O/T: "Candlestick" telephones advice needed.

[fran604g]

Hi all,

I've been thinking about this topic for a while now, and I'm looking to add at least one version of a pre-1910 telephone to the phonograph collection, and wonder what advice those knowledgeable collectors might have for me, if any.

What should I look for in them?

What should I avoid?

Are wall mount phone sets preferable/not preferable over desk sets?

I'll likely be going into this "sub-collection" slowly and cheaply, so any suggestions for an addition that would be inexpensive to get my feet wet, so to speak, are appreciated.

Many thanks,
Fran

[Oceangoer1]

I tried telephones once. I found a rotary phone from the 1940's that was adapted to work on modern telephone lines. I use it sometimes, but I only really like to hear the ring when someone calls the house phone. I personally like the candlestick phones with the rotary dial on them. Some don't have the dial, I believe they were meant as in home extension lines.

Avoid anything that is cheap PLASTIC and has BUTTONS. There are swarms of those fake replica ones that usually have a plastic, curly-Q cords.

I'm not sure how hard or easy it is to have them work on modern telephones lines, but I would want one to work and be used. I had trouble winning one, because on eBay they get bid up to very high prices. Even for the parts ones, and the ones that are in need of repair. And in antique stores, I haven't seen a wall mount telephone, or a REAL candlestick telephone that is less than $200. (Even when the wall mounts are just an empty box with no magneto or electric components! They still want $350)

[fran604g]

Thanks,

I am only interested in an historically authentic phone set. I don't plan on anything that would be used for modern implementation.

Fran

[Wolfe]

I'm not sure how hard or easy it is to have them work on modern telephones lines

Old rotary pulse dial telephones can still be made to dial a telephone number with an adaptor btw the phone and the phone line. But they are becoming increasingly incompatible with digital networks.

[phonojim]

It sounds to me that you have a lot to learn before you embark on your quest for an antique wall or candlestick phone. I grew up around some very old type systems which were still in use and currently have some in my collection. I could explain a lot of this to you, but since there are phone collectors out there who know far more than me I am providing 3 phone collector websites which should more than answer your questions.

Jim

http://www.atcaonline.com/ Antique Telephone Collectors Association

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php Classic Rotary Phones Forum

http://www.telephonecollectors.org/ Telephone Collectors International

[fran604g]

Thank you, Jim, I've been reading through those sites, and will continue to learn as much as I can on the topic.

Any personal pointers you'd like to give me?

Best,
Fran

[EarlH]

I kept a candlestick phone in my house in the front room up until I got a cell phone and stopped using a land line. I would have kept the land line except for all the telemarketers calling constantly. Anyway, they do shorten your phone calls as they are heavy and you have to speak into the mouthpiece to be 'heard'. It was a dial set-up with a nice walnut bell box. It sure cured neighbors from coming over and wanting to use their calling cards back in those days! The dial one's are kind of expensive but worth it if you want to place calls.

I also had an "extension" down in the basement and I don't know what the deal with with the transmitter on that one, but it was extremely loud and if I saw on my caller ID it was a telemarketer I could answer on that one and they would hang right up. My little brother works for AT&T and I told him about that so he gave me a call from where he works and swore at me! He said my voice when through his head like a thunder clap and there was no way he would talk to me on that thing with his head-set... Oh well.

There used to be a place in Wisconsin you could send them to and they would sort them out to work on the phone lines as they are now. I have a good friend that works for a phone company out in California and he is in the trouble-shooting end of it. I asked Phillip when they were going to do away with the pulse type dialing, and he said they really can't do that. It's too ingrained into the system AND if you can't get a phone (on a landline) to dial, you can hit the cradle switch a bunch of times and an operator will come on the line. He said it's too simple and it works if the touch tone part is down.

My Mom was a phone operator before dial and she will tell about lightening going across the switchboard during storms and no calls were placed then of course. And late at night, the operators would learn who was calling each other and just place the call when it came in. If you were on a party line, you weren't supposed to place calls late at night unless it was an emergency.

[Phonofreak]

If you want a pre-1910 phone for display, I would get a wooden oak wall phone. They would suit the purpose perfectly. Make sure when you turn the crank, the magneto works. When that happens, the bells ring. . Make sure the mouth piece and hand set aren't broken or cracked. In today's market, you can get a nice original one for less than $300.00. Candlestick phones are much later.
Harvey Kravitz

[De Soto Frank]

Is it for display, or use ?

If just display, a Western Electric or similar candle-stick w/o dial will probably be cheaper.

If you want one to use, make sure the network / ringer-box come-with.

There was an outfit called Phoneco that dealt in antique phones and parts, don't know if they're still around or not.


I have a beautiful Western Electric 202 set still in operation in our front hall-way, complete with E-style hand-set and "spit-cup" transmitter.

[fran604g]

If you want a pre-1910 phone for display, I would get a wooden oak wall phone. They would suit the purpose perfectly. Make sure when you turn the crank, the magneto works. When that happens, the bells ring. . Make sure the mouth piece and hand set aren't broken or cracked. In today's market, you can get a nice original one for less than $300.00. Candlestick phones are much later.
Harvey Kravitz

Thank you Harvey, this is exactly what I was wondering.

I've seen many listings (at one person's website) in which he had several wall phones with prices right around $300+/-.

I'll take your advice to heart.

Best,
Fran