What is it

This was a first for me.

Only one pic for now … I’ll post the rest later this afternoon. :smiley:

28 Silver Spring12908 185.jpg

If I had to guess I might guess that they were old dry cell telephone batteries, but I have no idea.

Part of an old Phone system

some case it could be a doorbell battery as well.

some were old style 6 V cylinder type cell and wired in series to get 12 V to get the doorbell buzzer run or bell to ring.

but i doubt if that battery(*) is used with the telephone system because most telephone system useally are 28 volts DC range unless it hit the " ring " voltage it will kick up about 90 V DC or 25 HZ one of the two.

Merci, Marc

    • it possiblty a 12 volts cylinder battery as well

I vote door bell also. Is the house from the 40’s 50’s???

I bet the label, under those clamps, looks something like the one below. Phones were powered by batteries at first at each home rather than completely from a central supply. The batteries typically had Fahnestock type clips on top for terminals.

Must not be many old homes in Wisconsin & Arizona.

These are pretty common place on the Main Line of Philadelphia…

The old wooden wall phones with the crank handle on the side had these batteries in the “battery box” on the bottom. The lid doubles as a writing surface for a note pad:

You beat me to it Marc. I had some of those batteries way back in the early 50s but they were pretty much dead then

Well, I honestly thought it was an old doorbell, but the phone system makes much more sense (after you posted the proof and all :wink:

Here are the rest of the pics I could get … sorry they are limited as I didn’t feel like walking through the coal bin to get better angles.

28 Silver Spring12908 186.jpg

28 Silver Spring12908 187.jpg

28 Silver Spring12908 188.jpg