Desk Stand Pay Phone, 1911
01
Artifact Overview
By 1905, telephones had been around for almost thirty years. Although most people didn't have phones in their homes, they had become indispensable in certain situations -- business and emergencies. Hotels, grocery stores, and restaurants owners often installed pay telephones in their establishments. This phone features William Gray's mechanism for making a secure pay phone, which was licensed to many phone manufacturers.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Pay telephone
Date Made
1911
Place of Creation
Creator Notes
Desk stand manufactured by the Western Electric Company, the box attached to the phone for the coin payment mechanism was manufactured by the Gray Telephone Pay Station Company
Location
at Henry Ford Museum in Collections Platform
Object ID
2008.0.14.9
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Composite material
Metal
Bakelite (TM)
Plastic
Color
Black (Color)
Dimensions
Length: 21 in
Width: 14 in
Depth: 10.5 in
Inscriptions
On back of box:
The Gray Tel. Pay Sta. Co. / Hartford. CT. U.S.A. / PATENTED / FEB.16.1909 APR.6.1909 / AUG.24.1909 MAY.23.1911 / OTHER PATENTS PENDING
On transmitter cup: PROPERTY OF THE AMERICAN BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY
On base: WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY / PAT APP'D FOR / PAT IN U.S.A. AUG 16 04 SEPT 13 04
Plate on front of box: 194
On coin slots: 25 / 10 / 5
In window:
THE NUMBER OF THIS TELEPHONE IS / CLARKSTON 69 / DO NOT DEPOSIT MONEY / UNTIL OPERATOR ASKS FOR IT / GRAY TELEPHONE PAY STA. CO., HFD., CT., PAT'D MAY 23, 1911
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