If you're an uncompromising collector of antique technology, make sure to check out all my listings after you look at this one. I don't think you'll find a better, broader or more balanced assortment of technical antiques anywhere -- hundreds of no-reserve auctions each year, almost all of them featuring eye-popping "gee whiz" gadgetry in exceptional original condition. And don't forget, you can click this link to quickly add and then save me to your favorite seller list and Ebay will automatically send you updates when I put similar new auctions online.
Here's an early Phelps sounder with a round nickel base and undamaged original coils. Dates to mid to late 1860's. One of the knurled adjustment nuts appears to have been replaced (it's nickel -- the rest are brass), but the sounder otherwise appears to original throughout. Condition is good, and nothing has re-plated or polished.
Approximately 4" high, with a base that's approximately 4" in diameter (excluding the mounts).
A very nice example of an historic and seldom seen telegraph sounder. Please review the photographs and consider them an integral part of the description.
I'm one of ebay's best known, most highly regarded sellers of antique technology. I've been selling and shipping it for more than 25 years. When you purchase an item from me, you can rest assured that it will arrive safely because it's been carefully packed (by me, not by some well-intentioned but nonetheless confounded, doe-eyed teenager working at the UPS store who wouldn't know a phonograph from a farm tool), Sure, you can probably get a lower price from Joe and Janet Barn-Find, but when your "bargain" arrives broken, and without any hint of how you might be able to put it back together, you'll realize that you really do get exactly what you pay for.