The sale’s highest price, $23,180, was paid for a very rare, early telephone. Made from 1878 to 1880, just a couple of years after the first phone, this one was known as the Phelps double crown phone.
Review & Onsite Photos By Rick Russack; Catalog Photos Courtesy White’s Auctions
MIDDLEBOROUGH, MASS. — During a discussion with John White before White’s Auctions’ December 10 sale, he said, “I used to just be John — now I’m called the ‘telephone guy.’” That’s because since his April 2023 sale, John and his wife, Kathy Black, have been dispersing a collection of extremely rare and early telephones. At that sale, two phones each sold for more than $40,000, and at their June sale, one exceeded $18,000. In his December 10 sale, one earned $23,180, and another earned $15,680; three of the sale’s four highest prices were earned by telephones. All have come from one collection assembled over decades by a collector who worked in the telephone industry and is now being dispersed by his son. White said, “We don’t claim to be experts on early phones. But we’ve taken a lot of photographs of each one, adding the information when we can on the names of the makers and the patent dates. Kathy and I believe in low estimates, and letting the buyers make their own decisions as to value.” That approach had obviously been successful, and White said there will be more phones from this collection in upcoming sales.
The phone that sold for $23,180 was a Phelps double crown example, made of hard rubber, brass and steel. They were apparently made for just a short period of time, 1878 to 1880, by the Western Union Company. According to www.telegraph-history.org, the Phelps “Crown” phones were made in both single and double configurations. It was invented by George Phelps, who was active in early research on telegraph instruments and who also made patent models for Thomas Edison’s early phones. The website says, “His prominence in the US as a telegraph inventor during this era has earned him a place in the Smithsonian,” and, indeed, the Smithsonian owns one of these phones; another example in Harvard’s collection of historical scientific instruments.
Known as a Bell Telephone Company long distance telephone transmitter, this was another from the collection of early phones that White’s has been dispersing over their last few sales. It realized $15,680.
From the same collection, there was also a Bell Telephone Company long-distance telephone transmitter. This was the first form of a commercial long-distance transmitter and earned $15,680. This type of phone was designed to solve the problems associated with transmitting signals over long distances and this example probably dates to about 1892. The sale included a circa 1892 Berliner Edison transmitter in a wooden case, which brought $2,684. A lot with four “butterstamp” receivers earned $1,464. These are hand-held receivers and resemble wooden butter stamps.
White’s sales usually include a wide selection of gold and silver coins, along with proof sets. Two gold coins each sold for $2,318. One was a circa 1986 one ounce $50 gold piece and the other was a 1947 50-peso Mexican coin. White’s catalog clearly states that they do not grade coins, which means that if you are interested, you almost have to come to their previews and examine the lots. Many of the coin lots are quite large. One lot, listed as “182 items of proof sets etc” weighed 48 pounds and realized $519. Details of each of the proof sets were included in the catalog listing. A complete set of 306 Lincoln head pennies made between 1909 and 2011 that were in a Dansco album sold for $1,830; a complete set of 58 Indian head pennies in a Whitman album sold for $1,708. Since coins and jewelry almost require personal inspection, nearly all are sold to buyers in the gallery.
There was far more than phones and coins. Two sterling flatware sets finished among the higher prices of the day. A cased Wallace Silversmith Company flatware service for 12, in the Grand Baroque pattern, featured 94 pieces and brought $2,806. Another cased Wallace service for 12, in a repousse pattern, with 87 pieces brought $2,196. This set weighed about 31 pounds with the case.
One of two sterling silver flatware services for 12, both made by the Wallace Silversmith Company, were included in the sale. This one, with 94 pieces and a case, sold for $2,806.
There were numerous watercolors and other paintings, including a group of works by Florida artists, one of which was Kathy Black’s favorite items in the sale. It was one of a group of Sam Newton (American, b 1948) paintings in the sale. A colorful Florida landscape dated 2000 brought $2,196. Newton was a founding member of The Florida Highwaymen, a group of African American artists. Two other works by the same artist brought just about the same amount. A landscape with palm trees, water, birds and sky by James Gibson (American, 1938-2017), another member of the group, earned $2,074. Although pop artist Romero Britto (b 1963) was born in Brazil, he was part of the same group, and an acrylic he did that depicted a large bright orange dog against a blue background, titled “The German Dog” and dated 1990, reached $2,318.
Perhaps overlooked was a lot that included six binders of research notes and transcripts relating to the Nixon Watergate Congressional hearings. They had belonged to Stephen Lynch, who served as associate counsel and research assistant to the Congressional committee conducting the hearings on Nixon’s involvement in Watergate. There were also transcripts relating to Henry Petersen and Earl Silbert leaking information on Nixon, Haldeman and Dean to the committee. They were key investigators concerning G. Gordon Liddy and the break-in. The lot, which sold for $305, may have been a very good buy. White said, “The lot was brought in to us by a local person and went to a buyer in Washington DC.”
Kathy Black selected one of the Sam Newton Florida paintings as her favorite item in the sale, commenting “it’s hard to pick just one.”
After the sale, both Kathy Black and John White said they were very pleased with the sale. “We totaled $230,000 and we were glad to see the continuing interest in paintings, especially the group that we had by Florida painters. We’ve developed a reliable, strong following for coins, and those buyers keep coming back. And of course, we’re now known for the phones. That’s the fun of this business, we never know what will be coming next.”
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, 508-947-9281 or www.whitesauctions.com.
