Unique Vintage Sanyo 1960s Electric Phonograph & AM Radio Combination in Wooden Case

This is a Unique Vintage Sanyo 1960s Electric Phonograph & AM Radio Combination in Wooden Case that I have acquired recently from a friend's dad. It is still in working condition and plays vinyl discs very well. It also has a light indicator at the radio panel which gives off a orange back light when it is turned on. 

Dismantling the Sweden Ericsson LM Phone

The Sweden Ericsson LM Phone was a common sight in many Singaporean households back in the 1970s, normally found in the beige or gray versions. In order to clean up the fingerwheel, also known as the rotary dial, we would need to dismantle the phone. Dismantling the phone also enable us to clean up the inside as well as check for any damages in the wiring when the phone is not working well. 

However, there are no manuals or instructions that can be found online to dismantle this particular model. After fiddling around with the phone, I have managed to dismantle it and below is a photo of all of the parts laid out. 

To remove the main housing, we will need to locate the screw which is located under the handset area. After unscrewing it, the top casing can be easily removed. The 2 holes on the number dial plate is actually a special type of screw and can be removed by turning it. To remove the finger wheel, we would need to unscrew the metal finger stopper by locating the screw behind the rotary mechanism as shown in the top left hand corner of the photo above.

Vintage Singapore Charcoal Clothes Irons

In the olden days, where most of the Singaporeans still lived in villages, clothes iron like the above were actually used. My mother vividly remembers using one of these irons to iron her school uniform. She described it as a very challenging task as most of the school uniforms were white and if any charcoal bits escape out of the inner compartment of the iron, the uniforms would be stained.

Authentic Charcoal Irons like these are getting harder to find and there are many replicas flooding the market. One good method, though not foolproof, is to look for a Company Stamp behind the iron. These stamps are signs of authenticity of the irons and are proofs that these iron are sold by Singapore Companies.

Vintage 555 Double Key Pendulum Windup Wall Clock

555 is another brand of clocks commonly seen during the olden days in Singapore, besides the Diamond (Chinese) electric clocks & the Smith's (England). 555 is also a brand from China and this particular model dates back to the 1970s. This is a double key pendulum windup model which chimes at every half hour.

Vintage Beige Singapore Telecom Rotary Phone (NEC)

This rotary phone was sold when Singtel was still Telecommunication Authority of Singapore. There is a stamp with the letters TAS at the bottom of the phone. This should place this phone in the 1970s - 1980s. This is a NEC model very commonly used in households back then. Another popular rotary phone was the Ericsson LM, which was featured in an earlier post.

Singapore Telecom Vintage Flat Rotary Phones

This is another post on the Singapore Telecom Vintage Flat Rotary Phones. Below is a snapshot of 4 phones of different colours and makes of the same model. I have also learnt that back in the 1970s, the cost of installation of a phone like this would set a family back by 120 dollars, which was not a small amount back then.

In 1970s, the phone cable heads were also different, with a metallic 5 pin as shown below. In order for these vintage phones to work, the phone cable heads have to be changed to the modern ones.

Vintage Singapore Telecoms Flat Rotary Dial Phone

This is a vintage Singapore Telecoms flat rotary dial phone, a common household item to many Singaporeans who grew up in the 1970s-1980s. This phone is special as it is a hybrid between the round traditional type rotary phone and the flat iconic number pad Singapore Telecoms phone of the 1990s.

Vintage Sewing Machine - Chiyoda

Theres a sewing machine in my vintage items collection too. This is a fully working, Chiyoda sewing machine. This brand is relatively uncommon (Singer is the most common and popular brand back then), but from what I know, it is a Japanese company which used to produce sewing machines back in the early part of the 1900s. This set used to be a fully manual and mechanical sewing machine which does not require electricity. However, with the advancement in technologies, it was later modified with an addition of an electric motor which made sewing much easier.

For a read on sewing machine history, you can click here. Its an interesting read.

Vintage Electric Clock - Diamond Clock Shanghai

Many Singaporeans will find this clock familiar, be it in the old style coffee shops, granny's house back in the kampung days as it was a common sight in the 1970s to 1980s. The Diamond Brand clocks which were made in Shanghai were a popular choice for clocks besides the Smiths Electric Clocks from the U.K.

