Collectors answer the call for antique historical telephones at Bruneau & Co. auction held January 4

CRANSTON, R.I. - Jan. 14, 2020 - PRLog -- Antique historical telephones and other collectibles from the early days of phone communication, all from the Pennsylvania chapter of the Telephone Pioneers of America Museum, fetched nice high prices at a New Year's Estate Fine Art, Antiques & Collectibles Auction held January 4^th by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, online and in the Cranston showroom.

"It just goes to show that when an item is top quality, collectors will come out of the woodwork," said Kevin Bruneau, the president of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. "These rare items from the Telephone Pioneers of America are some of the coolest things I've seen sell. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for collectors. Antique phones have become quite popular as a collectible."

Just some of the top-selling lots from the category included the following:

• A group of four early horn transmitter telephone reproductions, marked "Historical Replica Reproduced by Bell Telephone Laboratories", made in the 20^th century from wood and metal, the largest of which measured 7 ½ inches by 10 ½ inches ($15,000).
• A 19^th century mahogany telephone switchboard box, made in the United States by an unidentified company but an interesting piece nonetheless, overall 12 ¾ inches by 11 ¼ inches, made from wood and metal and with no apparent signs of damage ($13,750).
• A pair of 19^th century diminutive Bell wall mount telephones, both black painted wood cased phones with glass transmitters by Maxim New York, marked "American Bell Company" around the transmitter and the sides of both marked "July 11, 1893" ($8,750).
• A group of six 19^th century butter stamp telephone receivers, including five solid colored receivers of simple design and one black receiver with carved decorative flower patterns around the ear piece, with one piece marked "Property of Bell Telephone Co." ($7,500).
• One lot consisting of two 19^th century square transmitter telephone boxes, including one box marked "Blake Transmitter 320644 Edison Carbon Telephone" on the front and the other, unidentified transmitter having a decorative mount and receiver holder ($7,500).

Bruneau & Co. will hold a two-session auction on Saturday, February 15th – a single-owner Steam Engine & Pre-War Toy Auction at 10 am Eastern, followed by an Estate Fine Art & Antiques Auction at 12:30 pm. Then, a Comic & Toy Auction is scheduled for Saturday, April 4^th, starting at 11 am Eastern.

To learn more visit www.bruneauandco.com.