We've discussed this one before on the forum, and this scarce phone is the subject of our next auction contest. It's apparently a trials version of Western Electric's very first attempt at a combined handset wall set. This particular set has had it's E1 handset replaced with an F1 (the concave portion on the face being designed to receive the E1's transmitter cap). It's dated II-32, just as the others we've seen have been marked.
This is an astoundingly rare phone, and despite it's already-high price (and the newer handset), I think it's got a long way to go. And how high will it go? Get your guess in before the auction's final day and you could be the next contest winner!
> WE "A1" Wall Set < (http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Black-Wall-Mount-Capital-Handset-Telephone_W0QQitemZ310173355555QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4837c5ce23)
S C O R E B O A R D$ 999.99 - McHeath
$1577.67 - JorgeAmely
$1750.00 - Dan/Panther
$1932.00 - bingster
$2019.58 - bwanna
$2065.69 - Dan
$2375.68 - Bill Cahill
$2500.00 - Jester (Winner!)
Sold for $2,815.00$3250.22 - Dennis Markham
$5000.00 - mienaichizu
$1577.67
I'll go $3,250.22
2065.69
$999.99 give or take.
It's really interesting how these phones are always dated to 1932 and yet they are essentially exactly the same parts that became the 302 in 1936 a full four years later. The lag time is surprising, they had a phone with internal ringer and network in 32' but did not seem to want to market that.
They were working on the 302 in 1932. In fact, the design was almost finalized then. The case was much longer front to back than the final version, but it's essentially the same. Paul Fassbender has a photo of one on his site, and it's quite the elegant thing.
I'll say $2500.00
$1156.51
i was way high on the last one :o
$2019.58
No guess here, but see how the "Wait!" dial card peeks through the CApital one.
that is one really nice phone, 5000 for me!
$1750.00.
D/P
2500.00
Bill Cahill
Jester already has $2500. Got another guess?
2375.68
Bill Cahill ;D
"I'll take curtain number one...."
Quote from: Bill Cahill on October 09, 2009, 09:11:47 PM"I'll take curtain number one...."
Oooooh sorry... Behind curtain number one is a rusted out 1974 Ford Pinto. :P
Oh, no! :o you mean I gave my 2 million dollar prize for that???
:o
Bill Cahill
There is still a baby blue Pinto wagon driving around my town, we see it every so often. It's the only Pinto that I've seen on the road in years and years.
Wow, this phone is up to 610 dollars and still has a way to go. Could be a pile of money is going to go out the door on this one.
$1250 is my guess.
It also looks like the original dial has been replaced with a #6. For a phone made in 1936 I would expect a #5, or maybe even a #4. Still, even with the replaced receiver and probably a replaced dial, I would expect it to go for some serious money.
Portland, Oregon, where I grew up had Capitol as its main downtown business exchange name. Lots of cities had Capitol, but I thought that was interesting. In Portland, the CApitol exchange was created in the mid '50s when the numbers were expanded by one digit to go from 6 to 7. They went to two letters, followed by 5 numbers, so just like on this telephone, the format for many years was LLN-NNNN.
It looks like the final bid is in............$2,815.00.
Wow, I was going to guess $2,500, but somehow I thought it would actually go for more than that.
You can never tell, that's for sure.
Congrats to JESTER!
Wow, big money. If I had that kind of money, well I'd probably have bought it. :)
hmmmm..., I bid on it too much