Candlestick Phone

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Candlestick Phone
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 12:10 am:

I've been trying to find a non-working or replica candlestick telephone like this (no dial) to use as a humorous photo prop in my car.



I figure it'll give car-show spectators something to do with their hands while I'm taking snapshots of them sitting in my Model T with the funny hats and false handlebar mustaches.

Anybody know where I can pick up such a telephone on the cheap?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 01:08 am:

That is something I have always wanted and never gotten. Still on the list. So, no, I don't know where to get one cheap.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 01:25 am:

Bob:

There's one about ten miles from your home:

http://longisland.craigslist.org/atq/3458404763.html

Seller wants $100 - offer him less.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 01:33 am:

I just had to go look on eBad. About 400 hits on a quick and easy search. Looks like maybe more than half are repros including many being offered as "vintage". Originals with current bids from about $40 to nearly $400.
I bookmarked a few.
Bad. Bad. Bad!
Drive carefully, and enjoy the holidays!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sam "POPS" Humphries on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 07:02 am:

I have a brass candlestick with no dial, a Stromberg candlestick no dial and one I turned on my lathe out of Ambrosia Maple. phones


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Seth - Ohio on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 08:06 am:

I'll bet a quick look at your local hardware store you could find enough parts to make a candlestick phone.

The bottom could be a escutcheon plate covering a threaded wall flange, the upright, a threaded piece of pvc attached to a reducer the mouth piece a cheep door knob, and the ear piece a salt shaker.

All painted black.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Larry Smith on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 09:34 am:

I've had many candlestick phones over the years, and I doubt if you'll find an original for less than $100, but I've seen reproductions for much less.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 09:51 am:

That's one of the few things I've never seen sell cheap at an auction. They always go for more than I'm willing to pay. The operative word being inexpensive, I think Dennis has the right idea. A home made stage prop is probably the way to go.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary H. White - Sheridan, MI on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 10:03 am:

Good looking repro.
http://www.smithgear.com/pmt-chicago-stick.html?utm_source=googlepepla&utm_mediu m=adwords&id=19932179660&utm_content=pla&gclid=CNCd17PLjbQCFehDMgodRyMAbQ


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 10:16 am:

When we moved into our T era house in 1973, wifey had MaBell put in a retro candlestick phone: red, with dial. Dunno what happened to it, but probably had to turn it in to terminate the rental when they began selling phones.

We have a couple of oak wall phones, but they won't fit on the dash.

Where's your pic, Dick Lodge?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 11:18 am:

Ralph, I was thinking about posting it again, but mostly I have been trying to remember when and where I bought the phone. It was a long time ago, I'm sure, long before we had the T. It has spent most of its time on a bookcase in the living room. Whatever I paid for it 20-25 years ago, it was a lot less than the prices I am seeing in this thread. I may have found it in an antique mall somewhere. It's the kind of thing I keep my eye out for.

By request....


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 11:43 am:

I used to work for Pacific Telephone in California. As the central offices converted to dial we removed many of those phones. In fact most people didn't want them any more whether or not they had dials. It was easier to have the handset with both transmitter and receiver in one piece than to either have to pick up the receiver and lean in to the transmitter or use both hands to pick up both pieces.

You are about 50 or 60 years too late to get one cheap. Now they are more a decorators item or a conversation piece (face to face) rather than over the wire.

Things have changed so much these days that many homes don't even have one "land line".

Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By A. Gustaf Bryngelson on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 11:45 am:

I bought an original years ago, and on a lark, I wired it into the phone lines, to my surprise, it works fine, the only draw back was that the receiver weighs about t2o pounds, and one does not want to talk long holding a two pound receiver.
Best
Gus


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Warren W. Mortensen on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 05:20 pm:

I was told that the reason many farmhouses had a wall phone in that era was because the Missus wouldn't spend so much time on the phone if she had to stand. Also didn't hurt to mount it just a bit higher so she had to stand on tiptoe to talk in the mouthpiece. Sounded like a good story anyhow.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John W. Oder - Houston, Texas on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 05:45 pm:

Have Western Electric and Stromberg Carlson Bob. Both have appropriate (I.E., by that maker) wood ringer boxes with complete guts (alternator, bells, etc.)

PM me if interested - maybe we can strike a deal. They have sat on a shelf in the garage for years under dust covers

Here are some teeny shots, less ringer boxes. The SC has poor bright work.

WESC


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John W. Oder - Houston, Texas on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 05:51 pm:

Adder to above:

The SC may turn out to be a Kellog (Kellogg?) - been a long time since I looked at them.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By R.V. Anderson on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 06:11 pm:

My regular shop office phone is an Stromberg 'stick, just like yours in the photo, with a Western Electric ringer box, separate TT "dial" pad, and a modern network hidden in the base. Works great!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 07:18 pm:

Erik and Gary,
I was hoping to find one without a dial.

Pops,
You do beautiful woodwork. I wasn't sure whether you were offering these for sale, but I doubt I could afford anything that nice.

Dennis,
Your idea of making one out of hardware store parts is clever. If I can't find a cheap replica, I might just go that route.

Dick,
I decided I needed to get a candlestick phone when I saw yours posted for the first time. It's a terrific photo prop.

John,
Either of those phones would be perfect, but they're worth hundreds of dollars. I'm figuring on spending around $60 for a plastic replica, functional or not. Problem is, they don't seem to make them without dials.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sam "POPS" Humphries on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 07:36 pm:

Bob,
A number of years ago GTE offered several vintage style phone, one of which was a plastic candlestick.

There has to be some of those left. One could fashion a new base to get rid of the dial.

And the ones I posted are not for sale. There is someone in this household that would be very unhappy if I even suggested it.

