ANTIQUE TELEPHONE HOMESTAKE MINING CO. BAKELITE TELEPHONE 1940'S

Up for auction is a one-of-a-kind bakelite telephone from the world famous Homestake Mining Co. in Lead, SD. I have lived in and around Lead for 30 years and collected many Homestake items but I have never seen another one of these. The lack of a dial indicates it was an "inter-office" type of phone, such that the caller would simply pick up the receiver and tell the company operator who he wanted to speak with. I bought it years ago and it's been holding down a table on my deck. You can see in the pictures the receiver is marked T E L. I assume that is the manufacturer. This is an extremely rare piece for the Homestake or vintage telephone collector. It weighs about 5 lbs.