Calling all bids: Huge collection of vintage phones up for auction

By Adam Dutton

One of the world’s largest collections of telephones from the last century is set to sell for $6,716.

Phone fanatic Reverend John Baines amassed around 1,000 handsets from around the world with some dating back to the 1930s.

They include domestic models, office phones, warehouse phones, a military field device and two large telephone exchanges.

Prized phones included classic Bakelite designs, elegant candlestick telephones and "fun novelty shapes such as a leaping Jaguar mascot."

The phones range from those made in the 1930s through to the 2000s.

The whole collection is being sold at auction following the tragic death of Rev Baines who passed away aged 56 earlier this year.

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They are expected to sell for $6,000 but could fetch far more when they go under the hammer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers.

Rev Baines’ brother Michael, of Ashbourne, Derbys., said: “He [John] was fanatical about telephones.

"It is a complete mystery why he started – he should have worked for British Telecom."

Many of the phones were UK-manufactured, but there are also Belgian, Danish, Italian and American telephone designs.

Brands include GPO, Bell, Ericsson and Siemens Brothers.

Other items being sold include typewriters, a 1950s copying machine, computer equipment and a small archive of black and white photographs of telephonists dating back to the early 20th Century.

A spokesperson for the auctioneers said: "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."

The collection will go under the hammer in the Antique & Home Sale in Lichfield, Staffs., on October 6.