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Western Electric Candle Stick Phone-January 113

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    Posted 9 years ago

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    kaffir
    (1 item)

    I was given the phone about 35 years ago when a Durban hotel was undergoing renovations. Had it stored away. Recently whilst spring cleaning it pops up. The manufacturer plate n it reads " WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY MADE IN USA- DATE 14 JANUARY 1914".

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    Comments

    1. fortapache fortapache, 9 years ago
      Wowsers. It is chrome! We will need ttomtucker on this one.
    2. Kydur Kydur, 9 years ago
      I betcha that phone was the pinnacle of decadence in its day!

      I'm still trying to find the definitive answer as to when chromium steel/plating was invented (or put into wide use) but so far have read sources that suggest the 1920s, and before that things were electroplated with nickel.

      I wonder if your phone was one of the first early examples of chrome or whether it's actually nickel-plated? I'm not sure how exactly to tell the difference except that nickel usually has a softer warmer appearance than chrome.

      It's too bad the mouthpiece isn't chrome as well, and I wonder if maybe there was an original chrome one that was damaged and replaced with a "standard black" mouthpiece at some point - quite possible with the heavy use (and abuse) it may have taken at a hotel.
    3. fortapache fortapache, 9 years ago
      The mouthpiece was usually bakelite/plastic. I am wondering if there are threads for a mouthpiece on it.
    4. Kydur Kydur, 9 years ago
      I just realized I was talking into the wrong piece. Ha! Yeah, it's the earpiece that I was suggesting may have originally been chrome. The current black one would definitely be Bakelite. There's apparently one factory left in Japan (and probably the entire world) that still makes Bakelite as it still has some uses in modern electronics and heat-related applications.

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