They come in a variety of colours such as green, black, beige etc and they look great in living rooms. Most importantly, they still function! I do have a couple of these spares for sale, so if anyone is interested in purchasing or renting one, you could always email me for more details.

A brief history of Diamond (Zuan Shi) clocks company can be found here.

Vintage Working Singapore Telecom Biege Rotary Phone

These are 2 vintage phones which I have on display in my room. The left red push button one maybe familiar to most of the Singaporeans above 25 - 30 years old. This red phone was an iconic phone issued by the Singapore Telecom back in the 1980s. This phone is dated 1981.

The beige rotary dial phone on the right was also issued by the Singapore Telecom. This phone is used back in the 1950s - 60s, when rotary dial phones were widely used before being replaced by the push button phones. The rotary phone can still be used, but for those people who have converted their home lines to Starhub Digital Phone, the phone cannot be used to call out anymore as they do not support pulse dialing. However, we still can receive calls using the rotary dial phone.

Rotary Dial History

The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. A patent was filed on August 20, 1896 by employees of Almon Strowger, namely, A. E. Keith and the brothers John and Charles Erickson. The Patent No. 597,062 was granted on January 11, 1898.

The modern version of the rotary dial with holes was first introduced in 1904 but only entered service in the Bell System in 1919. The rotary dial was gradually supplanted by Touch Tone dialing, introduced at the 1962 World's Fair, which uses a keypad instead of a dial.

Some telephone systems in the US no longer recognize rotary dialing by default, but will only support push-button phones instead, in which case the rotary dialing system would have to be ordered from the telephone company as a special feature, to support older customer equipment. However most actually do accept dial phoning without fail.

Vintage Singer Radio

This is a wooden box vintage radio that I have. I like its design with its selectors being mounted on a transparent panel. Singer is actually a brand famous for manufacturing sewing machines, thus a Singer radio is quite an interesting find.

For those who are interested in the history of radios, you can read more here.

Peranakan Style Chinese Wedding Basket

I have a very gorgeous Peranakan Style Chinese Wedding Basket in my vintage item collection as well. It is handcrafted by bamboo with elaborate designs and decorations around the sides of the basket.

Some Background

Betrothal 过大礼/纳彩 Up to a month and at least three days before the wedding day, the groom and a friend or a matchmaker will deliver the betrothal gifts on the auspicious date chosen.

Western and Chinese wedding cakes and peanut candies, together with two bottles of brandy, at least six tins of canned ham and even number of oranges are included in the wedding gift baskets. Two pairs of dragon and phoenix candles 龙凤烛are also included. Also included is gold jewellery from the groom's parents to the bride, such as the Cantonese Dragon and phoenix bangle 龙凤琢 or the teochew's four items of gold四点金.

Some include the bride's price with the betrothal gifts, whereas some will only present it when the groom fetches the bride.

Vintage Smith's Electric Clocks

These are my collection of Smith's electric clocks. The first one is a bakelite (an early polymer) model which I estimate to be manufactured in the early 1950s. The second one is a more recent model made of white plastic which I estimate to be about 30-40 years old. They are still functioning very well!

A Brief History

In 1931 Smiths, then called S Smith and Sons (motor accessories) Ltd., entered the domestic clock market and formed a new company, Smiths English Clocks Ltd., as the Clock and Watch division of S Smith & Sons (Motor Accessories) Ltd. Smiths were one of the first companies to produce synchronous electric clocks. These were put on the market towards the end of 1931.

Vintage Singapore Magazine - The Mirror

I never knew that Singapore used to have a weekly almanac of current affairs. For a young country, this magazine seems to be one of the important magazines that illustrates and showcases our progress to all our citizens. In 1967, we have the first batch of Officers graduating from the Officer Cadet School, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew giving a speech as the Prime Minister and Dr. Goh Keng Swee inspecting the commissioning parade of the first batch of our army officers. This was a very good read and I believe it marked a very significant milestone in our Singapore history. This magazine didn't come cheap, but I felt that it was definitely worth what I have spent!

Vintage 1964 Singapore Sweepstakes

I bought this sweepstake ticket today and its interesting to note that the denomination is actually quite large. $1 back then can easily buy you a few bowls of noodles. I wonder how much was the prize money to entice people to fork out a dollar for this sweepstake ticket. Comparing it to the sweepstakes now (which costs a few dollars), the cost of buying one of these sweepstakes did not increase so much as compared to other things, such as our housing and cars.

