WALL TELEPHONES

  Having worked for the Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph Company in Lincoln, Nebraska
 for nearly 35 years, this particular wall set is near and dear to me.This is an example of a
Strowger small box wall set.This type of telephone was used in the early days of
 Lincoln Telephone, which opened, for business in 1904.
  

Here is a closer view of the Strowger  small box telephone circa 1907

 

Early telephone instruments at times were nothing more  than the toy you played with as a child……namely 2 cans  and a string. Pictured here are two examples of what  are called Acoustic Telephones or more commonly called String phones. With these types of instruments, you would have had one in your home,  and your neighbor would have had one in their home.  There would have been a taught wire stretched  between the two instruments. When you wanted to talk  to your neighbor, you would tap on the center button.  Your neighbor would hear a popping sound on their phone. The two of you would then begin to shout at each other into the diaphragm,  because the transmission  quality was just like talking over 2 cans and a string. On the left is a J.R.Holcomb Co.  walnut String phone  circa 1881.  The phone on the right is an 1879 AETNA string phone,  in which you could tighten the wire between houses by  pulling down on the bail handle at the bottom.

 

This is a very nice example of a Western ElectricModel 293A circa 1910, with nickel hardware and a WE Outside Terminal ‘Pony’ receiver

American Electric provided customers a unique transmitter application, with a mounting that  was called the ‘Swing Away’ arm. This arm allowedthe user to adjust up and down or side  to side, the transmitter for ease of use. Here are two nice examples of these transmitter arms.The one on the left is an American Electric  Single box model circa 1907 with the American Beauty Transmitter, and the one on the right is  the Double box,or 2 box version of the Swing  Away circa 1899.

To keep from violating the original Bell Telephone patents, competitive manufacturers had to come  up with a different style of hookswitch for their  wall sets. Here are two such examples that are referred to as ‘Paddle Phones’. Instead of having a hookswitch where the receiver would be hung,  these types of phones used a stationary hook for  the receiver, and a paddle type switch in the  center box. The user would rest his or her  elbow on the paddle while the phone was in  operation, thus opening the line for use.  On the left is an oak Viaduct Paddle phone  circa 1898, and on the right is a walnut 3 box American Electric Co. of Kokomo Indiana circa 1895.

A collection of small wall sets includes from the top a Western Electric model 293 with a burns glass mouthpiece. Going clockwise, the Western Electric Model 130  metal wall set referred to as the ‘Pancake, or Doughnut’ phone, complete with OST receiver,  next is an 1899 Deveau  8-line set with OST receiver. Next is a Connecticut Telephone  & Electric Company Hotel set with a burns glass mouthpiece  and OST receiver, and finally a Manhattan Electric  Supply Co. compact set with a long pole receiver circa 1894.

 

The top two single box telephones are referred to as  the Baird Midget telephones, produced by the Baird Electric Company circa 1905.  The unit at the top left,  is a midget phone complete with American Electric hardware  (American shield cut out of the straight loop in the hookswitch)  while the unit on the top right, has the traditional Baird  hookswitch that is turned 90 degrees so that the receiver  can be hung up from the front.  The lower telephone is an American Electric Company long distance telephone with a Burns receiver circa 1895.

 


 

Here are two examples of what are referred to as Tandem telephones. Tandem telephones had up to 3 glass acid cell batteries in the lower box, which were wired in tandem to facilitate long distance applications. On the left is an  1897 Western Telephone Construction tandem telephone.  Notice the unique WTC ‘fat’ long pole receiver. You can view a close-up of this receiver in the receiver section from the home page. The tandem telephone on  the right is a Stromberg Carlson model 4A circa 1900.  This model is commonly referred to as the  ‘Grave Marker’ telephone, due to the carved wood configuration at the top resembling an old grave stone.

These three examples of so called Fiddleback wall telephones  were so named for their appearance. Some thought these wall set  looked like Fiddles, with the lower part of the phone being the body of the fiddle, and the upper backboard resembling the neck of the fiddle. On the top left is a rare small metal-backed Couch & Seeley circa 1903.   At the right is a Stromberg Carlson  circa 1904 with a stamped triplet set and a raised letter transmitter. At the lower left is a Sterling Electric Co. Model 118 circa 1905.

These telephones are called compact 2 box set, as they are about 2/3 the size of a regular 2 box telephone. The set on the left is a Mianus Compact set with a watchcase receiver circa 1900.  The set on the right is a Manhattan Electric Co. circa 1901.

 

Something a little different. The two fiddleback telephones  on top of the picture are made by the same manufacturer,  but the spelling of the name of the company was changed.  The phone of the upper left, is a Vought-Berger Company of Lacrosse WI. oak fiddleback with a mark Vought-Berger  transmitter circa 1904, while the phone on the upper right is a  Vote-Berger Company of Lacrosse WI., oak fiddleback circa 1905.  The fiddleback in the lower center position is an  L.M. Ericsson Telephone Manufacturing set, circa 1907,  with the small diameter marked Ericsson transmitter.  This particular set was boasted in advertising as the ‘first, all-steel telephone to be placed on the market.

 

The final wall phone picture contains 3 Western Electric Co.  wall instruments. On the left is a walnut model 301 fiddleback  telephone equipped with wooden bells made of walnut,  and a replica Red Cross glass mouthpiece manufactured  by John Infurna. The phone on the right is a walnut Model 288 fiddleback, fitted with an OST receiver and an original  Whisper-it glass mouthpiece. In the lower center position is a model of telephone referred to as a 3 jug. This reference  comes from the fact that the battery box at the bottom  of the phone contains 3 glass acid cell batteries, which were  wired in series. This phone is also equipped with a  #5 transmitter arm and OST receiver.

 
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