What sorts of reactions do you get?

[Dan]

I have on Ericophon on my office desk currently. Patients usually think it is some weird intercom sysyem.

[bellsystemproperty]

Ericofons are cool, but they can get uncomfortable to hold compared to a G handset. I don't use mine much since the volume is so dim, but  I'll put a new receiver in it and it'll be good as new.

[Greg G.]

I am curious about what sorts of reactions those of use who have old phones on display in our homes or offices get when friends, neighbors, relatives, clients, etc. enter and see them. 

Larry

If I ever have visitors I'll let you know (I have an odd work schedule).  Only person who's been by that's commented on them was Phonesrfun when he was in town.

[Phonesrfun]

Maybe so, but you do have a nice collection!

[Greg G.]

Wait, I take that back, my nephew came by a few weeks ago.  He even woke me up by calling my land line!  He was kinda perplexed about all the phones, so I gave him a tour and told a little about the different types and showed him some before/after pics of a couple of them.  Then I made him call his folks.  He didn't have any trouble with the rotary.  Only problem he had was which one to use.  Only one in the living room was plugged in at the time, the yellow 1979 SC.

[dsk]

I forgot to mention, the kids way of responding.

Your father has so many strange telephones, may we test them?

The most popular is the  magneto telephones. The possibility of generate long, short rings, and of course when they get some field wire, and a couple of field telephones!

Sometimes I let them go through my field exchange, and put them through to their mobiles, or call home.  They really don't understand, is it possible?

And how may these old telephones work, a mobile lasts for 1/2-3 years, not more!

dsk

[foots]

  You see d_s_k, the reason I got into collecting old phones was because, like you said, most modern phones only last for a few years. I had a high dollar cordless that up and died one day. It was only about 3 years old. I remember all of those wonderful old rotoary phones like the black 500 and yellow 554 that my grandparents had used in their home for years - well before I was born. I also decided to replace as much Chinese made junk with good quality North American and European appliances as I possibly can, and am so far succeeding.

  People don't seem to react too much to my phones, probably because I only have some old WE 500s hooked up (for right now). Those 500s are so familiar to people here they don't give them much attention. As soon as my Galion and my Conn. Tel. and Elec. phones are put out, I'm certain to get some reactions.

[AET]

Most people think that I'm nuts, some people are reminescent.  The majority just doesn't understand what I'm doing with all these 500 phones.

[bwanna]

the phones kind of blend in with all the other old jazz here. most people say, "wow you have alot of stuff". my girlfriend calls my house a museum.

[jsowers]

I have some 500 sets, Princesses and a few others on display on some spare shelves next to the entrance to my office. I work in the IT dept. of a school system and among many other things, we manage the IP phone system for 30 schools and the central office, so it's odd for some visitors to see my old technology on display like that. Several people have commented that their grandmother had a phone like that, or their parents, and what color it was. Sometimes they notice the unusual number cards. Sometimes they say "look at all the old phones." Sometimes they make no comments at all.

One saleslady who grew up in Atlanta remembered her home phone number exchange name from when she was a child. People ask if they all ring at one time, and they don't because none of them are hooked up. I also have some old computers, including my first Mac, on display. The Mac on the left has a TV tuner card in it and I have it hooked up to analog cable. I attached a picture from 2007 so you can what I'm referring to. I even have a phone-related desktop picture on my Dell.

Every now and then the IP phone system goes down. I've offered to lend them a phone, but it falls on deaf ears.    Once I had to test a problem with an analog FAX line, so I took one of the Princess phones off the shelf and used it at the school to make sure the line was noise free. So they do come in handy sometimes.

[McHeath]

That's a nice collection of phones, and even an old Mac SE!  (or is that an SE/30?)  My first Mac was an SE, bought it new in 87' when I was in college and kept it until 93'.  I have an old Apple Lisa that was given to me, as well as a very early Apple II. 

[jsowers]

That's a nice collection of phones, and even an old Mac SE!  (or is that an SE/30?)  My first Mac was an SE, bought it new in 87' when I was in college and kept it until 93'.  I have an old Apple Lisa that was given to me, as well as a very early Apple II. 

Actually, it's both. It was born a Mac SE in 1988 with a 20mb hard drive. But I got an SE/30 motherboard one time in a parts exchange, so guess where that board went? Inside this Mac. I also replaced the hard drive with a larger one. It still works fine. It cold boots in about 15 seconds. I'd like to see a modern computer do that.

To get back to phones... several of the phones in my office collection were thrift store finds. The ivory 500, the moss green 500 with gray cords and the bright yellow Noteworthy are three of them. So I don't have a lot of $$ in them, in case someone gets sticky fingers.

[rp2813]

Some people don't notice at all, or choose not to make any remarks.  That's if the phone is just sitting there.  When it rings, then it suddenly becomes to them a quite remarkable piece of equipment.  Most recently, a 30-year old was in the den when my 7/54 model 500 phone rang in there.  The room has a high ceiling and tiled floor.  It got his attention, and I'll probably fix him up with a rotary 500 once he gets himself a landline installed, which I continue to nag him about.

[DavePEI]

People do react strangely to vintage phones...

Many years ago, I had a funny reaction back when 500s were in vogue. I had a 500 set in my Ham Shack. I had just sold a car to a lady, and she had to call her insurance agent.

She asked where she could find a phone, and I pointed to the ham shack. There, she was confronted with all my radio equipment, and asked, which one is the phone.

Years later, Jeffery was having a birthday party. It was after Touch tone phones were common, and a kid had to call home to tell his parents he was ready to leave. I pointed to the 500 set, and all was quiet for the next 10 minutes. Finally he came to me and asked how to dial the phone!

A lady who has visited the museum several times, and who has a dial 500 set in her cottage, told me her granddaughter calls it the phone which chases her fingers!

One thing I have noticed in the museum, is children today have no interest in magneto sets. Their parents do - I guess it goes towards the adage that people prefer the phones which were around when they were young!

Finally, I have had the comment several times when people come into the museum and first see the 500 or so phones there, "Do I need ear plugs when they ring?" I have to tell them I can't leave them all hooked up as it would overload the line. Can you imagine the racket if they all rang at once?

Dave

[dpaynter1066]

When they see my candlestick phone they invariably say : "Does that work??"  followed by oh, ok and they show no further interest.