Many people enjoy collecting vintage items. One of the most popular vintage collectibles are old style rotary phones. Some people choose to collect the phones hoping for an increase in value, while others decorate their homes and offices with these old rotary dial phones from times gone by. Gazing at these rotary phones often takes the owner back in time to a place in their childhood where they first remember the rotary dial phone.
Old rotary phones can be updated to work with today’s phone systems. Vintage phones often need to be restored by a vintage rotary phone expert in order to function as they did in the past. Although such repairs would be involved for the phone owner, rotary dial telephone experts can make them work with a few simple tweaks.
Old rotary phones seemed to fit the decor of the homes they lived in. Sitting handsomely on a phone stand or in a phone niche built into a hallway wall, these classic rotary phones held court in a prominent place in the homes of past generations. These rotary phones are heavy duty pieces of equipment that worked for decades and can be restored to work again today and for years to come.
The original rotary phones were made from a material called bakelite and were available in a myriad of color choices. Old rotary dial phones could be had in avocado, red, yellow, blue, brown, white and of course the traditional black rotary dial phone. The original bakelite had been in use since 1907 and was used increasingly as a conservation measure through the World War II years.
Bakelite rotary phones are the most sought after for collection purposes and often can bring in hundreds of dollars at auction or on sites like eBay or Craigslist. Bakelite rotary phones can be restored to a showroom shine by using techniques to restore the vintage rotary phones. Many of these phones survive today in original condition, but the most valuable classic rotary phones are those that have been professionally restored.
As technology has replaced these vintage telephones with today’s cell phones and high tech items, I ask this one question: Do you think that fifty years from now someone will be decorating their home with an iPhone or a Blackberry? I doubt it. But today these fifty year old rotary phones are making an impact on today’s retro decor!
December 8th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Is there any such thing as a lead or system by which you can plug a cell phone into an old phone and make the old phone operate over a cell network. Any info would be great. Thanks
December 8th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
I am not aware of such a device, but take some time to visit Vintage Rotary Phones and ask the question over there. They might have an answer.
January 2nd, 2011 at 8:30 pm
[...] manufactured with a Bakelite handset, this was also changed to thermo plastic at some point in the phone’s history. Additionally, [...]