Vintage Working Singapore Telecom Biege Rotary Phone

Vintage Working Singapore Telecom Beige Rotary Phone

The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. A patent was filed on August 20, 1896 by employees of Almon Strowger, namely, A. E. Keith and the brothers John and Charles Erickson. The Patent No. 597,062 was granted on January 11, 1898.

The modern version of the rotary dial with holes was first introduced in 1904 but only entered service in the Bell System in 1919. The rotary dial was gradually supplanted by Touch Tone dialing, introduced at the 1962 World's Fair, which uses a keypad instead of a dial. Some telephone systems in the US no longer recognize rotary dialing by default, but will only support push-button phones instead, in which case the rotary dialing system would have to be ordered from the telephone company as a special feature, to support older customer equipment. However most actually do accept dial phoning without fail.

Vintage Thermo Flask

I chanced upon this Vintage Thermo Flask at a shop and it was in a very bad shape with oxidised aluminium covered with layers of dirt and grease. This kind of thermo flask was very common back in the 1960s where water was kept at a hot temperature at home instead of using electric kettles. They were often also part of the dowry in traditional Chinese weddings. My mum claims that its known as Diang Gong in Hokkien. I spent an hour cleaning this item up and its ready for display!

Vintage Boutique Hotel in Phuket

During a trip to Phuket last year, I came across a small boutique hotel quietly hidden behind the bustling streets of Phuket. This boutique hotel decorated its lobby with vintage items, and I felt that it was very well done!

Here are some photos to share!

Vintage Olympia Typewriter

Before the days of computers, I recall my parents typing on the typewriter and it had always fascinated me. I have since collected a total of 5 typewriters and they are a big part of my vintage items collection. In this post, I am featuring the Olympia De Lux Typewriter which is made in Germany. Its space bar is a little crooked (I will fix that when I'm free), but it is still amazingly in working condition, and the ribbons still have ink!

A long read from http://www.vintagetypewriterjewelry.com

The Beginning

Olympia’s story begins in Berlin on August 15, 1903. Here, under the direction of European General Electric (AEG), Dr. Friedrich von Hefner-Alteneck sought to develop a German machine to capitalize on the rising popularity and demand for typewriters. The result was the Mignon, a roller-type typewriter that didn’t fare well, as it was too expensive for many potential customers.

AEG continued to hammer away at the problems, however, finally starting full-scale production of the new, improved Mignon “AA” line in 1912. The first commercially successful Olympia, the Model 3, rolled into the marketplace just under nine years later, and two years after that, in 1923, the company set up shop in Erfurt, Germany.

By 1930, the Olympia brand name had been secured, in honor of the very last Mignon model produced, the Olympia Plurotyp of 1933. The Model 7 and Model 8 machines produced at this time, however, were sold under both the AEG and Olympia names. Later prototypes of the 1930s, including the 8a and 8b models, were simpler and cheaper, and gained popularity in the market--although a few lines, like the Filia and Super, did not last long before being pulled.

Necessary Moves

By 1943, Olympia typewriters were selling quite well, and the company had even created a one-handed version of the Model 8, for disabled users. But all was not well. As World War II raged over the European skies, the Erfurt plant suffered damage. Already reduced to just eleven employees by April of 1945, the factory survived the bombing and capture of the city by Allied forces. However, it was greatly tested by the Soviet takeover later that summer, as the East German government took control of Erfurt and everything in it--including Olympia--renaming the company “Optima”.

Several former employees fled to West Germany, though, and set up shop in 1948 in Wilhelmshaven, where Olympia typewriters continued to be made until production stopped in 1992.

Postwar Heyday

From the late nineteen forties onward, Olympia enjoyed increasing success. First, in 1949, the International Court of Justice at The Hague settled the dispute between East and West Germany over rights to the Olympia brand name. The Wilhelmshaven owners won, and officially changed the name of the company to Olympia Werke.

