Posted 9 years ago
SweetViolet
(20 items)
This is my circa 1925 A.B. L.M. Ericsson & Co. rotary dial telephone. It's the only telephone I own, other than a hand crank wall phone that you can't use with the current phone systems. I use this telephone for everything from calling the hardware store, to answering calls, everyone can hear me very clearly they say. I bought this telephone some time back; when I bought it, it was setting in a crate full of worn out, black 1930s and 1940s telephones, and it was obvious that none of those phones had been used for many decades. When I pulled it from the pile, it was covered in thick brown dust, every thing was about to rattle apart, the parts that should move were stuck, it was a mess. I cleaned it and oiled it up (you never think about oiling anything on a newer phone!, ha!), and now it works great. I have seen countless reproduction "French style" telephones which, to the untrained eye look nearly identical to this; the decals are different, the receivers are not Bakelite, like on the old ones or on this one, they have a volume control or say, "Made in Japan". I am a rather novice fellow in these old time phones, can anyone confirm that this is in fact a true 1920s or 30s telephone, and not a 1960s Japanese or Swedish reproduction? If anyone can tell me more about it, and when it was built, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!
1st thought repro but after studying it, it's the real deal, but I'm not an expert. I rigged up a wooden wall phone using German phone parts so it worked for receiving calls. Like you, that nostalgic touch.
When I first saw it, I also was quite aware of the many reproductions, and thought it was likely one of those, but after looking over it probably half an hour, and thoroughly researching it after, I also got the same impression that it is an old one. Thank you!