About Me

My name is Dennis Markham. I enjoy every aspect of the Vintage Rotary Phone. I specifically enjoy collecting and working on Western Electric telephones but I have dabbled with a few Stromberg Carlson, Kellogg, North Electric,  Automatic Electric and Northern Electric models.

I am a member of ATCA (Antique Telephone Collectors Association), and TCI (Telephone Collectors International). Both clubs have hundreds of members with years of telephone experience.  Many of the members spent their careers working for the telephone company.   I am relatively new to the groups and have found it very helpful to just “listen” to those with years of experience discussing these old telephones.

I was born in 1955 so it is not unusual that my favorite telephones are from this time period. I really enjoy restoring and returning to service a telephone that was made about the same time that I was….in fact, I have a black Western Electric model 500 that is stamped with the very day I was born. It has a few less wrinkles than I do! My passion for the telephones has been collecting several models of Western Electric telephones. Not only the basic model 500 and 554 but also Princess phones, Trimlines, and older telephones like the model 302, 202 and 102 models.   I am continuing to learn about them.  As the learning process progresses so does my interest in other areas of vintage rotary phones. Currently I am trying to collect a complete set of soft plastic models of both the 500 (desk phone) and the model 554 (wall version) in every color made. That is not a simple task.

If you’d like to just browse through the blog and take a look at some of the telephones I own or have worked on or are interested in striking up a discussion about the telephones, please leave a comment. I don’t claim to be an expert on vintage telephones but I have learned very much in the past few years about these telephones which I consider to be a true piece of Americana. If I don’t know the answer to a question I do know where to turn for help. I am constantly in search of that perfect rotary dial telephone and enjoy talking with others about telephones. There’s much to learn–so let’s get busy!