December 3, 2008
For the first half of the 20th century, most payphones were built by The Gray Telephone and Pay Station Co. of Hartford, Connecticut under contract with Western Electric and other leading companies. In 1889 William Gray got a patent for his innovative coin payment mechanism, which others were unable to replicate. The company also pioneered the popular and highly collectible 'three-slot' (nickel, dime, quarter) payphone configuration popular in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
Before three-slots, Gray made ‘coin collectors,’ or telephones that required coins to be used to activate them. Some were separate units that attached to a wood wall or candlestick phone and just collected the coin. The operator could hear the coin going in over the line, and authorize the call. Some were a combination coin collector and built-in phone. They sat on bar tops or in phone booths or at a boarding house or a dime store. These coin operated devices locked the phone so people couldn’t use it until money was deposited to make the phone operational.
How did I get started collecting antique telephones? As a kid I always liked phones, using them, talking on t… [more]
I like mechanical things. I’ve collected outboard motors, things like that in the past. I got into the tele… [more]
If you're into old phones, check out this 600-page repository of images and historical information. Includes an ext… [more]
Richard Rose's tribute to the Ericofon, a colorful, stylish concept phone introduced in Europe in the 1950's and th… [more]
Mike Neale's fantastic collection of scanned PDFs showcasing the history and products of the Kellogg Switchboard an… [more]
For those who want highly detailed information on specific Western Electric antique and vintage telephone models su… [more]
Got a site to suggest? Let us know.
Are we missing one? Tell us.
