Reproduction Model 317 Wallphone

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Oldphoneworks :: Antique Phones ::

Reproduction Model 317 Wallphone

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Parts For This Phone

Wood Wall phones were among the first phones that were made available to the public by the early telephone companies of the late 1900s. Most of these phones had self contained batteries to provide transmission power, and a magneto to generate the electricity required to ring the bells of the party being called. This strategy enabled telephone users to communicate with each other without the requirement for a centralised power supply. An added benefit was derived from the fact that the local batteries provided a stronger more consistent power source compared to common battery power that suffered from line attenuation in the extended line runs common in rural settings.

The manufacture of local battery phones with magneto ringing was essentially discontinued in the US during the 1940s. The rural nature of Canada, however, created an ongoing need for these phones. As a result, Northern Electric continued to manufacture local battery magneto phones until the early 1960s, and many of these phones were still in service into the 1970s.

Perhaps the most common local battery magneto phone manufactured by Northern Electric was the Model 317. This phone was first introduced in 1907 and it remained in production for 30 years. The earliest versions of this phone had an arched "cathedral" top to accommodate the external line terminals while on later versions the terminals were moved inside the phone eliminating the need to the arch. Until 1911, when the plain front was introduced, all 317's had a picture frame front. In 1916 a new stubby transmitter mount was introduced along with a low slope shelf to match.