When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Up for sale is a spectacular, museum-grade piece of 19th/early 20th-century American telecommunications history: an original Multi-Line Universal Telegraph Peg Switchboard (Plug Board). This heavy commercial infrastructure unit was salvaged from a historic estate and represents a rare survivor from a major regional railroad depot, police headquarters, or telegraph central hub.
PREMIUM HARDWARE & MANUFACTURER MARKS:
This high-capacity system features industrial-grade components from the world's finest early electrical manufacturers:
- WESTERN ELECTRIC (W.E.): The lower mechanical line switches are explicitly stamped with the iconic vintage "W.E." inside a circle logo.
- FAHNESTOCK: The lower testing terminal features an authentic, stamped "FAHNESTOCK" spring binding post above a stamped "G" (Ground) terminal designation.
HISTORICAL FIELD DETAILS:
The face of the board retains its original, beautifully aged cursive paper destination tags protected behind brass frames, indicating real-world line routing for "North", "South", and "Loop". Faint historical pencil marks (such as a line testing notation reading "1 PM") can still be seen on the lower white panels. The top ports house the original carbon-block lightning arrester assemblies.
WHAT IS INCLUDED:
- 1x Multi-Line Wooden Cased Western Electric/Fahnestock Peg Switchboard
- 12x Original Matching Heavy Brass Switching Plugs/Jacks with black insulated handles (including one rare reddish-brown variant)
CONDITION REPORT:
This switchboard is in beautiful, unrestored, authentic antique condition with a phenomenal "honest character" patina. The wooden frame is structurally sound with rich wood grain. The brass buss bars, switches, and pins show natural oxidation and tarnish from over a century of age. The paper labels are intact but show expected vintage discoloration. This unit is completely untouched and has not been cleaned, polished, or modified, preserving its maximum historical and collector value. Sold strictly as an un-tested historical artifact
