Very odd table - thoughts?

I'd forgotten Kingston upon Hull, we all tended to do that.

I wish I could find that damned part number somewhere, I'm sure it's the Big Clue to this thing.

 

Hey davey! There's possibly some kind of accent between the E and the 20, but it looks like an apostrophe rather than a grave or acute accent. It lines up with the top of the E. Nothing above the N.

 

Note small table in the midst of this group. http://www.britishtelephones.com/electrophone.htm

N.T. no. 10 is also in the page. E probably stands for electrophone. I'd sure save that first photo and show it in the ad for sale of this table. Further down the page is a great photo of a fully-equipped table.

Gotta say I have never ever heard of the electrophone system before, but that now-empty little table has a pretty interesting history.

Electrophone: Predecessor to radio, TV, and streaming video.

 

Spring, you are an utter genius. Thank you - and thank you all! That is indeed the beast.

I think I'm going to try and get a value for it, then buy it from the estate - my family were Theatricals, and I love stuff linked to it.

 

PS: What did you google to find it?

 

Another page, scroll halfway down to see soldiers and an elephant using it. http://longstreet.typepad.com/thesciencebookstore/world-war-i/

Googology: After learning that the circuitry was basically that of a telephone, I put in "N.T. No. 10" + telephone. That string did not work without the quotes.

 

Hi,
Just in case people are still leery on clicking sites. I will post a photo.
greg Spring, thank you so much I was going nuts trying to figure this thing out.

 

Hi Spring,
Now you have gone too far. I am going to spend hours pouring over your last site. I have too much to do but I am sitting here clicking wildly and can not stop.
greg

 

Here's a fully-equipped one in color in a shop or museum. https://www.flickr.com/photos/27072829@N00/3062787853/lightbox/

 

WOW!! Great searching, Spring!
WooHoo!!

 

Davey, I think that's the date, rather than a price. Looks like a C?

 

"Becky" I think copied the tag as her Flikr photostream caption which reads "Electrophone table ca. 1895" when you open up the page.

 

Wow, kudos to Spring!!! I never would have guessed.

--- Susan

 

Good find, Spring! Very interesting, and certainly something I'd never heard of previously.

 

Nor had I, which given my family and career is slightly boggling.

There's apparently one in the Museum of London, with all its bits.