Non-dial Western Electric 553-A Apartment Phone

[Rescuemo]

Happy, Happy, Happy! As some of you recall, I recently lost some phones and parts due to a theft and one of them was a Western Electric apartment phone. I was pretty upset but I was determined to get another. They've become a bit more collectible of late and selling for some big bucks. There were a couple of auctions recently and I worked one of them and ultimately won it. The seller, Mike, was super helpful and it was a great transaction. I got it yesterday and and I'm making plans to restore it after the first of the year. Here's some pics...

[Sargeguy]

I am in the process of restoring mine that I purchased a few months back for a $50 BIN.  You are correct, the prices have gone a little nuts on these.  I always thought the manual versions were undervalued, but they seem to have come into their own.

[Rescuemo]

Yeah, it's weird how things suddenly come into vogue. Just a few years ago these things were $50 all day long. But I suspect I know one reason they jumped so high. A few years ago, some guy took one of these and did an absolutely stunning restoration on it and put it on eBay. I saw it the first time and it took my breath away. Just a downright gorgeous phone! And it sold, I think, for just around $700 at the end. It generated a lot of buzz among collectors and prices have climbed ever since.  Sargeguy, I'm very interested to see what you do with yours. Hoping to start restoring this one after the first of the year.

[Greg G.]

Yeah, it's weird how things suddenly come into vogue. Just a few years ago these things were $50 all day long. But I suspect I know one reason they jumped so high. A few years ago, some guy took one of these and did an absolutely stunning restoration on it and put it on eBay. I saw it the first time and it took my breath away. Just a downright gorgeous phone! And it sold, I think, for just around $700 at the end. It generated a lot of buzz among collectors and prices have climbed ever since.  Sargeguy, I'm very interested to see what you do with yours. Hoping to start restoring this one after the first of the year.

I think I remember seeing that phone online somewhere.  You're right, it was gorgeous!   Almost inspired me to work on mine.