The Elevator Preservation Blog

For Sale – 1894 Otis Elevator

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

I work with a general contracting company.  We are restoring a 1894 building that has an old Otis elevator.  We are interested in selling the entire elevator if possible.  We are willing to split it up if necessary, though.  Attached you will find pictures of the elevator. 

If anyone is interested in this unique piece please contact Sara at Phoenix of Ohio 740-382-8889.

Tags: 1894 Otis Elevator For Sale, Otis Elevator
Posted in Articles, Elevators - Pre 1900's | 1 Comment

Great Elevator Americana!

Friday, September 24th, 2010

It is awesome when we get these kinds of e-mails. This one came from Rob who has some great old elevator castings. What makes the photo’s even cooler is the fact that Rob has the history that goes along with them.

 Rob Piron - The half moon dial has been made into a clock using a thrush bearing gauge. It was apparently created as a “42 years of service” award for a retiring G.E. employee credited with inventing a “hydraulic floor indicator” device. The year of retirement is indicated as 1968, but the dial appears older than that – not sure though.

The switch is salvage of unknown origin. I refinished and mounted it on a pole stand. I have another switch buried in my barn similar in style to the Nissen Building variety posted on your site. Again, note sure of the vintages of either of these styles, but I’m curious which style pre-dates which. I was told the Otis globe logo with the “wreath” pre-dates logos without, but haven’t been able to confirm this. 

The brass ID plate came out the Maine Eye and Ear Infirmary, Portland, Maine. The car it was removed from was the original installation from 1892; birdcage style cab driven by an electric basement drum machine.

Ideally I would like to ID exact dates on the Otis items; I’m sure that’s a stretch though. They all do have part numbers, so I was curious if dating is possible with these data.

The last pics are for fun; Here is a great pair of extant c 1911 Otis’s located in the Triangle Lodge building in Portland, Maine. They are the last manual passenger elevators in the City.

Tom, thanks for your help. I’ve been an armchair admirer of early building systems since I was a kid and it’s great to see sites like yours breathing new life into these marvels of the past.

Thanks again,

Rob Piron

Pat Carrajat was nice enough to help with identifying some of these pieces.

• The half moon is typical for the period between 1890-1940, no way to identify exact dates unless there is date or a casting number. Some casting numbers can be cross referenced by Otis, this vintage woulb often have 2-4 numbers followed by 1-2 letters followed oby 1-2 numbers
• (i.e. 147TA2 which is a hall button cover or 1898-12 also a button cover. The 1898 does not refer to the year.
• The car switch cover & handle appears to be a type “O”, I should have a parts leaflet and will check. If it’s a “O” it was produced sometime in the 1930’s in all likelihood.
• The capacity plate cannot be dated, the style speaks to me as being early 1900’s or late 1800’s.

Thanks Rob again for sharing not only your photographs of early americana elevator pieces but for also including the history behind them!

If you would like to comment on this post please do so in the comments section below.

Tom Sybert
www.elevatorpreservation.com

Posted in Elevators - 1900-1930, Elevators - 1931-1950, Elevators - Pre 1900's | No Comments

Antique Elevator Wanted For 1898 Home

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Jim is looking for an Antique Elevator for his home.

I am looking for an antique elevator for use in a large older home renovation project.  I would appreciate any help finding one.
Thanks
Jim
iamthepa@hotmail.com

After contacting Jim to ask him permission to share his e-mail he later shared the following.

Tom, Thanks… yes, posting would be fine… we are in the process of purchasing a large older home in need of repairs and we are planning on adding an additional 2000+  square feet.  The elevator would be located in the new addition.  It will go from the basement to to third floor ball room.  New, would be fine, but old would be better.  The home was built in about 1898 and currently has just over 10,000 feet without counting the basement.  I have been told that antique elevators are out there, just have to be lucky enough to find them.

Help Jim by sharing your thoughts in the comments section below.

Tags: antique elevator wanted for 1898 home
Posted in Elevators - 1900-1930, Elevators - Pre 1900's | 3 Comments

Butler Indicator or Elevator Indicator?

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

I’ve seen these before, mostly noted as elevator indicators but they seem to complicated to have worked with the types of elevator controllers that were built back around the 1900’s. This one noted to be either a butlers station or elevator indicator posts a date of 1882 which is a long time ago.

Have some information on how these might have worked? Comment below!

Tags: arrow indicator, butler station
Posted in Elevators - 1900-1930, Elevators - Pre 1900's | 3 Comments

Mitchell Elevator For Sale

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

See another one out there selling an old elevator. The location of this unit is in Nevada.

I have an elevator from the late 1800’s in my bldg. I have the patents for it too. It is a Mitchell which of course is no longer in business since early 1900’s. It’s in good shape and I have pictures of it are attached. Please contact elevatorpreservation@gmail.com and we will put you in contact with the seller.

Posted in Elevators - Pre 1900's | 5 Comments

Cool Otis Elevator Patent Print For Sale

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

I’ve seen these on Ebay before but this one is the best looking one I’ve ever seen and for the price you can’t beat it.  If you love elevators and their history you’ll love this print. If for some reason it’s not on Ebay any more contact the seller through this link.

http://myworld.ebay.com/the-patent-guy/

http://cgi.ebay.com/US-PATENT-of-the-ELEVATOR-Elisiah-Otis-1861-Art-Print_W0QQitemZ120438276968QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0aae4368

Quality Reproduction of the
Original US PATENT for the ELEVATOR BRAKE!!!

Invented and Patented by Elisiah OTIS in 1874. This invention of the Elevator Brake made elevators safe and practical for use in high-rise buildings. This is his entire patent reproduced on 8.5″ by 11″ Antiqued Parchment Paper, and includes the Drawing Sheet and 2 Description sheets that describe the invention in full detail.

Own an amazing piece of HISTORY!!! Ready to FRAME!!!

Buy it Now!!!

This is a low resolution scan of the actual document for fast loading. The actual documents are of museum sharpness and quality.

Tags: otis elevator reproduction patent, otis patent print for sale
Posted in Elevators - Pre 1900's | 1 Comment

1890’s Elevator Sign

Friday, December 18th, 2009

This has to be one of the coolest items I’ve seen on ebay for quite some time. The last I had checked the bid was up to $255 and the reserve price had yet to be met. The details of the item are noted below. And yes, the first line item of it being rare is correct.

• Here is a beautiful CA 1890′S ELEVATOR DIRECTORY 43 X 26 X 1.5 INCH SIGN and in our opinion very rare.
• We have owned it for over 20 years
• This sign may have been in a lobby of a business or possibly head office of a corporation
• It is made out of solid wood and has nice gold lettering for the FIRST FLOOR, DIRECTORY ETC.
• Condition is overall great,see pictures for details, a couple of the floor letters are faded
• The LECKIE SIGN IS METAL AND WOULD SLIDE OUT TO BE REPLACED WITH OTHER BUSINESS NAMES(that was the only one it came with)

While not all the photographs are posted here the sign looked to be about 1″ thick. Looking at it now I think that reproducing a replica would be something that wouldn’t be too hard to do. I might end up giving this a try in my spare time, kind of like the New Yankee Workshop.

Tags: 1890's Elevator Sign
Posted in Elevators - Pre 1900's | 2 Comments