Gray Bell-Shaped Collector
Gray Telephone Pay Station Co.Gray Telephone Pay Station Co.Founded by William Gray in Hartford, Connecticut in 1891, Gray Telephone Pay Station Company pioneered the coin-operated payphone. Gray received the first practical payphone patent in 1889, inspired by being refused use of a factory telephone during a family emergency. The company's first payphone was installed on a Hartford street corner outside a bank. By 1902 there were 81,000 payphones across America, many built by Gray. The company was renamed Gray Manufacturing in 1939, and the pay station division was acquired by Automatic Electric in 1948. · payphone, American · Source: Hal Galvin
About This Phone
This bell-shaped coin collector is mounted on a Western Electric #85 fiddleback phone. The bell collector was only distributed through the Bell companies on WE equipment. The independents countered with a Gray specialty collector in the shape of a shield - the symbol for independents. Therefore you will find the Gray shield collector mounted on non WE wood phones. The bell-shaped collector body is cast iron and is comprised of three major assemblies. Inside there are lead chutes, one for the nickel and one for the dime. There are two gongs. The dime hits both, the nickel hits only one. Each gong had a different pitch.
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