Vintage Guru Reveals Her Glamour Secrets
V
intage can be intimidating. It's certainly not as simple as going to the mall, finding your size, and buying a mass-produced outfit. You have to dig through racks and racks of wildly diverse items, with mysterious sizing, looking for…
The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Adrift in a sea of digital apps for every imaginable function, we often feel our needs are met better today than in any previous era. But consider the chatelaine, a device popularized in the 18th century that attached to the waist of a wo…
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The meerschaum pipes carved in Eastern Europe at the end of the 19th century are among the most bizarre and improbable concoctions in decorative art. Some feature …
The Beautiful Chaos of Improvisational Quilts
What would jazz look like if it had a physical presence? According to Sherry Ann Byrd, a celebrated quilt maker who posts on Show & Tell, it might look something like the hand-made "M-provisational" q…
Our Dad, the Water Witch of Wyoming
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of …
This 1959 Goggomobil Is Insanely Cute and Gets 55 MPG. Why Can’t Detroit Do That?
The last time we spoke to Justin Pinchot, he took us on a guided tour of his collection of toy robots. Recently, J…
California Cool: How the Wetsuit Became the Surfer's Second Skin
When Bob Meistrell started surfing in Northern California during the early 1950s, 20 minutes was about all he could stand in the frigid coastal waters. Despite the constant rush of …
The Unfiltered History of Rolling Papers, Plus Tommy Chong's Big Fat Jamaican Vacation
It’s kind of ironic that Tommy Chong, the smokiest half of Cheech and Chong, i…
World's Smallest Museum Finds the Wonder in Everyday Objects
Tucked away in a lower Manhattan back alley, the freight-elevator-sized, generically named Museum is one of New York City's newest curiosities.…
Fightin’ Femmes: Unmasking Female Superheroes with Author Mike Madrid
When I was growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, reading comics wasn't as popular as it had been in the ’40s or ’50s. But my older sister had comics, including a big collection of “Betty and Veronica.” Our parents encouraged us to read everything, so at 6 years old…
Western Electric Vintage Public Telephone | Western Electric Telephones43 of 57 |  |  |
mustangtony loves this.
mikielikesigns2 loves this.
canuckphoneguy loves this.
vanskyock24 loves this.
pickrknows loves this.
VintageTAKER54 likes this.
officialfuel likes this.
tikiray loves this.
potrero likes this.Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate
Posted 2 years ago
Squeaker
(6 items)
Does anybody know anything about this box? It is made out of very heavy metal, and works great. I'm confused because it says public phone, but there is no money slots. It is 16" tall.
Thanks in advance for any information you can give me.
Squeaker Bootsma
California
Help us close this case. Add your knowledge below.
Create an account or login in order to post a comment.
Western Electric TelephonesWestern Electric, the equipment division of the Bell System, was the major …
i would like to know also, i have one like this minus the red box
The phone is an old "hang up type" Western Electric 212. As is, without a subset, (Western Electric 634) it can't ring. It's also known as a "counter phone" and would be hung under a table or counter. I happen to have W.E. 634 subset in case you don't have one, or if you're looking.
Hi Jim,
and thanks for writing back. In the last picture is a white box on the bottom right that makes the phone ring. Why would they make a phone that doesn't ring?
Also, what is a subset in case???? (excuse my ignorance.)
Thanks again,
Squeaker Bootsma
Your Western Electric wall phone is also known as a "Space Saver". In a call out box like yours there was no need for a ringer. a sub set is a ringer box.
I just bought one of these.
I wired it up and the mouthpiece is not functioning.
does anyone have a replacment??
The box and the phone are were not original to one another. Someone place the phone in this box at a later date. The box originally held a much bigger and modern coin slot pay phone. I remember seeing them as a kid, but don't remember where or exactly when.