A telegraph
This is a Bunnell vertical spring Telegraph Sounder mounted on a stained wood base with two vertical coils." J.H.. Bunnell & Company New York, USA" is stamped on the sounder arm. It was originally owned by my wife's Uncle Jake who worked on the Springfield MA railroad line for the US Postal Service. I believe that this sounder is from the 1940s.
This Main Line Sounder, Model 15B, is mounted on a wood base and it has a brass mechanism with a U-Shaped bracket and a vertical spring armature adjustment. There are two exposed vertical magnet coils with the standard black covers, a black armature bar and a brass adjustment lever that adjusts the armature position and sensitivity. The words "WESTERN ELECTRIC" are stamped on the armature bar.
A Western Union Model 8-A steel sounder on a black wooden base. It is a unusual since there is a silencer mechanism just visible on the left. The lever is stamped "J.H. Bunnell & Co. New York U. S. A. "Repaired by J. H. Bunnell & Co. 3 -27" is pressed into the wood on the bottom of the base This sounder spent most of its life in Tempe, Arizona. I purchased it from the daughter of the original owner who was a supervisor and lineman for Western Union.
A Western Union Model 15B steel Sounder on a wooden base. A brass tag on the base reads: W.U. Tel. Co. Main Line Sounder 15B 120 OHM. The lever is stamped Western Electric Co. Patent applied for. There are two New York Repair Shop (N.Y.R.S.) inspection stamps on the bottom of the base. One is pressed in the wood, the other tag is a stamp. The seller told me that this sounder was owned by an employee of the Syracuse, NY office of Western Union.
This is a Western Electric Model 15C Brass Sounder on a wooden base. The Base is stamped W.U.T.Co. (Western Union Telegraph Company) Line Sounder 15C. 160 ohms. The lever is stamped J.H.Bunnell Co. New York USA. There are eight New York Repair Shop (N.Y.R.S.) inspection stamps on the bottom of the base. One is dated 1927 and some are pressed into the wood. This sounder was also owned by an employee of the Syracuse, NY office of Western Union.
This telegraph relay that was used as a signal amplifier in long distance telegraph circuits. This type of relay was used for circuits up to 75 miles. These are often called "Pony Relays." They are also called "Goose Neck Relays" because they have a unique curved upper contact support that looks like the neck of a goose. Hundreds of thousands of these relays were made from 1881 through the 1950's.
A Western Union Call Box Model 6-B with a bright blue enamel front with "Western Union" in white letters. The call box is mounted on a porcelain base with a crank on the front at the top. It has a clockwork type mechanism inside so that when the crank is turned, it sent a series of pre-designated pulses to the local telegraph office. When the local telegraph office received the code, they would send a messenger to the location of the call box to pick up a message. I believe that this device dates from the late 1920s.
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