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NEW OLD STOCK Western Electric Military Wood Wallmount Dated 1/45!!!!!

Started by Doug Rose, January 18, 2010, 10:20:17 AM

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Doug Rose

Happy MLK day. My wife and I went to Maine yesterday to visit her Dad. No Flea markets in the snowy NE so we hit a few antiques stores. We were in the last one of the day when my wife yells...."DOUG!!" I come running to find a perfect WE Wood Wall phone staring at me. Janet always carries a mini flat head and philips in her purse, just in case. I open it and it is dated 1/45, as is the magneto and the element in the handset. This was an refurb for WWII that never made it back into service. There are a few very minor marks on it from being passed around for SIXTY FIVE YEARS!! To add to the find, the booth had 50% of all purchases this weekend. HOO RAH!! The lovely Janet allowed this to be mounted in our TV room since it matches the decor.  HOO RAH part II!!! It just shows that there are a few beauties out there waiting for us......Doug
Kidphone

LarryInMichigan

Doug,

What is it about you?  You find more rare phone bargains in one week than most people find in a lifetime.  You're like a rare phone magnet.

Larry

Dennis Markham

Interesting phone, Doug.  Very nice.  Since I know very little (if anything) about wooden phones, is this a factory refurb job or did an individual somewhere paint and fix it up?

Dan/Panther

Whether it is NOS, or wherever it came from is a moot point...I Hate Him...
BTW Doug how much was it....
Now I hate you again...
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

LarryInMichigan

D/P, Doug won't reveal the price because it was probably $15 or something outrageous like that, and we would all hate him even more if he told us.

Doug, Will you be installing a network in it so that it can be used on your phone line or at least connecting the ringer?

Larry

McHeath

Yeah man, the rare phones flock to you like the Pied Piper.  Kinda scary. ;)

I'd go my whole life and never see one of these.

Cool phone, is that the original color?  It looks sorta like those 50's robots. :)

Dan/Panther


The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Jim Stettler

Quote from: Dennis Markham on January 18, 2010, 11:35:53 AM
Interesting phone, Doug.  Very nice.  Since I know very little (if anything) about wooden phones, is this a factory refurb job or did an individual somewhere paint and fix it up?

I would say it is factory, either NOS or refurb ( I lean towards NOS).  This phone is a cross-collectable for military collectors as well. I typically don't like the military paint job, but usually they are beat-up. 

This one looks very nice. It  has the look of military surplus.

Kidphone, did you think to ask about the shipping crate? They probably had it priced seperatly.
Great find,
Jim S.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Doug Rose

Jim....I agree with you and this was definitely done by Western, whether it was NOS or a refurb of their existing parts; this is in like new condition and never saw service. Decal is on the outside of the paint and I have never seen this decal as a repro. This will stay exactly the way it is and I won't do anything to spoil its  history.  I have enough of working phones. I won't even add the batteries This was bought at an antique store that has 100s of dealers. There was no one to ask about the crate. I was happy enough to find this and I don't I would have thought to ask. I had to be chased to my car by the lady checking me out. I didn't even sign the charge card slip. Yeah...I was a little excited....Doug
Kidphone

Jim Stettler

Quote from: Kidphone on January 18, 2010, 02:01:49 PM
Jim....I agree with you and this was definitely done by Western, whether it was NOS or a refurb of their existing parts; this is in like new condition and never saw service. Decal is on the outside of the paint and I have never seen this decal as a repro. This will stay exactly the way it is and I won't do anything to spoil its  history.  I have enough of working phones. I won't even add the batteries This was bought at an antique store that has 100s of dealers. There was no one to ask about the crate. I was happy enough to find this and I don't I would have thought to ask. I had to be chased to my car by the lady checking me out. I didn't even sign the charge card slip. Yeah...I was a little excited....Doug

It is a sweet phone. I don't chase wood, or military sets. But I would've been interested in this set if I saw it.  I prefer shopping the antique malls. No telling who might have what.

Jim S.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Phonesrfun

Quote from: Dan/Panther on January 18, 2010, 12:50:26 PM
Is the capacitor  missing ?
D/P

Dan:

A bit of telephone circuitry trivia:

In the local battery phones, the capacitors were optional.  The ringers were wired directly across the line, since there was no DC on the local battery lines.  The capacitor's only purpose was to make it so that if someone on the party line accidentally left their phone off the hook, it would not tie up the whole system from being able to ring other phones.  It was really there to block the ringing current from lugging down the line through the receiver.  

Perhaps this newer model either had  small capacitor that we cannot see in the picture, or it was omitted and was made to be added later as an option.

-Bill
-Bill G

Jester

O/D paint & a brass hook for the phone directory!  Very nice find, kidphone.
Stephen

Dan

Quote from: LarryInMichigan on January 18, 2010, 12:11:09 PM
D/P, Doug won't reveal the price because it was probably $15 or something outrageous like that, and we would all hate him even more if he told us.

Doug, Will you be installing a network in it so that it can be used on your phone line or at least connecting the ringer?

Larry

Comeon, you know he got it for $9.95
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

Doug Rose

Normally wood phones like this are priced between $250 and $500 in Antique stores. These prices are ridiculous, considering missing handsets, cracked bakelite, missing or damaged wood, etc. If perfect, they would be overpriced. This guy was reasonably priced, considering its perfect condition, although not as low as the aforementioned $9.95. The 50% off really did make it a steal. Everytime I walk into my Den, I can't believe it. I didn't even want to drive to Maine Sunday as the forecast was not good. The weather lived up to the forecast and was terrible, but I really didn't seem to notice......Doug
Kidphone

dsk

Fascinating!  :D
This one should even be easy to use as a telephone for receiving calls in your TV-room.

A capacitor in series with the bell, strapping or disconnecting the inductor, putting in a 3V battery and connecting to the line.  ;D

Post a picture when you get it up on the wall!

dsk