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The unique design of the Leich Convertible allows it to be used as either a desk or wall phone. It was available as a comtempory of the Western/Northern Electric 302 and the Stromberg Carlson 1243. It contains the ringer and induction coil within the phone thereby eliminating the need for a separate subscriber set or bell box that was common in earlier models.
The history of Leich is as convoluted as it is interesting. It was formed as the Eureka Electric Company which moved to Chicago in 1898. In 1902 Eureka merged with the Advance Electric Company and subsequently moved to Genoa. In 1907 the company was sold and renamed The Cracraft-Leich Electric Co. The name was changed to Leich Electric in 1917, and in 1950s Leich was purchased GTE and became the first manufacturing subsidiary of that company. GTE and Automatic Electric merged in 1955 and Leich was maintained as an operating subsidiary of GTE until the early 1960s when operations were fully merged with the parent company. In 1989 GTE and AT&T finalized a joint ownership agreement and the name of the company was changed to AG Communications Systems. AT&T transferred it's majority ownership in AG Communications to Lucent Technologies (formerly Western Electric) in 1996 and as of 2003 Lucent is the sole owner AG Communications. Thus, long-ago competitors Western Electric, Automatic Electric and Leich are now effectively one company.
This Leich Convertible has a bakelite housing that has thoroughly polished to restore the phone to it's original appearance. The bakelite handset has been lovingly buffed to bring out the original high-gloss shine, and the dial has been meticulously overhauled to ensure that it will give years of trouble free service. This phone has been completely tested and is ready to plug into modern phone lines.
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| Details |
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| SKU |
20339 |
| Price: |
US$229.95
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