We can help sell your Antique
Telephones, Telegraph Equipment, Antique Office Equipment and Related Antiques!!
We deal in, and sell early & vintage telephones, antique telegraphy
and telegraph keys, and
other
collectible office related antiques. The types of antique
telephones, vintage telegraph devices and office
antiques we are interested in date from the mid 1800's up through about 1920 or so.
Please visit the other specific pages in the left column and the general
Wanted
to Buy Page on this site to see a general outline of the tool & technology
related antiques that we deal in and
can help you sell from our sister site
www.Patented-Antiques.com.
Early telephones are becoming very difficult to find. Below are some examples of
the types and styles of vintage
telephones that we sell.
The first picture is of a typical Candlestick style phone that is often
seen for sale in antique shops and at antique shows. This one is a
Kellogg and is a bit different
because of the nickel plating instead of being all black as the
most common antique telephones of this style are. In this style of phone I am particularly interested
in
varieties with different shaped bases or handles, those with dials or buttons, or
old telephones where the body has different shapes from the standard round tube seen here. I am
also interested in buying
just the handsets, and especially those with two
external terminals to attach the individual wires to instead of the single hole for
one wrapped wire as on the
phone above. They can come in different lengths and any are considered good.
This
next picture to the right is also of a Kellogg telephone that is styled like
many foreign telephones that you see from France, Germany, and parts of
Eastern Europe. I am buying all early American phones from the well
known makers such as Kellogg
and Western Electric and am even more interested in ealier and more obscure
makers such as Stromberg Carlson, Westinghouse,
American Bell, Ericsson and a host of others.
We are also interested in
early pay phones like the
one
pictured on the left. This style of phone is probably from the
20's or so and these also come in an array of different styles and designs
by different makers and
I would be interested in any
pay phone from this era or before. I am
also interested in antique wooden wall mount telephones in nice
original condition, the nicer and earlier the
better.
Antique Telegraph Keys & Telegraphy Related Antiques
Samuel Morse is given credit for being the first American
to successfully utilize the idea of Telegraphy in America in 1838. Although the ideas for, and some implementation of the
ideas behind telegraphy
were being experimented with and developed elsewhere and earlier he was
the driving force and most influential American name associated with its
development
The idea was accepted and spread.
The first trans-Atlantic cable was laid in the 1860's and wires had
already been strung cross country. It was possible to communicate
with people across far reaches, with the touch of a button.
The design changes and improvements made to the "button"
or telegraph key are what I am interested in. The theory is
pretty simple. You send
Morse Code over the wires by opening and closing an electric circuit. But
like most ideas there was room for improvement and new designs, and the
process is still continuing. In a sense email is just the latest
type of telegraphy, but my interest stops a bit short of your last
keyboard, and are more focused on devices used to send Morse code in the
19th century and early 20th.
Telegraphy or antique telegraph keys come in many shapes
and sizes, and there are a lot of early examples that have a great look
and sense of design beyond the utilitarian thought of just interrupting
the electrical circuit for an instant. Very early keys went through a series of design changes
to meet the emerging technology, but given it was pretty simply just
turning on and off a circuit, the design
changes came to focus or exhibit aspects of design and form for the
aesthetic touch. Many early keys are known as Hump-backs or
camel-backs and have a wonderfully graceful form that was lost with the
later introduction of low profile keys that used flat stock for the bar that most common
keys from after 1900 have.
Early telegraph keys usually were
offered on wooden bases, but some had nicely decorated cast iron ones
like the one just above.
Another interesting design are what are known as travel keys.
These came in small wooden, plastic or leatherette cases and could be taken on
trips or the train which usually followed the wires or visa-versa.
After that most changes had to do withy speed and trying
increase it, and that is
what designs like the Vibro-Plex and other modern speed keys are all about.
I am looking to buy almost any style of antique telegraph keys or Morse
Code senders as they are also known. Later keys like the Vibro-Plex or AtoZ or Electro-key from Fresno are all much later keys,
but they have a
place in the scheme of things and their design has changed considerably
since their introduction.
If you have antique telephones or
telegraph related antiques like telegraph keys that you want to sell, please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
with complete details and any written
information that is on them, a picture of them if you can, and we will get back to
you ASAP
The above are examples of the
caliber, condition and quality of telephones and Telegraphy related
antiques that I am primarily interested in and can help you with
To see examples of similar antiques
that I currently have for sale please go to our sister site
at www.Patented-Antiques.com.and
visit the numerous sale pages you will find there.
Thank you!!
Larry & Carole
