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About Antique and Vintage Telephones

People started collecting phones shortly after Alexander Graham Bell patented them in 1876. Some of those early handmade wood telephones from the 1880s (e.g. those marked Charles Williams Jr. or American Bell) are among the most prized finds for telephone collectors.

Collectible antique and vintage telephones basically fall into three groups. Wood wall phones, which were produced from 1876 up through WW2, have lost much of their appeal (except those earliest models) as few collectors still remember growing up with them. Candlestick phones, produced from the 1890s through the 1920s, are still in great demand, especially the earliest turn of the century nickel-plated models...

Desk sets, including most phones after 1930, are the bulk of the hobby today, and range from early 1920s models with ringer boxes to the groovy 1960s and 70s Ericofon, Princess and Trimline models. The most commonly found phones are rotary dial models such as the Western Electric 202s (1930s), 302s (1940s-50s), and 500 sets (1960s and 70s).

While Western Electric is the big name for many American collectors, makers like Automatic Electric, Kellogg Switchboard and Supply, Stromberg Carlson and others are also in high demand. Many telephone collectors also focus on related items such as telephone signs and switchboards.

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview With Antique Telephone Collector Gary Goff

How did I get started collecting antique telephones? As a kid I always liked phones, using them, talking on t…  [more]

An Interview With Ericofon Telephone Collector Richard Rose

I like mechanical things. I’ve collected outboard motors, things like that in the past. I got into the tele…  [more]



See all 37 videos

Telephones Videos



See all 37 videos


Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

The Telephone Archive

The Telephone Archive

If you're into old phones, check out this 600-page repository of images and historical information. Includes an ext… [read review or visit site]

Ericofon.com

Ericofon.com

Richard Rose's tribute to the Ericofon, a colorful, stylish concept phone introduced in Europe in the 1950's and th… [read review or visit site]

Kelloggtelephone.com

Kelloggtelephone.com

Mike Neale's fantastic collection of scanned PDFs showcasing the history and products of the Kellogg Switchboard an… [read review or visit site]

Old Telephones as Entertainment

Old Telephones as Entertainment

For those who want highly detailed information on specific Western Electric antique and vintage telephone models su… [read review or visit site]


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Recent News: Telephones

Source: Google News

Rotary phone turned into desk lamp

Coolest Gadgets
One thing I've always preferred is to own an older retro looking phone. However, I'm not so fond of actually using one as my main phone, since I like being ...

Big 3 Summer Safety Concerns: Part 3

Examiner.com
Big 3 Summer Safety Concerns: Part 3
Examiner.com
Back in the day that ever seems to grow further back; we had a rotary phone, 5-speed bikes and feet. These were out entrée to communication and fun with ...

Desk Lamp Created Out of Junky Rotary Phone

Gizmodo Australia
Although it's cute and clever, imagine the mayhem this table desk telephone lamp will cause. We'll start hearing reports about grandpas with singed ear ...

Virus removed, but bill lingers on

Des Plaines Times
Pretend you have an old rotary phone and don't press any buttons. •Fib. Press the option for account collections or sales or account cancellation. ...

Seeking the truth on what's buried beneath Brooklyn

Boston Globe
Seeking the truth on what's buried beneath Brooklyn
Boston Globe
A phone line installed during Diamond's initial explorations runs along the tunnel's wall and connects to a dusty black rotary phone. ...

Kodachrome, the lush and seductive colors of our lives, dies at 74 ...

Atlantic Online
At first, it seemed like another moment to engage in brief, Pavlovian nostalgia of the rotary telephone or monophonic record album sort. ...

A football stadium finally rises at Father Ryan

The Tennessean
But like he's never used a rotary phone, he'll never have to hop on a bus to play a home game." Father Ryan will be the third Nashville private school to ...

Rainy days make perfect horror story reading

Examiner.com
Rainy days make perfect horror story reading
Examiner.com
In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead... If I were you, dear reader, ...

IPhone Users Swamp Felt Case Artists

Cult of Mac
A similar fate met another iPhone case, a felt version of an old-style rotary phone. In a sign of the popularity of home-made felted alternatives to ...

Why I love my iPhones

Chicago Tribune
Why I love my iPhones
Chicago Tribune
I remember when we had a rotary phone and a party line. We would have to wait for the neighbors to finish their call before we could make ours. ...

