A VICAR’S quirky collection of telephones could be a ringing success when they are sold by a Lichfield auctioneer.
More than 1,000 designs will go under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers on 6th October.
They were collected by Reverend John Charles Baines, who died suddenly earlier this year from a heart defect at the age of 56.
His elder brother Michael Baines, from Ashbourne in Derbyshire, said:
“He was fanatical about telephones.
“It is a complete mystery why he started – he should have worked for British Telecom.”
The quirky collection spans almost a century of telephone design, focussing on iconic models from the 1930s through to the 1980s and continuing into 1990s and 2000s developments in communication.
Included are classic Bakelite designs, GPO rotary dial bell-ringers, candlestick telephones and retro Trimphones, plus fun novelty shapes such as a leaping Jaguar mascot and Pepsi drinks machine.
As well as domestic models there are office phones, warehouse handsets, a military field telephone, telecom engineer’s GPO tester and even two large exchanges.
There is also a small archive of black and white photographs of telephonists dating back to the early 20th century, an array of typewriters, a 1950s copying machine and a range of computer equipment.
Auctioneers hope the collection will fetch £5,000 under the hammer on October 6.
A spokesperson for Richard Winterton Auctioneers added:
“We expect this wonderful collection to have a great reception at auction.
“It is an impressive archive spanning a century of communication and encapsulating the history of telephone development and design.
“Telecoms enthusiasts and collectors, fans of retro design and anyone looking for original props for film, television or the stage will all find plenty to interest them.”
For more details visit www.richardwinterton.co.uk/auctions/auction-calendar.
