About

If you’re of an age to remember the sound of an old GPO telephone you will know it is a sound that can take you back to your childhood. Every time I hear our Antique Bakelite Telephone ring it evokes memories from the past. I was always interested in Antiques and collectables and spent all my spare time going to antique shops in Rye, Lewis etc. My wife collected kitchenalia and I just loved looking at items from the past. One day when in Lewis I cam e across a GPO Bakelite Black 232 pyramid telephone and was just amazed to be asked if I would like to hear it working and to dial a number. I just could not believe that a telephone designed in the 1920s could possibly still work exactly as it did all those years ago. I came out of that shop with my head spinning with questions on how I could find out more about these items. I soon found a little book written by Andrew Emmerson and published by shires with pictures and other models from  a wooden wall GPO 121  to a GPO Bakelite 300 series.  I found out that people collected these other models and that some were very rare and hard to find. The collector kicked in and I was hooked and soon spending every waking minute trying to get all the items I could. I advertised in papers, magazines and sweetshop windows etc.  I soon found a group called the THG or telephone Heritage Group that held swap meets and published a magazine with all the information I craved. I was soon spending all my wages on the best of the rare items mainly GPO Bakelite 200 and 300 in all the colours available and amassed a large and top quality collection. In the early days there were many collectors like me and so prices were solid and if you found a bargain on the way it was easy to sell on to fund the next great find. As an apprenticed served toolmaker making injection mould tools and press tools it soon became apparent that engineering in this country was a dying trade and that we had become a service country. The company that I worked for was being undercut by China in such a big way as that we were quoting for a large mould tool only to find that to compete we would have had to charge less than the cost of materials. I made the decision to take a gamble and restore and sell telephones for a living. Although it is 7 days a week and just about pays the bills I have never been happier. Every day is a joy with no Monday morning blues. I now run my own web site and supply a number of shops. The web site is www.antiquetelephones.co.uk