Top eBay Auctions    (get weekly Telephones email)

Status       Display       How this works
Marantz Model 8b Dual 35 Stereophonic Power Amplifier$1,025 Ends Sunday 10 bids 42 watchers
Rare Monson Automatic Dial Wall Telephone Circa 1907$935.00 Ends Monday 7 bids 37 watchers
Marantz Model 7 Stereo Tube Pre Amp Stereo Console$610.00 Ends Sunday 5 bids 47 watchers
Vtg Limoges Cradle Phone French Telephone Navy Blue $499.00 Ends Sunday 1 bid 8 watchers
Antique Oak Telephone Authentic Farm House Wall Crank$495.99 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 4 watchers
Antique Manhattan 3 Box Oak Wall Telephone$456.00 Ends Sunday 14 bids 65 watchers
Automatic Electric Ae34 Art Deco Telephone Chrome $371.00 Ends Monday 8 bids 27 watchers
Western Electric Nickel 20b Candlestick W/exposed Term$356.00 Ends Sunday 17 bids 27 watchers
Antique Dial Candlestick Telephone….nice Phone$305.00 Ends Sunday 15 bids 20 watchers
Vintage Western Electric Rotary Telephone E4 F1 Antique$227.50 Ends Monday 8 bids 65 watchers
Antique Dial Candlestick Telephone….nice Phone$227.50 Ends Sunday 20 bids 17 watchers
Western Electric 302 Telephone Antique Phone Restored$202.51 Ends in 2 hours 4 bids 31 watchers
Vintage Automatic Electric Pay Telephone Nr$199.99 Ends Monday 1 bid 6 watchers
Circa1930’s British Ericsson Timber Wall Phone$198.85 Ends Wednesday 4 bids 8 watchers
1921 Western Electric Candlestick Telephone Original.$180.00 Ends Sunday 2 bids 10 watchers
Vint. Telephone Fire Police Emergency Call Box Gamewell$178.49 Ends Sunday 7 bids 23 watchers
Art Deco Western Electric 302 ~lucy~ Telephone Phone$174.00 Ends Sunday 5 bids 15 watchers
Dial Western Electric 51al Candlestick W 534a Metal Box$163.50 Ends Sunday 14 bids 13 watchers
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Western Electric 653a Dial Wall Telephone Phone Works!$152.50 Ends Sunday 5 bids 22 watchers
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Connecticut Telephone Co. Multi-line Candlestick Phone$125.49 Ends Monday 2 bids 13 watchers
Western Electric Antique Vintage Wood Wall Telephone !!$119.99 Ends Sunday 1 bid 10 watchers
Automatic Electric Sunburst Dial ~ Circa 1906$112.49 Ends Sunday 4 bids 33 watchers
Western Electric Vintage 1930's Desk Telephone - 202 $108.05 Ends Sunday 3 bids 22 watchers
Western Electric Candlestick Telephone Phone And Subset$103.50 Ends Sunday 17 bids 39 watchers
1961 Pink 554 Western Electric Bell Wall Telephone Nos$102.50 Ends Tuesday 24 bids 36 watchers
Western Electric D1 202 Telephone & Subset Phone Works!$100.99 Ends Sunday 16 bids 22 watchers
Antique Central Electric Telephone Co. Wall Telephone$100.00 Ends Monday 7 bids 17 watchers
1932~antique Western Electric Phone & Ringer Box~vgc~$97.00 Ends in 3 hours 11 bids 37 watchers
Antique Western Electric D1 202 Telephone 1930's$91.00 Ends Tuesday 5 bids 35 watchers
Western Electric 500 Rotary Dial Telephone Phone Pink!$89.99 Ends Sunday 3 bids 26 watchers
1955 Dark Blue We 500 Color Injected Thermoplastic $85.00 Ends Sunday 2 bids 13 watchers
Vintage Bakelite Phone (pmg 300 Series Circa 1940)$81.53 Ends in 1 hour 5 bids 28 watchers
Antique Kellogg Oak Wall Crank Telephone Phone~no Res.!$81.00 Ends Wednesday 13 bids 19 watchers
Antique Oak Swedish American Telephone Co Phone.$81.00 Ends in 16 hours 7 bids 17 watchers
Rare 1880s Orator Rawson Electric Compact Walltelephone$78.77 Ends Sunday 4 bids 38 watchers
Ae #50 Wall Telephone..ready To Use...$75.00 Ends in 18 hours 12 bids 33 watchers
Antique Western Electric Telephone Lot - Oak Wall Phone$69.95 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 10 watchers
Antique Oak Wall Telephone Westernn Electric Kellogg$69.00 Ends Sunday 6 bids 19 watchers
Retro Ivory Ericofon In Original Box.$65.22 Ends in 8 hours 3 bids 42 watchers
Western Electric Model 102 Desk Phone With Subset$63.99 Ends Thursday 3 bids 18 watchers
We Metal Wall Telephone W/ Clicker Dial, Ready To Use..$61.00 Ends in 18 hours 7 bids 42 watchers
Kellogg "ashtray" Telephone..ready To Use..$60.95 Ends in 18 hours 5 bids 29 watchers
Antique Candlestick Phone$56.00 Ends Wednesday 2 bids 8 watchers
Art Deco Kellogg Ashtray Phone Telephone$56.00 Ends Tuesday 6 bids 23 watchers
Antique Ericson Stick Phone Reciver With Mount$52.50 Ends Sunday 17 bids 20 watchers
Western Electric E1, D5 Telephone. 1930’s, Excellent $52.05 Ends Sunday 4 bids 13 watchers
Vintage Williams Electric Co. Telephone Receiver Part$51.00 Ends Monday 4 bids 42 watchers
Antique American Bell Candlestick Phone Western Elect.$51.00 Ends Monday 7 bids 30 watchers

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