O/T: "Candlestick" telephones advice needed.

[phonojim]

Not necessarily. Many of the old phones had no place for a dial. Many were made with an opening for the dial which was covered with a blank plate if no dial was used. I bought my candlestick, it did not have a dial, so I found one, removed the plate and installed the dial. A friend who is an avid phone collector checked that it was properly wired for my application. I successfully used it for a couple of years on a standard ATT line with no external interface needed.

One thing you must have if you intend to use the phone is a wallbox, correctly known as a "subset". The subset contains several necessary parts including the bells. The early styles of desk phones, such as Desotofrank's WE 202 also require subsets.

Also, there are two different types of transmitter used in candlesticks; the cone type as used on most of the wood wall phones you will see and the bulldog, which is a later design which does not use the cone. If you intend to use a candlestick phone, the bulldog is the better transmitter to use. My phone came with a bulldog, but since taking it out of service, I replaced it with the earlier style for display. I still have it in case I want to put the phone back into use.

Jim

[De Soto Frank]

Watch out for shiny brass phones as they are not original. Most candlestick phones were usually black or nickel plated.
If I were a phone newbie, I would look for a more common Western Electric or Kellogg or Stromberg Carlson candlestick.
The dial models started showing up after 1920.

Well, not always...


About 15 years ago, I was antiquing in my hometown of Ellicott City, MD, and spotted a dial-less candlestick, all brass, that had been converted into a lamp... but via an adapter that did no damage to the phone... the transmitter and receiver guts are still there, and the switch-hook and been wired to serve as the switch for the lamp ! Got it for $40.

It bears a small raised plaque under the transmitter cup that is stamped "Western Electric". I believe this phone was originally painted Japan-black, and the industrious hobbyist who lampified it, stripped the black paint. It is not buffed bright, more a "brushed finish", as in "fine sandpaper"...

Have often thought of restoring it as a phone...

Will snap some pics later.

[gramophone78]

Watch out for shiny brass phones as they are not original. Most candlestick phones were usually black or nickel plated.
If I were a phone newbie, I would look for a more common Western Electric or Kellogg or Stromberg Carlson candlestick.
The dial models started showing up after 1920.

Well, not always...


About 15 years ago, I was antiquing in my hometown of Ellicott City, MD, and spotted a dial-less candlestick, all brass, that had been converted into a lamp... but via an adapter that did no damage to the phone... the transmitter and receiver guts are still there, and the switch-hook and been wired to serve as the switch for the lamp ! Got it for $40.

It bears a small raised plaque under the transmitter cup that is stamped "Western Electric". I believe this phone was originally painted Japan-black, and the industrious hobbyist who lampified it, stripped the black paint. It is not buffed bright, more a "brushed finish", as in "fine sandpaper"...

Have often thought of restoring it as a phone...

Will snap some pics later.

Although there are a lot of cheap sticks being sold today; it is very easy to spot them. Back in the 70's & 80's it was very fashionable to strip the black coating or nickel off to make them look shiny and new. Even though they are original, the value is dramatically affected. Many of these were the common dialess models....thank goodness.

[fran604g]

It's my understanding (small as it is) that the candlestick phones with dials came after those without, and that many were retrofitted later with dials.

Was this the case?

Fran

The rotary dial was not introduced until 1919 by Western Electric. Even then, there were very few in service (mainly in cities) . Prior, you had to ask an operator to connect you with the number you wished. Candlesticks with a dial are far more collectible....unless you are collecting some of the very early sticks pre-1900 potbelly's,etc....
Regardless of a dial or not, you will also need a ringer box with a stick in order to ring. You can find a good clean example of a WE or NE for under $300 with ringer box.
I would look at a nice WE circa 1920's. Using one will only upset your friends as you will sound like your talking into a tin can.

It should be mentioned that Almon Strowger invented the Strowger switch circa 1890's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strowger_switch). His system had eleven digits....the eleventh for contacting a long distance operator. These models are $$$.

A word of caution .....you should never crank a magneto when connected to modern lines. The charge can and will do serious damage and you will be faced with a large repair bill. This was originally to contact the exchange operator when placing a call. If you lived is a more rural area, you had a larger magneto in your phone.

1926 Candle Stick Telephone.JPG

11 Digit Strowger Telephone (2).JPG

Thank you for your advice!

Whatever I eventually end up with, I am compelled to concentrate on pre-1910 phones, as they would be period correct for the larger content of my collection: Phonographs and Graphophones in the range of 1895-1908.

Best,
Fran

[fran604g]

Not necessarily. Many of the old phones had no place for a dial. Many were made with an opening for the dial which was covered with a blank plate if no dial was used. I bought my candlestick, it did not have a dial, so I found one, removed the plate and installed the dial. A friend who is an avid phone collector checked that it was properly wired for my application. I successfully used it for a couple of years on a standard ATT line with no external interface needed.

One thing you must have if you intend to use the phone is a wallbox, correctly known as a "subset". The subset contains several necessary parts including the bells. The early styles of desk phones, such as Desotofrank's WE 202 also require subsets.

Also, there are two different types of transmitter used in candlesticks; the cone type as used on most of the wood wall phones you will see and the bulldog, which is a later design which does not use the cone. If you intend to use a candlestick phone, the bulldog is the better transmitter to use. My phone came with a bulldog, but since taking it out of service, I replaced it with the earlier style for display. I still have it in case I want to put the phone back into use.

Jim

Thank you, that's good to know.

As of right now, I'm gravitating toward the "earlier" (relatively speaking) wall hanging versions. I won't be using my phone for incoming/outgoing calls tied into my landline, but would be interested in possibly using one or two as an in-home service, just for fun. It isn't absolutely necessary for me to have any that are completely functional, however that being said, I feel compelled to have functional historically correct examples, just as are all of my talking machines.

On a different note; I have a couple of very old floor lamps I'm restoring (one that was made by my Batavia, NY blacksmith great-grandfather: A. S. Pratt) that will also be two significant additions to the overall collection, though of later vintage than the phone I'd like will be.

His "signature" was an Elm leaf, as shown, and was included on his floor lamps, and many other items. I understand there were originally two of these, and that he had produced many other artistic home items, though they've all been lost to history as far as I know.

At some point he was commissioned by the City of Buffalo to supply architectural hardware for the construction of the City Hall building. I understand that the hinges he smithed are still present on the massive entrance doors, among other items. I also remember seeing a picture of a beautiful iron gate that he made, as well.

Best,
Fran

[phono-smitten]

I no longer have land line service but wanted a 'working' phone so I connected my Western Electric 202 to my mobile phone via a Bluetooth gateway. It works great!

I am using an Xtreme Technologies Xlink BTTN gateway:
https://smile.amazon.com/Xtreme-Technol ... B0018NWQPK

The gateway can be used with a single phone or to deliver service to an entire home if it is RJ-11 wired by disconnecting the phone service line at the DMARC and plugging the gateway into any available port.

[Shawn]

If anyone is looking for a super, super nice Western Electric 202, fully functional with correct bell box, please contact me at [email protected].

Shawn

[Ampico66]

I've been collecting telephones for over 15 years. The model that you want to look for is a western electric 20B, or model 10 if you have unlimited resources. Please feel free to send me a private message about working on phones .

[howardpgh]

Ampico
Love the A! series desk set. Those are really hard to find. Makes finding the D series 202 type look plentiful by comparison.

[fran604g]

I appreciate the outpouring of help I've received on the topic, Thank you all!

I've just been delivered the book I ordered, and now it's time for me to get down to some learnin'.

Best,
Fran