Telegraph box saved from scrap pile

[juju]

Howdy All,
Still froze in here. The sun is out but is giving no heat at all. Still below freezing, and calling for an ice storm, and high winds. Still managed to try and keep busy though. I was diggin through a small pile of scrap metal that my ex-brother in-law left here. Figured I would see just how much trouble it would be to move. Toward the bottom I caught sight of the word telegraph on this box. The thing weighs a ton, and is made of cast iron. It has most of the guts inside, and looks really neat. I figure I should clean it up, and either keep it or trade it off. At least it will give me somethin to do till the weather clears. Let me know if ya have any idea of age. Luck in the hunt.

JuJu

 

[starwarsblazer]

not sure on its age, but that is awesome!

 

[BuckleBoy]

Way Cool!

My guess is 1900, give or take.


More information:

http://plaws.net/fire/box.html


And here's a NY Times article from 1895. Click on the Adobe Acrobat file to view the whole article.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9401E4DD1E3DE433A2575BC0A9649D94649ED7CF


The Gamewell Company is still in business. You could write to them. Heck, they might even be interested in buying it to resore.

http://www.gamewell-fci.com/


Best Wishes,


Buckleboy

 

[seger98]

With the small holes in the front, is it missing a handle or something there? Neat find, would be neat to restore it!

 

[Blacksheep]

Nice piece,

http://www.firehallmuseum.org/fire_alarm_telegraph/firealrm.htm

 

[juju]

Way Cool!

My guess is 1880, give or take.


More information:

http://plaws.net/fire/box.html


And here's a NY Times article from 1895. Click on the Adobe Acrobat file to view the whole article.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9401E4DD1E3DE433A2575BC0A9649D94649ED7CF


The Gamewell Company is still in business. You could write to them. Heck, they might even be interested in buying it to resore.

http://www.gamewell-fci.com/


Best Wishes,


Buckleboy

You are the man. That is awesome info. Thank you my friend, very much.

JuJu

 

[juju]

Nice piece,

http://www.firehallmuseum.org/fire_alarm_telegraph/firealrm.htm

Thats a great site. Thanks a ton.

JuJu

 

[juju]

With the small holes in the front, is it missing a handle or something there? Neat find, would be neat to restore it!

I looked through the pile again but no sign of the numbers that are supposed to be mounted to the door. Oh well. Still cool.

JuJu

 

[Detectingfreak]

Dude that is pretty sweet! I bet its from the 1930's!!! Still Waiting for the snow to melt over here, so then I can head down.

 

[tymcmurray]

Nice save!
I love those unexpected cool old finds.

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

juju,

keeper; so nice.

have a good un.......
SHERMANVILLE

 

[juju]

That would look good restored! Cool find!

Ought to keep me busy for a while.

JuJu

 

[MD]

There are a lot of collectors of fireman memberabilia. I wouldn't be suprised if it brought a chunk of money. I've heard the old fireman hats fetch around $1,500. It would sure fit nice in a museum showcase.

 

[kdismuke1]

GREAT FIND JU JU. BEST OF LUCK.

 

[lumix]

I remember seeing those when I was a young boy in Massachusetts in the 50's. Open the door and pull the switch to report a fire. It was mounted on a poll that had a red light on top. If the alarm was activated, the red light would go on. I don't remember if it was a flashing light or not.
The police had a similar box for the beat cop. He would open it with a key and turn another key inside. It would keep a record of the time he was at that point of his beat. Some had a telephone in it. Only a cop could open and use this box.

 

[Hardrock]

AWESOME save there for sure, they are really neat but alas as so many other devices like that they went the way of the junk pile,nice save. Hardrock

 

[49er]

Nate, I remember seeing one when I was a youngster. If my gray matter serves me right, it should was built in the 30's but not sure either. Great find though.

 

[Southern_Boy]

that is just a really cool find! Let us know if you restore it, I would like to see some pictures of it then too!

 

[crazyjarhead]

A good piece to restore. Nice eyeball find juju

 

[Monty]

There use to be one of these on nearly every corner in downtown districts. They were numbered as to location and connected to a central fire alarm station. The fire alarm station would get the signal as a light on a big map of the City and send a fire truck to the location of the alarm. There were still a few of them on corners back in the mid 1960s when I was a rookie cop. After phones and radio equipment improved so much during the late fifties and sixties, they became obsolete. The old fire alarm building in Tulsa is on the national registry as a historic building. It is built with an artdeco style facade and was quite a place during its time. That is a unique and very collectable item and a great find. Monty