I had a blast turning the one out of ambrosia maple. My next one will be operational. I worked for GTE/Verizon for 37 years.

Sam


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 09:08 pm:

Back in '76 I bought one of the Pacific Telephone reproduction dial candlesticks. I still have it somewhere, In the Box, even! No, not going to sell it!
About making one--for the candle stick itself, you could use a brass toilet tank tube; the hardware stores sell replacement ones. It should polish up really nicely. Check the lighting area for a light base or decorative box cover for the base piece.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Willis Jenkins on Sunday, December 09, 2012 - 09:12 pm:

Just stop by my house. I'll even take one of the Wooden wall cranks off the wall if you like!

Cheers,
Willis


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Miller, Mostly in Dearborn on Monday, December 10, 2012 - 10:04 am:

I get parts from these guys,

http://phonecoinc.com/category.asp?map=4&category=Wwp&gorl=list&horh=home


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Monday, December 10, 2012 - 08:51 pm:

Well, I added "GTE" to my web search (Thanks, Pops) and found a nice, non-operational candlestick, sans bell-box. Will post photos when it arrives.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Randy Driscoll on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 09:53 pm:

John, My phone system opperates on pulse and tone. I still use a couple of rotary dial phones and one that is a push button pulse. Will an original dial type candlestick phone work on my system?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 10:14 pm:

Randy:

You should be able to dial out on your phone line with an original candlestick phone.

I have bakelite Western Electric phone from the late 1930s/early 1940s that basically has the same dial mechanism as a candlestick phone and it works fine on my phone line.

However, you won't be able to use the dial to navigate menus like you can with a touch tone dial pad.

There are pulse to tone converters that are available:

http://www.oldphoneworks.com/pulse-to-tone-converter.html

Even with a pulse to tone converter, a dial phone does not have a * or # like a touch tone pad.

Otherwise, you can use a separate touch tone dial pad like RV Anderson mentioned above.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 10:23 pm:

Any system that accepts dial phones should work for any dial phone, candlestick or otherwise. Some services still work for dial phones, and some don't. I can take calls on my dial phone, but I have to keep a push button phone to call out.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Thomas Mullin on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 11:38 pm:

Crosley CR-64

The Crosley Radio CR-64 in Black is a very good looking and working reproduction Candlestick Telephone. Only drawback is the push button / rotary dial. The receiver even has a solid feel like an original.

Retro Radio has it for $49.95 now.

To make it useful in my 1916 Touring Car, I purchased a PhoneLynx from Cobra. It is a Bluetooth receiver that can handle two cell phones. Neat thing is you can receive calls or make them by dialing with the CR-64's DTMF buttons.

I used it a little at the Old Car Festival this year at Greenfield Village.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John W. Oder - Houston, Texas on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 07:15 am:

Nice 302 Steve - is it the metal or Bakelite version?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Randy Driscoll on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 12:01 pm:

Eric,
I noticed the pulse phones won't allow navigating through a menu, I do have a couple of touch tone phones I can use for that. I think it will be fun to directly connect a 100% original candlestick phone and actually be able to dial out and talk on it. I wonder how much of the country can still use pulse equipment? I never thought it would last this long.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 12:19 pm:

Quite a few years ago, a friend here in St Louis who had also lived in Holland gave me this phone for my birthday. There were still a lot of them in offices when I arrived in Amsterdam in 1969, so it looked very familiar to me. The white button is for transferring calls between extensions. If I was on an outside call with Sam and he wanted to speak with Fred down the hall, I would press the white button, dial Fred's extension, and tell Fred that I had Sam "under the white button." Fred would press the white button on his phone and Sam's call was then transferred to him. I had forgotten about it until this discussion started here.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 01:07 pm:

thomas,
I'd like to get one of those CR-44 phones, but the website doesn't work on my dialup connection. How did you purchase it?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 01:28 pm:

Well, I did find an email link, so I posted asking about the phone, here's the response:
Greetings

You have found our website and this item page based on specific
searches you initiated. While we did offer the product you are
interested in at one time - we no longer carry it nor do we service
the item or stock parts.

Your best bet is to continue your search and find a site that still
supports the item(s).

We do not have staff to monitor your questions so courtesy replies, if
any, may be delayed for some time.

We regret not being able to assist and wish you luck in your search.

Thank you for your interest.

I suspect these folks are no longer in business, every other link I tried on the site went elsewhere or to 404.
RATS.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 02:02 pm:

AH HA! I found one on Amazon.com for $60 with shipping. Whew! I actually need this for a prop for the play, "The Drowsy Chaperone" we are doing to celebrate the local historic theatre's 85th birthday. IF I can get Barney up to driving into town, he'll be there too! (Gotta change out the body wood & the Babbitt thrusts washers!)
Look what y'all started! After the play, it's goin' in my home!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 09:05 pm:

Yikes! One of the original candlesticks I bookmarked because the early bidding price was low sold for $198 plus shipping with 42 bids! Another one sold for only $51. Like most collectibles, one must know what they are looking at and know what is really valuable and what isn't, or you can get burned, bad.
Drive carefully, and enjoy the holidays! W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Treace, North FL on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 09:18 pm:

Went with the modern party line cradle unit for Nellie :-)

My neighor used to work for Bell South, so it was a freebee.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Thursday, December 13, 2012 - 06:01 am:

Dick: Nice bakelite Ericsson phone there :-)
Had one in my childhood home, but it was the property of the telephone company and was changed out in the 70's.
Has found others, but my wife won't use'em anyway - for some reason she must walk around while talking? ;)
We still keep an Ericophone on a side table even if we never use it - got to have some nice 50's styling in the house :-)

ericophone


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