One of the posters was a Telephone Rentals service engineer!