Friday, October 13, 2017

Call me

Call me anytime….not before eight or after eight.

crank

If I can hear the phone ring I will answer….so call me anytime!

mouth piece

Not sure of the number…but you can call me anytime.

call me

My kind of phone.

This old phone still needs a cover on its receiver and the cord is frayed but we decided that the frayed cord gives it character.  This phone was patented in 1900 and 1901.  Far Guy cleaned it up with Murphy’s Oil Soap…there was at least 116 years of grime and dirt on it.  This original sticker is still intact, if we had refinished the telephone we would have sacrificed the original sticker so we chose to just clean it up.

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21 comments:

Blogoratti said...

What a lovely phone, no doubt with lots of history inside it. Greetings!

Cynthia said...

What a beauty! I am imagining all those party line conversations that have gone through its wires. You did a wonderful job of bringing out the beauty of the old wood.

linda m said...

I absolutely love it. Glad you just cleaned it up and didn't refinish it. What a find.

DJan said...

That's a neat relic, showing how far we have come to today's little smartphone from that gorgeous piece of history. :-)

Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

How cool is that! Beautiful. I remember as child in the 1950s that one of my Aunts had a phone like that in her kitchen that worked.

Tired Teacher said...

I can imagine the joy and heartache this phone has delivered over the years.

Rita said...

OMGosh! That is a treasure! :)

Red said...

Those old phones bring back good memories. The one in our old farmhouse is still there. I hope it's not stolen as the house is vacant

Kansas Kay said...

What a neat accent piece! I thought at first it was the phone that hangs at the Itasca Lodge. Is the crank for power while calling?

Sam I Am...... said...

What an heirloom you have there. I remember them because my little hometown was not 'on trend' even when more modern things were available. I remember my Aunt having to 'wind up' the phone to get the operator and then you told the operator either the number (only 3 numbers) or the person's name. There were also 'party lines' which were really fun because you could listen in on other people's conversations! LOL! I was too young to partake but I heard about it when I got older.

Granny Marigold said...

That is the first kind of phone I remember my folks having!!! We moved in 1952 and left it behind. I'd love to have it now.

Anonymous said...

It looks great just cleaned up that way it doesn't look new or plastic. You know, how they looked when God first made them. :)

Linda Reeder said...

I remember having one of these too. Our ring was two shorts and a long.

The Furry Gnome said...

I remember that old phone!

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

what a treasure! Love it

Far Side of Fifty said...

Yes there is a spot inside for batteries and then you have to crank it up to make a call at least that is how I understand it :)

Jacqi Stevens said...

Good ol' Murphy's! Did the job up right nice! What a find, I might add...

Meggie said...

I have one of those treasured phones too....mine is so heavy I can barely pick it up....

Lady Fi said...

A lovely treasure!

marlu said...

On my grandmother's phone in Iowa, we just rang to get the operator and then she connected to the called number and rang the correct number of rings. We had those rural lines in Russell, KS, in 1952. We operators at United Telephone Co. rang the longs and shorts. When the call came to our board, metal flaps opened down so we could insert the plug. In a lightning storm, they all fell down at once and part of our equipment was a clean, new paint brush to push the open flaps back to being closed.

marlu said...

So glad you only cleaned it and did not refinish it!