Sumter Split shaft Candlestick breakdown photos

[allnumbedup]

This HTF Sumter Split-shaft candlestick was found in a small antique shop in Virginia looking like it had survived a barn fire. I partially disassembled this phone and cleaned it of grime and soot using wax and surface cleaner only. I have not restored this phone which means it has areas of loss of finish (varnish, paint, and nickel), some overpaint and paint marks, and loss of cloth wire as shown. The internal wiring is soldered in place and the base contains a heavy black wood terminal strip with multiple pin connection clamps. The transmitter cup is a two piece four set bolt design. The bolt and knob that allow adjustment of the cup angle are an unusual design where the bolt attached into threads on the side of the perch across from it and the knob does not tighten the tension but screws loosely onto the bolt. I added a piece of shrink-heat  insulation to make the knob snug against the threads of the bolt. Neither the bolt nor the knob are stripped but must have had some type of fiber coating originally.  The only other modification I made was moving two internal transmitter bolts from the inside to the outside of the cup as they had perfect nickel finishes. The candlestick is completely unmarked with a transmitter mouthpiece and receiver that appear to be composite material. The receiver has a bell shaped top and the cap is round edged without a bevel. It fits nicely on the switch hook. The mouthpiece as a portion of missing thread not visible when installed and screws down tightly.  The transmitter face, perch, bells, and split shaft are heavy nickeled brass while the base and bottom plate are heavy painted steel. The base retains its composite ferrule for the cords and the base plate is held on with a single center bolt into the internal shaft. The cords are those that came with the phone and are stiff, consisting of a light green with red and yellow speckled dual wire receiver cord ending on both sides in bare wire and a 5 pin to 5 pin brown cord between the stick and the magneto ringer box.  These cords are a tight fit where they exit in the base of the candlestick. The mounting holes on the box for cords and wall mounting are brass grommet lined and there is an unused hole for the station cord which is missing. There are no grooves or holes for wire on the base board of the box.  The front has a Sumter Independent Telephone Company plaque on the front. The case is worn dark vanished oak with a Sumter green painted 4 magnet magneto.  The magneto rings the bell when cranked and the switch hook, receiver, transmitter and bell all work when tested individually but I am unsure of the wires which do have bare spots. The induction coil yields 21 ohms when tested for continuity. I am unsure that the 5 pin connections are correct but remain attached as found. This phone is going to be offered at a low starting bid without reserve on ebay tomorrow.

[allnumbedup]

a few more photos of this rare phone

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last pix

[rdelius]

I had one with the subset but it got stolen  was brassesd out with orig rec,

[allnumbedup]

ebay auction link for now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/285523026313

[loblolly986]

Great find, and you get my applause for keeping it original. Candlesticks still paired with their telco-original subsets are among my favorite phones. Even "common" models are considerably harder to find that way, and it's extra special to find a rarer one complete like this.

The eBay auction is up to 36 watchers and counting. I won't be able to afford competing for it myself but it'll be interesting to see what it goes for.

[allnumbedup]

Even "common" models are considerably harder to find that way, and it's extra special to find a rarer one complete like this.

I always try to restore phones as original and functional as I am able to accomplish which means I have a huge number of projects waiting on my time or the correct part.  Just as you wrote this, I received an ebay message on how much shipping cost could be reduced by leaving the subset out of the box. The answer is 'a lot' but we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. thanks for your interest. jc 

[loblolly986]

Just as you wrote this, I received an ebay message on how much shipping cost could be reduced by leaving the subset out of the box.

Gee, if it's people that cheap watching this, and if I didn't have bills to pay this week, maybe I would have a chance at it...

🙄