DENVER, Pa. – Peter D’Acosta, whose 25-year collection of antique candlestick phones is featured on day two of Morphy’s Dec. 6-7 Fine & Decorative Arts Auction, says it was a classic American TV show that inspired him to “dial in” to the quaint early devices.
DENVER, Pa. – Peter D’Acosta, whose 25-year collection of antique candlestick phones is featured on day two of Morphy’s Dec. 6-7 Fine & Decorative Arts Auction, says it was a classic American TV show that inspired him to “dial in” to the quaint early devices.
“In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was running a TV station in Wichita Falls, Texas. I wanted to start a hobby that had something to do with the business of communications,” D’Acosta said. “Then one day while on a conference call, I glanced over at the TV that was always on in my office, and there was Andy Griffith [Sheriff Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show], talking on his candlestick phone. I thought, ‘How cool is that!’”
While hunting for new acquisitions, D’Acosta also became a knowledgeable historian on the subject of telephones. He briefly explained the timeframe surrounding his collection. “In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was granted a 17-year patent on his telephone – the most valuable patent of all time. When the patent expired, so did his fundamental protections,” D’Acosta explained. “In 1892, Bell introduced the first upright tabletop telephones, replacing wall-mounted crank phones that were in common use, and in the 15 years following the expiration of Bell’s patent, more than 12,000 independent telephone companies sprang up around the United States.”
Hundreds of manufacturers began making new telephones for Bell’s competitors, but one by one, the smaller telephone companies folded because of the mammoth Bell AT&T monopoly. As Bell either acquired the local carriers or crushed them with their competitive muscle, the smaller companies’ telephones became obsolete and were destroyed. And that is why so many of the phones in Peter D’Acosta’s well-refined collection are so rare and desirable.
Every phone in D’Acosta’s collection has a special story, like Lot 801, a Western Electric No. 1 speaking tube desk telephone, which was Alexander Graham Bell’s first upright desktop model; and Lot 802, an American Bell No. 2 speaking tube desk set. Model No. 1, a Potbelly design, was probably introduced between 1893 and 1894. In fantastic original condition, it is one of the rarest telephones in the collection and is estimated at $20,000-$25,000. Model No. 2 was designed with an attractive swirl base. D’Acosta’s example is the earliest original American Bell desk stand known to exist in a private collection. It is the most valuable phone in the auction, estimated at $30,000-$40,000.
The Peter D’Acosta Antique Telephone Collection plus the additional selection of Daniel Drawbaugh experimental telephones will be auctioned on Sunday, December 7, 2014 (day two of Morphy’s Dec. 6-7 Fine & Decorative Arts) sale. The event will begin at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. All forms of bidding will be available, including in person at the gallery, by phone, absentee or live via the Internet through Morphy Live, LiveAuctioneers or Proxibid.
Preview the entire auction inventory daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On auction day, the preview will begin at 8 a.m. Morphy Auctions is located at 2000 N. Reading Road in Denver, PA 17517. For additional information on any item in the sale or to reserve a phone line for live bidding on auction day, call 717-335-3435 or email [email protected].
Visit Morphy Auctions online at www.morphyauctions.com.