It is not unusual for telephone collectors to have a “birthday” phone. A phone that was manufactured on or close to the collector’s birthday. I happen to be lucky enough to have one of those phones. Mine is a very nice Western Electric Model C/D 500. Not only was it made the same day I was born, but at the same time of day on that Friday in April of 1955. You’ll note in the accompanying photo the date is displayed as 4 22 55 3. The “3″ indicating the third shift.

This is actually the second “birthday” phone that I managed to find. However on the first one I owned only the case (cover) was dated 4-22-55. That one is also a black model 500. Then one day while browsing through the phones on eBay a seller highlighted the dates of this phone as all being from the same day. I had to buy it. Read the rest of this post »

I was humbled when my friend over at Classic Rotary Phones, Mark Stevens asked if I would answer a few questions about cleaning tips that one can use for their Vintage Rotary Phones. Take a look at his article for a couple of my responses to his questions. I plan to write more about this topic in the future with more specific and detailed tips. Thanks Mark, it was fun and an honor to be a part of your Rotary Phone Blog!

The Telephone Collectors International sponsored a very nice antique telephone show this past week end. The show, hosted by Ray Kotke was held in Mason, Michigan near Lansing. Mason is known for its large antique district. The show used to be held in February but due to the cold winter, driving is sometimes difficult. So the show was changed to April this year and the results were noticeable. I think there were many more collectors that attended. Telephone shows like this are a great opportunity for collectors to get together from all of this Country and often from other Countries. There was at least one representative there from Canada. Other collectors came from as far away as Iowa, Florida and Virginia. It is a lot of fun to talk with those other collectors that normally just communicate via e-mail.
I was able to make the one and a half hour trip to the show with phone collector friends. It is a good time to share telephone stories and just enjoy each others company.

The public is always welcome and given an opportunity to purchase a vintage telephone from one of the many collectors that bring things to sell or trade.

If you see a telephone show in your area sponsored by the T.C.I. or the Antique Telephone Collectors Association take the time to attend. The next scheduled show sponsored by the T.C.I. will be the Midwest Regional Show in Lyons, Nebraska on Saturday, May 17, 2008. The show will be held at the AT&T Under gound Hardened L4 Site near Lyons. If you live in the area, check it out. You may be surprised to discover how friendly the collectors are, how eager they are to talk with you about telephones and switching equipment. You may even walk away with a Vintage Rotary Phone of your own!