Posted 12 years ago
earthandma…
(39 items)
I do not own this sign but I have been told it was a sign removed from the exterior entrance of the old Chicago Telephone Company building in downtown Chicago. Chicago Telephone was later renamed Illinois Bell Telephone. Does anybody out there know about this sign?? Thank you in advance for any help!
There is one person I know in Chicago who knows alot about Chicago Telephone Co. his name is Jeff Brown. I check with him.
I have emailed Jeff with your photo and question.
Thank you for your help ttomtucker.
Thank you packrat-place.
earthandmagneto, Jeff said he has never seen this sign before. He thinks it's early and a rare find. What is the size of the sign?
Hi ttomtucker! I do not own the sign so I am not really sure of the size but it was fairly small as I remember. There were 2 of them as if affixed to either side of the entryway. I was outbid on the item but I sure wanted it. My guess is it was from the 1895 to 1910 period because the person selling claimed it was from Chicago Telephone Company. Thank you for your help! The mystery continues...
I do have this sign in my collection, but don't know much about it. I have not ask to many questions about it or tried to find out where it came from. So the mystery continues.
Hi jrwllm,
Yes, the mystery continues. This sign was posted outside of the entryway to Chicago Telephone - one sign mounted on either side of the front doors - sometime in the 1880s to 1890s. This is all I know and I can't prove it. Nobody seems to know and nobody remembers. Other mysteries of Telephone history unsolved:
Why is there so little to be found of Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone? I don't know and nobody seems to know. Another unsolved mystery.
Why are no employee pins (not badges) to be found as issued by Southern California Telephone? I don't know. There was rumor that pins were issued but not very many. This has not been proved. So another mystery to be resolved!
And the list goes on...
Thank you!