Flea Market Find WE B1 102 Almost New

[Doug Rose]

While I was sleeping this morning, my wife and her friend went up to New Hampshire to the Todd Farm Flea market. She called me at 6:05AM with a nice find. She knew exactly what it was and wanted to be sure I wanted it. I DID!!! It was a mess with tape residue all over it, really  dirty and the bottom cover ripped almost off. But Janet said it looked to be in really great shape. She was correct.   The original paint is almost perfect, with a few chips by the ears.  All I did was goo be gone of the sticky residue and wax the handset and base; replaced the destroyed wool bottom, add a NOS vintage Private Line dial card and here it is! It is dated 329 inside, March 1929. It is a seamless handset, with seamless caps with a newer transmitter dated 3/36. The near perfect cords are also dated 3/36. My guess is a repair in March of 1936. I really doubt this ever got back into service by its wonderful condition. It is a working phone and is now the working phone in my phone room. They are out there to be found. This time the early bird got the B1.....Doug

[Doug Rose]

more pics

[Dennis Markham]

Man, Doug.....you have a great lady there!  She goes out and finds the phones while you sleep in!  Does she have the coffee ready for you when you get up too?!

That is an awesome phone.  You have some pretty good flea markets in your area.

I hit a large one this morning.  The best I could find was a black 500 from 1953...the guy wanted $45 for it.  He even told me "it has 6 holes in the ear cap".  I think he's been reading the forum.  No deals there, unlike this one.

Beautiful phone!!!  It doesn't look like its' been used!

[JorgeAmely]

The woman is a keeper. 

[Jester]

And the phone ain't bad, either.

[LarryInMichigan]

How do you keep doing it???  I suppose that your wife paid $3 for it also.

Larry

[McHeath]

Nah, she probably paid 2.50 for it.

Man, what a find.  And here in my neck of the woods there are none, zero, zip, da nada, ziltch, nyet old phones to be found at yard sales, flea markets and Craigslists.  Antique stores have some, but rarely anything of interest and they are always overpriced. 

Keep finding them, good to know that someplace out there steals can be had. 

[Dan/Panther]

Doug;
Great find !!
Did she happen to get the subset also ?
O.K. I'll ask, How Much ?
D/P

[Doug Rose]

thanks to all....it is a really great find and she is a keeper. Even if she slept in this morning; she is a great girl. Janet has really been a good student and learned enough that we can converse about an old phone. She knew right away it wasn't a 202, " its the round one. There are no lines on the E1 (she know the difference), but there is no ball in the handset where you talk. The cords are perfect , its pretty shiny even though its really dirty with tape gunk on the E1. You'll need to put a new cover on the bottom."  Is she good or what? She thought it was for resale, silly girl. Seller wanted $75, she go it for $60. I told her its out of her money! Give me a break, she did wake me at 6:05 on a Sunday morning! Any sympathy?....Doug

[Dan/Panther]

Janet;
If you read this, If it's out of your money, it's your phone. Tell Doug it's for sale. $200.00.

Doug;
I did that for your own good, if not next time it will be; "Doug, you should have seen the real nice 49-500 I found today, but I didn't want to spend the $10.00 of MY money.

D/P

[Doug Rose]

I have had a few of you ask me about the new cover I put on the bottom of my 102. Marie Prewitt, who has posted a few times on the Forum, makes outstanding covers at a very inexpensive price. She sews in stings on the outside, so you pull the strings and it tightens right up to the cover. Really ingenious. I did not a have a cover to fit a 102, so I used one of her 202 covers and it worked like a champ. They snug up nice and stay so you can fight with the metal ring. They never go back on as easily as they come off. .....Doug

[Dan/Panther]

Mary has a pretty neat idea, after the bottom is back on, will the ring go back in place ?
D/P

[AET]

The woman is a saint.

[Doug Rose]

Mary has a pretty neat idea, after the bottom is back on, will the ring go back in place ?
D/P

Dan....Its a battle, but eventually  it clicks in....I'm not going to open it and check. Marie does real nice work, she custom made the bottom for my WE205...Doug