Vintage Automatic Electric Co. Chicago Rotary Phone

[HELLO CENTRAL]

 Vintage Automatic Electric Co. Chicago Rotary Phone

Current bid:   US $535.75



A true fix er upper!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Automatic-Electric-Co-Chicago-Rotary-Phone_W0QQitemZ280264611838QQcategoryZ879QQcmdZViewItem
( dead link 03-16-21 )

[Mark Stevens]

I don't know much about phones that old, but isn't that one of those Strowger Automatics, the model that is considered to be the first rotary dial phone?!  The current bid makes me think it is!  All the others I've seen photos of were chrome (or nickel) plated.  It may show the miles, but I wouldn't turn it down.  Maybe y'all could pitch in and get it for me as a Christmas present!!! 

[HELLO CENTRAL]

So, from now on, if I see what looks like a  phone that looks like a piece of junk at a sale or thrift shop, I should buy it if I can afford it?  No, haven't seen one of these, but I've been surprised many times.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

[Mark Stevens]

PIECE OF JUNK?!  If you ever find one of those, I'd buy it even if a family of rats called it home!
Piece of junk indeed...   

[bingster]

Yep, that's the original Strowger dial.  It's also got the very collectible Red Cross germ-killing antiseptic mouthpiece.  There was a metal adapter base that screwed over the transmitter, in place of the original mouthpiece.  Then a thick round wick was saturated with germ killing solution, stuck in the metal adapter, and the glass mouthpiece was screwed onto the adapter.  Supposedly, the liquid killed any germs on the mouthpiece.  It had to be re-saturated a couple times a month.  I've seen a NOS unit somewhere on the internet, showing the adapter, mouthpiece, vial of antiseptic solution, and the original box and packaging.  Neat stuff.

[Dennis Markham]

Here is a photo of a similar mouthpiece on a Western Electric stick:

http://www.phonemandave.net/we10trans.htm

This photo came from this site which features Western Electric Candlestick phones:

http://www.phonemandave.net/westernelectric.htm

[HELLO CENTRAL]

I had no idea!  WOW. 

[Mark Stevens]

I had no idea!  WOW. 

Hey H.C., did you notice what your ugly phone is up to now?   $1,624.99!!!  You're not the high bidder, are you?   

[benhutcherson]

Did anyone else notice that the back of the receiver cup is marked "American Bell"?

It looks like this one might have had some part swapping.

In any case, even with the condition, I'd kill to have it. $1600+ telephones don't fit in to a college student's budget too well, though.

[Mark Stevens]

Yes, I wondered about the parts-swapping thing myself. I can't recall what caught my eye, but something else made me think the same thing. That's the trouble with phones of that vintage. Unless it's just been extracted from a long-forgotten hiding spot, there's been plenty of opportunities for them to have been "messed with." Knowledge is crucial when dealing in those early phones, and the learning-curve is steep!