Posted 1 year ago
EnamelboxO…
(4 items)
This was the most extensive restoration I've ever done on a telegraph device. It was really trashed when I got it, with the originally lacquered brass having been polished with sandpaper and then painted with gold paint, among multiple other insults. It was really vandalized. See before and after photos, and a scan of a similar device from the J.H. Bunnell catalog from around the turn of the 20th century. This is a Bunnell item.
The restoration including stripping the paint off of everything, refinishing the base, applying new amber lacquer and rewiring it. I never actually knew how these were wired before restoring this one so it was a learning experience. It didn't come out perfectly but was more presentable. And it's fully functional. It was a special purpose item used with telegraph switchboards and for servicing the telegraph lines. It has the sending key, the sounder and the relay all on one wooden base, which is a decidedly uncommon arrangement.
What were the numbers on the front that you lost?
I'm not sure what those numbers were, but I assumed they were a user-applied accession number or repair data with the first 3 sets of digits indicating a 1915 date. It was heavily used and had been rewired at least once previously, I think with replacement of the coils on both the relay and the sounder. Since these were high-dollar items at the time, I suspect they wanted to keep careful track of each one.
Great Job! :)
You did a great job on the restoration. I think I would have like to have seen those numbers in the final product. I hope that you at least document it and keep it with the history of the piece.