GPO No1 Wooden Wall Telephone: 'Collectors Item'

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This is a GPO No1 telephone and is exceptionally rare. It is described in the following highly informative website: /homepage.htm and is listed under telephones ‘GPO/PO/BT’. Under the ‘GPO No1 Telephone’ description at /t001a.htm there is an article explaining that this telephone is very very rare in the UK within private collector’s hands, with a few examples also within museums such as the Science Museum in London. This article may be quite old, but I see no reason to dispute it. Indeed, to check if this article was fair and reasonable, I did a check on 'Google UK' to see what hits 'GPO No1 Telephone' would give. The first and only website that came up accurately was the above mentioned article. There were other things found, but none of them were related to a 'GPO No1 Telephone. You will note that GPO No1 Telephones in this article normally have a 5inch by 3 inch frame located below the transmitter housing. This No1 Telephone has had its removed in the past and the four holes filled. It you can obtain a suitable frame and install it, it can be fitted with a printed card explaining how to use the telephone. I will supply my version of this card with this telephone, which was made following a review of a similar card from an internet photograph. As the internet photographic image was not quite 100% in focus, my card has tiny variations where I have made slight interpretations. Please note that the only modern parts on this telephone are the electronic transmitter, the daffodil transmitter cone (original cones are very rare) and the BT connection cable. This GPO No1 Telephone is of UK manufacture and may be of Ericson, or probably more likely Western Electric construction. It has a UK made induction coil, receiver, transmitter, capacitor and bell set, plus cotton insulated single core wiring. Additionally, the terminal numbers within the telephone follow UK standard practice and are marked ‘L1’, ‘R’, ‘E’, ‘TR’ and ‘L2’, with four/five auxiliary terminals, as indicated in the above mentioned website, meaning it is most definitely of UK manufacture. This GPO No1 Telephone has now been restored to full working order and can be used again on modern telephone systems. It is quite literally in ‘plug and play’ condition. To ensure that it works well, the old transmitter internals have been exchanged for a small modern BT type 21A electronic unit, as the original transmitter was badly damaged and would not work. I can date this GPO No1 Telephone to not later than 1912, as this is the date stamped upon the bell set mechanism in the form of 'W-12'. Which means, that this GPO No1 Telephone was made in the same year that the Titanic sailed, and sadly, was lost. Additionally, there is a marking on the front face of the transmitter housing ‘W4001’, though there is no date. From what I can determine from the website, this telephone could be of Ericson manufacture, their type N1460, and is of the central battery type (exchange powered), dating from not earlier than 1906. It could also be of Western Electric manufacture as the code 'W-12' is stamped on the bell set, and there is a 'W4001' code on the transmitter mouthpiece. Although clearly UK made, this GPO No1 Telephone was found in the USA and was bought privately many years ago by a family that had a telephone business and put them into storage. It is understood that at the time of purchase the telephone was in working order. Only recently, has the present owner decided to release it to a waiting world. The telephone wooden finish is exactly as it came from the USA, though the brass parts had all been polished to a bright shine. As GPO No1 Telephone’s had all their brass parts blackened, these have been re-painted black so that it broadly conforms to what would be their normal appearance. Clearly, the black paint can be removed, if it is not to the new owners taste. The wiring is original and the telephone has been tested to confirm that it works as it should, t... read more

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