WESTERN
ELECTRIC
TELEPHONES
(schematics, color charts, posters, etc.)

WESTERN ELECTRIC PRODUCTS
(other than telephones)

Click on image above to view full-size

Western Electric, best known by the American public for its rugged, high quality telephones, did not start out in the business of making telephones.  In the early days, they made fans, sewing machines, audio equipment (they made the first loudspeakers!), vacuum tubes, sound for the first "talking" movies, and more.

"Quality" wasn't just a buzz-word with Western Electric.  They practiced what they preached. In fact, they wrote the standards for quality that are still used by today's companies.

There is a remnant of Western Electric today that still produces very high quality vacuum tubes and in fact they have a website that will give you a photo-tour of their Kansas City Works, USA facility.  To visit their website, click HERE.

Click on the links below for information on and/or photos of these Western Electric items:

• Sewing Machine

• Electric Fan

• Automatic Answering Service

• "Mirrorphone" wire ribbon recorder/player

• Motion Picture sound equipment (goes to another web site)

• Electron Tubes (photo) (or some would call these devices Vacuum Tubes, or Valves).  Some of the original tubes are still being manufactured!

• Loud Speaker - PHOTO 1, PHOTO 2, PHOTO 3, PHOTO 4 - (also known as a Loud Speaking Telephone as it was called back when Western Electric invented it! Courtesy of R. Wiltfong)

• First pager, the BellBoy (frame from Bell System movie called "Century 21 Calling" produced in the mid 1960's)

• Bell Chime - A big thanks to Chuck Vasquez for sending me this document.  More info on the Bell Chime was sent to me by various members of our telephone club collector members and can be viewed here.

• Western Electric radio transmitters - submitted by John C. Aegerter, WA9GAR.  To view two advertisements for these transmitters from a 1948 electronics magazine:

  • Advertisement #1: Click HERE for full-size scan or HERE for < 800 pixel wide image.

  • Advertisement #2: Click HERE for full-size scan or HERE for < 800 pixel wide image.

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A visitor to my website contributed the following information and photos concerning the early days of Western Electric when "Manufacturing Company" was used as part of the name:

David -

Earlier this summer I contacted you regarding an early Western Electric logo "WE Co" that was on a small bell box. . According to historian John Casale the company originally called itself "Western Electric Manufacturing Co." (see forwarded message below) Thus, the logo on your web page is likely the third logo used by the company.

I just finished photographing these items which show the earlier logo. All are likely from late 1870's to early 1880's. The box relay set had another logo on the pivot support of the relay but I decided not to disassemble the relay to reveal it since it's identical to those on the two sounders.

73,

Christie Edinger, KØIU

Photo 1 - Photo 2 - Photo 3 - Photo 4 - Photo 5 - Photo 6 - Photo 7

>From: "John Casale"

>Christie,

>

>I cannot tell you when they stopped using this logo without doing some

>digging. But it appears they started using it in the mid 1880's soon

>after they dropped "Mfg." from their name............John

FOR INFORMATION ON WESTERN ELECTRIC TELEPHONES, CLICK HERE FOR A SPECIAL SECTION ON THIS WEBSITE DEDICATED TO THAT TOPIC.

All original material on this web site is copyrighted ©1997 - ©2005 by David Massey.