The most immovable(unsalable) antique

I have had this cheque writing machine for more than a decade, it has been all over the place, and no-one has ever shown any interest in it. It's not even quite heavy enough to make a boat anchor.



Any one got any similar white elephants that seemed a good idea at the time?

 

There was an episode of 'storage wars' where they had one 'appraised'. After that show aired they started selling for a little while.

I have a number of boat anchor radios.

This frequency generator sold for about $20,000 in 1970.

That was more than several cars at the time. Today it's worth maybe a couple hundred if mint condition and working.

 

Would it be possible to wire the generator to a loudspeaker so you could play with generating specific notes? Then it could be a man-room toy? Or a substitute for a tuning fork? If a bit less portable.

I have seen some of your other boat anchor tech buys and I think their time is yet to come. Admittedly, it may be after our time. But I do like things covered in knobs and switches, and it it has something labelled 'squelch' that's the cherry on the bridesmaid.

 

This 'portable' field radio has to be over 200 pounds. The crate is waist high.

 

I will never understand why you guys want this kind of stuff? Like the huge tower speakers from the 70s, as big as a refrigerator - why do you want them?

 

It's all about the size of the unit

 

We have an old check writer similar to that which I could never get a nibble on so I stopped listing. I love the field radio. I know lots of retired military guys who have a collection of stuff like that.

 

That didn't slide by me either! hahahaha

 

I will never understand why you guys want this kind of stuff?

It's for playing with. It's the real thing of the toys we had to cobble together out of bits and pieces and a lot of imagination. As a kid my sword was basically, a stick. With a crosspiece tied on. Now I can buy real ones to flourish in the privacy of my own home, although some take them out to play-battles with other fantasists. Spring plays with real cannon.

Girls played with dolls and toy houses, they have children and real
houses. Men play with real steam engines, real cars instead of a plank on pram wheels and real armies instead of toy soldiers.

No one grows out of playing, or if they do they are very dull.

 

I still play with dolls - live ones anyway. G. I. Joe is my favorite.

 

The check writer's problem is that it doesn't have that "look" and doesn't serve a useful function. I suppose you could drape watch chains over it or something, but other than as a store display item it's not good for much.

 

Hi,
Have to laugh. My FIL has 6 car battery chargers in case six cars go dead at once. He does NOT have enough electrical service to do it. My favorite toy of his is a spark plug cleaner. It is 5 ft high and 4ft wide and weighs several hundred pounds. Who in the hell cleans spark plugs? I have no room to talk with these two 8Ft fiberglass columns that weigh 400 lbs.
greg

 

When my son was a little guy I would take him to a little "discovery center" in town. They had all kinds of old machines with buttons, cranks and switches. They no longer worked, but the kids loved it all. Maybe you could donate them to such a place nearby?

 

I have this portable typewriter:

 

I like the cheque writer. It looks more interesting than the newer ones. It would be good core material for some clever person with a steampunk sensibility.

 

True - all those gears and levers could be made into something else. No clue what they'd do with the case, but an artist could come up with something. I remember taking a pile of random stuff (including some old skis) to a building full of artist lofts and "abandoning" it with a FTGH sign on it. It was gone I think before I got out of the building.(LOL)

 

The 60 pounder Barney used to call Andy

No idea why it keeps rotating the image

 

Love the "Squelch" button.

 

Yes, you are nowhere without a 'squelch' knob. It keeps a word on the endangered species list alive.

What does FTGH mean? I guess the sense but can't find appropriate words.

That typewriter looks impressive, surely there must be some interest in early models like that?