Just click on icon/link below or use navigation bar to scroll through our rental items categories
We have a wide assortment of residential wall and desk phones. Phones range the early wooden wall phones and candlestick desk phones to more modern dial and touch call phones that added colour to the mix and a wide range of styling to the mix.
Did you know that...
- Phones without dials were used in magneto and common battery telephone central offices.
- Magneto phones had a crank that was used to signal to the operator that you wanted to make a call. Operators connected all calls through central office switchboards. Operators timed every long distance call with a calculograph clock that printed out the numbers of minutes of the call for billing purposes. The crank was also used to call others on the same party line by using an assigned ring code. Each customer kept a master list of these codes beside their phone.
- Common battery phones had no crank or dial. When the customer lifted the receiver an operator would see a light appear on her switchboard and ask the customer what number he or she wanted.
- Dial phones allowed for automatic calling. This meant that an operator was no longer needed for local calls. Dial phones can still be used in most telephone systems today.
- Touch call phones utilized tone frequencies for calling, thereby optimizing the use of data transmission.
What is a party line?
For those of you old enough to remember... a "party line" was not about the Saturday night party ... it was about people sharing the same phone line! Telephone companies did not have the infrastructure in place to provide a private line to each customer. Consequently party lines were established that allowed for multiple customers (up to 10) to use the same cable. In the early days each customer had a "code ring" - e.g. one long ring, 2 short rings. It was certainly not advisable to share secrets on a party line! |
To improve privacy, telephone companies brought in "frequency ringing" whereby only the intended recipient or "called party" could hear the ring. Party lines created many arguments between neighbours when one person wanted to use the phone but the "long talker" wouldn't hang up!
The first private lines were provided to businesses, doctor offices, and emergency services. Residential private lines were first installed in cities and towns. People living in rural areas were often placed on a wait list until facilities became available. On many occasions, telephone installers received hugs, kisses, cookies and milk when they upgraded customers from their party line to their long awaited private line. This wait time may have been years long.
The first private lines were provided to businesses, doctor offices, and emergency services. Residential private lines were first installed in cities and towns. People living in rural areas were often placed on a wait list until facilities became available. On many occasions, telephone installers received hugs, kisses, cookies and milk when they upgraded customers from their party line to their long awaited private line. This wait time may have been years long.