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hello, am new here and hoping this is the right place to ask. But I am looking to get one of these old NYC fire alarms, does anyone know where? Thanks in advance!
Ebay is about the only place you'll get a selection to choose from, the older cast iron boxes are fewer in number than a decade ago there, with a lot of the ones now for sale being the more modern aluminum boxes from the post 1950s era.
Expect to not likely find one of these, and if you do the price will likely be at least $5,000 like mine was.
These are also harder to find, especially intact and not "messed with" or missing parts, they can run $600 to $1200 or more, especially one like I own that has the rare to find lightning strike fuses and working bell on the door, almost all of the porcelain fuse blocks were removed long ago along with the door bell ringer mechanisms, but of course in the 1970s most of the doors AND guts were removed for the police/fire intercom systems Norelco supplied.
All of them in Manhattan were gutted and converted, but parts of Brooklyn still have some.
If you get a box that is in decent original condition free of grafitti or plastered with stickers- RESIST the temptation to sandbland and paint "like new" with a "restoration" using bondo to fill casting defects and automotive paints to make it look like a shiney new hotrod- you destroy the value, make it look like a cheap reproduction that came from China.
The first photo is an 1883 original Gamewell box left in as-found condition, you cant reproduce a 100 year old patina like that!
The 2nd photo I repainted conservatively because it had been plastered with stickers, glued on paper ads and painted grafitti and the red paint was horribly messed up and beyond any fixing.
The white lettering is the ONLY thing they ever did originally to these, they did not put gold highlights and border lines, polish the brass hinges or handles, they simply slapped on the red paint over the whole box, and highlighted the lettering to make it readable, but subsequent repaintings by city crews simply repainted the whole box completely red.
This inner mechanism box originally was installed in those big 900 pound pedestals, one in use can be briefly seen in a vintage FDNY silent promotional film from the 1920s about the "new" system.
These cast iron inner boxes were replaced by around the 1930s or 1940s with newer aluminum ones made by Horni Signal, Brown Bros, Stewart Steel Products, Gamewell, so this one is rare and was very expensive, I own the one shown, in as-found condition.
Today a friend bought a keyless door vf box on a pedestal he paid $ 5800 for it which I thought had been a record price paid for an FDNY box only to find out of sales of $ 6500 which I was unaware of but which I think is well over value for something that can be found.
Perhaps I am wrong about what the market is for these instruments , but I never would have thought I would see the day a vf box and post which could hardly be called rare would sell for more than $ 5000.
The equipment ONLY has value depending on who wants it, and how badly they want it, it's not like you can simply order up an intact, complete VF-post any time you want and have it delivered to you in California or something! There is no "Kelly blue book" valuation on this stuff.
They are not "rare" there are lots on the streets of Brooklyn, with missing doors and guts, broken torch tops, missing side access covers, and the ones that are being used are sure not going to be for sale!
$5,000, $4,000, $2,000, what difference does it really make? it's a one-time purchase not a monthly rental charge!
My VF post was $5,000 and I had to get it packed and shipped on 2 skids from North Carolina to Iowa, that was $900. It also had the Norelco intercom which I didn't want and sold that for a couple hundred, and installed appropriate guts and door I had.
The seller bought it from an outfit in NJ who had it on their web site for at least a year priced $10,000
then they lowered it to $6,500, I don't know what the guy I bought it from paid but I bought it from him for $5,000 and I doubt he paid much less than the $6500 the antique outfit had it advertised for on their web site since they came down to $6500 from $10,000 and I doubt they were going to take like $2500 for it!
You aren't going to find one of these just "anywhere", and if you live several states over it's far less likely you'll find one or get it shipped across the country via freight cheaper than several hundred bucks or more plus liftgate costs. You might be lucky and find one at an estate auction after a collector died, but that's not likely to be an hour drive from home, more like several states over.
Most people don't want a 900 pound baggage they have to move every time they move either, and unless you can get it inside you have to live where you can put it outside- eliminating condos and apartments.
Antiques of all kind increase in value, I have a copper architectural cornice from a hotel in NYC that back in 1980 you could have gotten one for a couple hundred bucks, mine bought in 2003 was $2500 and I was offered $5,000 for it around 2005, Ive seen a couple over the years on ebay with damage to them priced $10,000 see photo.
If I remember right, your book was freshly published back when it came out and had a price value on the Excelsior box of $325 but you wanted $500 for yours that you were selling, plus pick up and would not take even one dollar less!
I bought one for less than $325 shortly after, so like the VF post price you mentioned, who would have thought someone would price a common Excelsior box for $500 as-is when their own freshly published book said the value of them was $325!
As far as prices go, here's a catalogue page from around 1925 for the O'Brien style aluminum boxes used in NY City, they cost $345 each, according to the inflation calculator this is what $345 is in todays money;
What cost $345 in 1925 would cost $5011 in 2018.
I've paid $1200 for a COMPLETE O'Brien box with the porcelain fuse block and working bell, they COST the equiv of $5011, I don't see any problem there.
So a near 6 foot tall, cast iron pedestal box weighing 900 pounds must have cost at least DOUBLE that price in the 1920s, which would BE right around $10,000 today.
Even using your $6500 price that you consider "outlandish";
What cost $6500 in 2018 would cost $447.50 in 1925.
I would find it hard to imagine these 900 pound VF pedestals would only have cost $102 more than the little light weight aluminum boxes strapped to street lamps!
So just given normal inflation I in all effect bought a VF Pedestal for what a new aluminum "O'Brien" street lamp mounted box would cost today, I don't see any problem.
Hey There,
Years I came across an old FDNY box in pretty good shape, I have the key but these photos are from when I was taking a look at everything.
Any info on what type of box it is, name would be huge. Also if any expert in this thread has any insight into the condition and value of the box, that would be greatly appreciated.
I'm looking to sell it to the right collector and need to be armed with the right information.
Ebay is about the only place you'll get a selection to choose from, the older cast iron boxes are fewer in number than a decade ago there, with a lot of the ones now for sale being the more modern aluminum boxes from the post 1950s era.
Expect to not likely find one of these, and if you do the price will likely be at least $5,000 like mine was.
Be forwarned that they weigh 900 pounds each!
Sounds just like a collectible I want.
When are people on this site ever going to learn how to use an image hosting site.
Last edited by Digger 68; 04-12-2020 at 10:27 PM..
The vintage alarms are quite long lasting unlike the new ones that we just throw in the trash bin in case of damage. I have seen some in the vintage shop in NYC but did not imagine these cost that much.
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Fdny box info/value needed
