The Telephone Collectors International (TCI) is pleased to announce its 2022 Spring Antique and Vintage Telephone Show. The show will be open to the public on Saturday, June 11, at the Lancaster Farm and Home Center, located at 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, Pa.
The TCI is an association of telephone collectors and telephone historians with interests that range from the restoration of early wooden sets and the preservation of electromechanical switching technology to the collection of books and ephemera related to the telephone industry. There are, in fact, so many unique interests amongst the membership that it is almost impossible to describe a typical member. The membership represents all manner of professions, both related and unrelated to the telecommunications industry.
The group publishes a monthly newsletter, Singing Wires, which features educational articles, newsworthy features, and a section where people can advertise telephones and related material for sale or trade. The articles feature a wide range of subjects from the evolution of telephone equipment to the histories of unique telephone people and organizations.
Some TCI members participate in a special interest group of telephone switching enthusiasts. These members collect and restore the specialized equipment that made the telephone network work. This includes cord switchboards, automatic telephone exchanges and office intercommunicating systems.
The TCI also sponsors two historic telephone exhibits a year. The exhibits, or telephone shows, as they are sometimes referred to, serve as a means of bringing together those who share an interest in historic telephony. These shows give the collectors an opportunity to exhibit their material; buy, sell, and exchange phones, parts, and memorabilia; and to help each other to build their collections. The public is invited to attend all TCI exhibits and bring along any old phones they might have.
Admission to the spring show will be free of charge to the public, and hours will be 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
For additional information, visit www.telephonecollectors.org.