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Gray Paystation question

Started by Markgregory, August 12, 2018, 04:13:53 AM

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Markgregory

In my phone collection I have one Gray paystation, I believe it is a model 14 from around 1911 or so. On its face is a brass instruction plate (see photo). My question is.....were these brass plates on the original phones or are they an after market product. They look very cool, but I wonder if they are original.  Thanks, Mark



Markgregory

Quote from: Duffy on August 12, 2018, 07:09:47 AM
The one on mine is a reproduction.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=20804.msg212968

Thanks for the note and link. In the book Payphone History I saw some images of old Gray instruction cards that looked like they were all brass and had the bell logos on them like mine. Problem is the images are just not big enough or clear enough to make out. Still makes me wonder if mine is real. Looks pretty cool and if it is a retro, I am sure it is never-the-less a collectible by now simply because no one makes them anymore. I collect old phonographs and some of the reproduction wood horns cost even more than the phonographs. Making them is an art form in and of itself. Hope I get more feedback on the instruction card subject. Would love to learn more.  Mark

Markgregory

Here is a somewhat similar one  I found at a popular site with the paystation selling for over $1,200.00. Sent them a note and asked if it is real. No reply yet.


rdelius

This might be related to chicago old telephone co .The telephone and coin collecter are real but the mounting arms are not. not sure about the handle. Not sure about the instructions.

Markgregory


Found this reference in the Payphone book. Appears that before the teens Gray did use all brass nameplates (see bottom left image). The one on the top left, no. 7, appears to have the same wording and bell images as mine.


rdelius

Those brass instruction plates have been reproduced and can be polished.  They are very close to the origional ones.

Payphone installer

The plate is a repro. The repros are thinner. The originals also fit tighty against the housing and were thicker. Also I believe the only collector that was Gray that took this plate was a Gray 101 which is very rare.

Payphone installer

What i am going to tell everybody about the gray collector market will I am sure upset many of you. I found out a long time ago that finding a original Gray collector that is original is a tall order. There were a lot of models and many are very hard to find. They have also been copied,refurbished and parts reproed and switched around. A few years back I sold a buch of the real models and could not get the dollars they were worth because of all the junk out there. So how do you know what you have? There is one simple way to narrow it down right off the start,by checking the dimensions of the collector. It is clearly stated and they are all different. By measuring your collector you can tell what it was when purchased. God knows what it is now.  so here is a number 14. Read the dimensions at the bottom of the page.

Payphone installer

Gray number 11,there are probably more of these then anything else. Note the difference in the dimensions.

Payphone installer

Gray number 18,note the card holders most were 6 rivets,often you can remove the card holder on yours and see the original holes. I think these vary in size also.

Payphone installer

Gray number 20

Payphone installer

Here's the rare one the the 101 Gray. Sorry cant find the doc with the dimensions on this one. Also some of these collectors came in cast iron some in aluminum. Note the different drawers. Some had spiral chutes some flat chutes. Some took the Canadian silver nickel. I think the 101 was one of the earliest and one of the only collectors of this type with the brass intro plate. I don't believe the others ever had them. I have seen what I believe to be a original plate once.i think it can be proven by the dimensions of it. All the rest are repros. Just my opinion.

Payphone installer

So just like your payphone collection the card in your collector should reflect what company used the collector. If it has a W/E phone attached it should have a Bell Card and so on. These photos are all from a old original catalog everything was riveted and came with the card installed.

Payphone installer

There was never a brass tag made with bells on it by the way. Here is something interesting from my collection. It hung in the lobby of Gray a long time ago. It to years to obtain.