Young Jon Englund
Ever suffered a broken cell phone? Do you know that panicked feeling when you drop it off at the repair shop and they cheerfully tell you to come back in four hours?
Four HOURS? Really? At which point you realize you are way too dependent on your mobile device and it gives new meaning to “dropped call.”
Well, that’s my plight right now and I can’t help my angst, I’ve always had a phone. Yes, that’s me in the photo — I’ve been infatuated with the telephone for a very long time!
And the phone in the photo? It’s a toy of course but fashioned after the late 1950s era Western Electric model #500 rotary dial telephone. It’s old analog technology, but for the most part it can still be used today with an Analog Telephone Adapter.
Telephonic communication revolutionized the modern world and it rules our world today. As such, there is a fascination with early telephones and many examples still survive today.
Vintage phones can readily be found for sale online, but prices vary wildly depending on age, condition and rarity. Many common-place vintage phones can be purchased for well under $100, but the rare ones are much more expensive.
A check of a popular online auction site turned up these offerings and sold listings:
A Charles Williams Jr. Electrical Works coffin telephone, manufactured for the Bell (Telephone) Company around 1878, is currently offered for $30,000. This model is considered to be the first commercially manufactured telephone.
An Art Nouveau Ericsson desk-top telephone sold for $5,532 after 27 bids.
A rare 1959 AT&T Western Electric Bell System F-53139 prototype touch tone phone sold for $3,150 after 13 bids.
And last but not least, a 1957 Red Dukane Emergency Telephone made in Austria offered for $2,750. Looks like 1957 was a good year.
So, if you think you have a special vintage phone, ring me up and let me know about it. We’re here to help, so please don’t keep us a secret!
Jon Englund has more than 32 years of experience in appraising and liquidating personal property, jewelry, art, collectibles, antiques, furniture, printed items and more, as well as more than 17 years of experience in real estate. Jon, a Midwest transplant, trained at New York University in appraisal studies.
Donna Luger has assisted during that time and is a veteran Associate Broker and Realtor with HomeSmart Realty – Elite Group.
For more information, call Jon direct at (480) 650-1422, or email Jon@KnowBeforeYouThrow.INFO.