Decorative Arts, Equipment, Telephone, Western Electric Handset, Antique, Early 20th Century

Table Telephone
Western Electric, U.S.A.: c. 1910s
Nickel-plated brass, bakelite, mixed materials
8.5 x 10 x 4.75 inches

Available for prop rental or purchase.

A Western Electric WE 1002 handset (also referred to as a subset) with a Bakelite handle and a ring at one end. It now rests on an associated GrabAPhone desk stand substantially of the same period.  A line switch connects to the phone system when the handset is removed from a hook. This model of handset was introduced in 1907, though this particular one was manufactured no earlier than 1909 — the latest copyright date engraved on the receiver. It was shown in the Western Electric 1916 yearbook hung from a hook at the bottom of a rectangular wooden wall-mounted case. The GrabAPhone stand for the Western Electric handset on the offered example is by Federal, a small manufacturer that supplied independent telephone companies. They manufactured the GrabAPhone from 1907 to about 1918. Federal was a competitor of Western Electric. Indeed, the GrabAPhone model was originally manufactured and sold with a Federal handset.

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