By 1961, about half of the typewriters in use in Germany were Olympia portables. From the popular Progress, Simplex, and Elite models to the SM2, SM3, and SF Portable--all of which maintained continuous production for sixteen years or more, from the 1950s through the 1970s--Olympia portable typewriters were known for craftsmanship, eye-catching design, and continuous innovation. Although some models never took off as planned (for example, the Orbis, which only lasted one year before being discontinued), features such as individually-spring-loaded keys provided extra comfort and cushioning, bringing in customers despite the high price point of Olympias. (In 1964, an Olympia SM7 cost $142.50--quite a hefty price tag, as this amounts to over $1,000 in today’s currency!) Even as close competitors Remington and Underwood were bought out by other companies, Olympia continued to thrive, opening new manufacturing facilities in Canada, Ireland, Mexico, and Chile, just to name a few countries.

It was during this time that Olympia produced some of its most popular models, including the SM5, which came in mod colors like caramel, mint aquamarine, and pink, and offered a script-typing option. Olympia typewriters even began to turn up in Hollywood, as Alfred Hitchcock’s 1964 thriller Marnie features Tippi Hedren as a crazed secretary, typing away and having neurotic episodes behind an Olympia SG3!

Changing Times

By the 1970s, Olympia--like most other business machine suppliers--was well aware of the threat computers presented to typewriters. Eventually, the company would branch out into calculators and computers, but before doing so, it tried many different innovations and improvements to the existing product. In 1970, Olympia introduced the SGE 50M Excellence, an electric typewriter that used proportional spacing, much like the computers of today. The firm also experimented with Dvorak keyboards, which placed the most commonly-used letters in the English alphabet more conveniently and comfortably than the standard QWERTY format. And, in 1984, even as computers took over the business world, the company kept pushing the envelope; it debuted its Olympia 1011, an important improvement over the traditional Chinese-language typewriter. Instead of the individual keys for over 2,500 characters conventionally used, the 1011 featured electrically-controlled inkjets that specially formed each character without time-consuming adjustments.

However, none of these models lasted long. The SGE 50M was only in production for three years, from 1970 until 1972, and the Dvorak machines were too expensive, costing over $300 more than a regular QWERTY typewriter.

Modern-Day Olympians

In the end, Olympia folded. Production ended in 1992, after every attempt to save the company. But Olympia typewriters are still around, often in great condition and highly prized by their owners.

Today, Olympias are especially cherished by professional wordsmiths, including Paul Auster, author of The Invention of Solitude and Man in the Dark: A Novel, among other books. His 2002 art book--The Story of My Typewriter, with painter Sam Messer--is a tribute to his SM9 manual Olympia.

Read the full article here.

Hitachi Black and White Television

Televisions nowadays are all in the form of LCD, LED and even 3d. In this post, I will feature one of the black and white television used in the in the 1960s to 1970s. I chanced upon this beautiful working set at a shop one day, and decided to buy it to add to my collection.

Television History
1880s to 1899	Period of Dreams, Concepts and Initial Discoveries
1900	The word "Television" is first used
1922 to 1927	Early Experiments with a MECHANICAL scanning disc system. TV Picture is neon orange and very small.
1928 to 1934	First Mechanical TV Sets sold to public -- At the peak, 42 US stations were in operation using the Jenkins system. However, picture quality is lacking. Not suitable for commercial use. Electronic TV offers greater promise.
1926 to 1935	Early Experiments with All-Electronic Cathode Ray Television (the basic system we have today)
1935 to 1941	Electronic (Experimental) TV begins broadcasting in Germany, England, Italy, France, USA, Holland, etc.
Early 1940s	Work begins on CBS Mechanical Color Television
1-Jul-41	Electronic (Commercial) Black & White Television begins broadcasting in United States
1942 to 1945	World War-II halts all TV sales and most all public broadcasting.
Late 1946	First American Post War TV set is RCA 630-TS (Less than 7,000 TV sets in USA, pre WW-II)
25-Jun-51	First Mechanical Color Television Set Placed on Market (CBS-Columbia) at $499.95.
20-Oct-51	Mechanical CBS Color TV Broadcasting ends forever
May-54	First All-Electronic Color Television Set is RCA CT-100, selling at $1,000
1987	Japanese demonstrate ANALOG high-definition TV system (called MUSE)
1990	General Instrument's Video Cipher division announces DIGITAL Hi-Definition System
1995	Congress Passes the Telecommunications Act of 1995, replacing the old 1934 laws
Late 1990s	Internet, World-Wide-Web explodes onto the scene -- ushering in new global communications for the 21st century!