Still More Old Junk I bought on eBay

[Sargeguy]

This old magneto box from the Lincoln Telephone Company has been haunting eBay's Vintage Telephone section for months.  I gave it the once over but passed due to the price.  Now I need a magneto for my TYPE 72 box restoration.  I jeep getting outbid at $35-40 for boxes on eBay,  As noted elsewhere single magneto prices are unaccountably high lately (it's still cheaper to get a magneto if you buy the box along with it, though).  



So I took another look at it.  I noticed that it was a Western Electric TYPE 21, the upper half of a two boxer, nearly identical to the box I am restoring.  I took a third look and noticed it was actually a TYPE 2 that had been converted to a type 21.  It has the exact magneto I am looking for.  Anyone who saw my post on the TCI list last week will know that TYPE 2 boxes were the upper third of the so-called 3 boxers from the 1890s that used the Blake transmitter.  A close inspection of the photos shows that it has patent dates and the Bell System disclaimer.  These appear to be embossed rather than engraved, making it older still.  I expect that WESTERN ELECTRIC CHICAGO-NEW YORK is embossed on the front.  



Now as a knowledgeable collector you may be thinking to yourself "but the Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Co. was founded in 1903 and used Strowger equipment, as it was not part of the Bell System, but actually one of its competitors."  True.  But in 1912, as part of an agreement with Ma Bell, Lincoln swapped customers and equipment with the Nebraska Bell in certain territories, in order to reduce competition and streamline services. (Thank you Google) This phone must have been part of the swap and had the decal affixed at a later date, maybe when they drilled all those holes in it.  



Keeping all this history in mind, and the fact that I am a sucker for engraved/embossed patent dates, the $45 BIN didn't seem so unreasonable.  Plus it comes with a ringer, which is also needed for the restoration.        

[deedubya3800]

Awesome find! I know absolutely nothing about pre-1922 telephone equipment (yet), but I can tell you were pretty lucky to find just what you needed like that. How did no one else ever notice it? There are a good few people out there that are really sharp on this stuff.

[Sargeguy]

Factors affecting price are that was in the Vintage Telephones section, the Lincoln Tel. & Tel label was a red herring, and most importantly, it's a wood phone.

[Sargeguy]

Early model WE Type 20-S candlestick.  I don't know why they call this the "Hershey's Kiss" perch.  The 20 AL drawn perch and the later solid perches both look more like Hershey's kisses.  The receiver is  The box is old, but not WE.  

[Sargeguy]

Found this on Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/transaction/51477153




Looks like some sort of early phone directory.  I used to work in Worcester and am familiar with many of the streets listed there, so for the princely sum of 12.50 I bought it. The odd thing is that it is in numerical rather than alphabetical order.  Nice WE 20-S desk stand with a knurled nut and pony receiver.

[Sargeguy]

Well the entire load of recent eBay junk landed on my porch this morning.  

The TYPE 21 box has the proper magneto which now resides in the type 72.  The front is embossed but the sides are lightly engraved.  

The early style 20-S candlestick is actually a bit of a frankenphone.  The perch is from a type 22, but the base and shaft have the 04 patent dates and used to be nickel.  The transmitter is a 323 and there is no knurled nut.  The magneto is Chicago with a couple nice old Kellogg cords.  It has spots where the binding posts once were, and it works just fine as far as I can tell.



The picture/directory also arrived.

[wds]

I actually bid on that phone, but quite before the $100 mark.  The seller told me that the shaft had the screw in the side of the shaft, which is something you would see on an original #22.  Is the screw there, or did the seller give me bad information? The 1904 base plate caused me to quit the bidding early.

[Sargeguy]

Hey, the seller told me that too!!!  It isn't there!  I'll be lucky if I can get $40 bucks for the Chicago box, maybe $10 for the cords and banged up receiver.  Still, a type 22 doesn't come up every day, I just wish there was more to it than the perch.

[gpo706]

Sargeguy, someone could easy repair that missing torn bit on Photoshop from a hi-res scan, there's not a lot to replace.

[Sargeguy]

I'm more interested in the back.  

Speaking of auctions for early WE candlesticks that may or may not have early bases, check this out:

http://tinyurl.com/3te8hup*

Ironically I am selling this to pay for the Type 22.  Keep in mind I started the auction at $9.99 and BIN was $39.99.  I think it's pretty obvious from the description and photos that it is not an early base.


*For future reference-auction for WE 20-S parts consisting of stem, hook and base with baseplate, patent date 1915 on base.  Both sides and bottom are clearly viewable in photos.  Current bid is $127.50)

[wds]

I was watching this one also - how did the price go above the BIN price of $39.99?  I don't sell much on Ebay, but it seems like someone would have hit the BIN button before bidding over the $39.99.  Congrats to you on that $127 price!

[Sargeguy]

I don't think I'll make them pay that much.  $39.99 does seem fair though?

[Willytx]

Here is the result of a playing with the photo for a little while.

It beats editing evil dictators into vacation snapshots.

[gpo706]

WillyTX - you're the man dude!

[Sargeguy]

Nice! 

I am still wondering what this is exactly and why the numerical order.