French wooden magneto phone similar to type "Marty"?

[countryman]

I found this wooden phone. It's missing some parts and (maybe worse) has been restored before. But what is it? It resembles the wartime model 1940/41 Marty with it's painted iron hardware, but unlike most any french phone from the era it has a built-in ringer that seems original.
It has a Western Electric magneto, but this may be a later replacement as there are extra holes drilled for it in the base (?).

I just found it in an ebay auction and was the only bidder... now curious what it actually is...

[RB]

Hi
Nice piece!
Don't know anything about it.
Appears to have all the trappings of a regular LB phone???
It has the inline Ringer cap, so that's a step up.
The extra holes, may be for a smaller mag?
prob had provision for either, depending on distance from CO???
Looks like the rec is only part missing, plus the cap.
Interesting, to say the least.
Someone here will know whutcha got there.

[rdelius]

I see a 1943 date code on the capacitor. The ringer resembles a US military one.

[countryman]

The phone arrived and is in the expected condition - the seller's photos were quite good.

The cord is obviously frayed beyond any repair but interesting under archaeological aspects. It is (or was) a ribbon cable with a thin round cord woven through it - I suspect this was an elastic band, making the whole deal into a retractable cord! Never seen such a setup, did you?
The cord and everything else seems original to this phone, including the huge WE magneto and 1942 transmitter capsule. I suspected the wiring loom was replaced, as the wires have a plastic isolation, but it might as well be original?

Looking closely I could make out a thin print on the capacitor in German (!): Geprüft.... O.T. .... Fernmeldew...  (Tested... O.T. ... signal dept.) The phone might have been used in the German occupied part of France in WWII.

The receiver is missing the coils, diaphragm and cap. Might an American E1 cap fit the thread?

[countryman]

I now had correspondence with 2 knowledgeable collectors and both of them suggest this phone was built from pieces of earlier models. Obviously this was done with a certain degree of professionalism, considering the diagram sticker and how the wiring is done. Probably someone wanted a working phone during post-war material shortages. It may be a single copy or part of a small hand crafted series. I'll leave it unrestored but keep it.
I learned that the funny cord appeared in the mid 1950ies and was called "Elastophone"...

[Etienne]

Sorry I did not reply earlier on this.
The engraved figures under the phone might give some information.
"LT" means the phone (or was the wood piece re-used?) has been tested by the PTT and can be plugged to the public network. underneath is, or should be, the date. "6 (june) 0(?)something", hidden by the screw.
I suppose, as the diagram mentions a specific phone model, that it was produced at least in limited numbers: "Poste (set) ASP 25...00". As the magneto's screw hides it I would say it is a later replacement.
ASP might be the builder's name. There used to be some very small companies in France that used various foreign parts to assemble phones. I even have a 1950's dial with a handmade clear fingerwheel, (well) handwritten copy standard dial cards and printed-over, brushed aluminium number plate.


Strange for a french phone: the built-in ringer. Ringers were typically on the wall, only the capacitor was inside the phone, but there were few exceptions.

The capacitor bears the date: november 1943. That was exactly 1 year after the German Army occupied the entire country.

As for the handset, what you have is a permanent-magnet type, as was used on Marty 1934 phones (309-7), which seems sensible in this case. Not easy to find but possible. If you only want a cap to fit on, any cap from PTT 1924 handsets will do the job.
The plaque has extremely faded inscriptions but might still be readable at certain angles with appropriate lighting. What I can see (or what I think I see!)
"LE M..." => Le Matériel Téléphonique?
"B..." => BL?
"CON..." => constructeur?

[countryman]

Thanks a lot for your comment Etienne. This is a long term thing, never too late 
The engraved numbers on the bottom side are LT 06 01 - June 1901! The French collectors I talked to were of the opinion that the back board of an old magneto wall phone was re-used here. Likewise, everything else is just a conglomeration of parts from different ages and origins. It was certainly put together by a professional, and the diagram sticker suggests that it was not a single copy.
I made out a company named ASP in France, they are making equipment for high voltage power transmission today. I always wanted to write to them and ask if the company founder once started with telephones...
https://www.appareils-precision.fr/

[Etienne]

Thanks for your reply.
The company you mention is called "Appareils Scientifiques de Précision". This is what they write on their site:
"The history of our company began in 1947, in Fontaine (38600, France), with "Établissements Gerardin". Initially, we manufactured high-speed cameras, devices capable of capturing electric arcs, which were used in reseach laboratories or by the army."
ASP was created in 1955, and LB, wooden phones made out of second-hand parts seem a bit too low-tech for them, also too late after the war.