183 spacemaker telephone

Vintage Automatic 183 Electric Spacemaker Wall Mount Rotary Telephone Retro Jade 

The Automatic Electric Company (later known as GTE) was located originally in Chicago, IL. Their model 183 was most commonly called the "Space Maker" and was marketed as saving space in the new modern kitchen. It also came to be known by other names due to its many adaptations, such as the "Bar Phone". Anywhere you wanted to put it, it was small and didn't take up a lot of room.

The downside to the small footprint is the fact they left out the ringer. For a ringer, you need a separate bell box mounted on the wall near the floor. You don't need the bell box for the phone to work, but if you want it to ring you need one.

There are a few adjustments that can be made on this phone. The first is that the head swivels to various angles in a 180º span. The other is you can have the handset rest on either the left, right, or center position. You can see in the pictures I have moved the handsets around to the various positions. You can request a position when ordering the phone.

This is a rare jade green Space Maker phone, depending on condition the value can range from $150 to $400

more information about the phone and mounting:

This phone was made prior to the development of the modern wall jack. In the days when this phone was installed, they mounted the phone to the wall directly over the hole where the phone wires come out and then wired the phone directly to the house wiring. This is referred to as “hard wired” (as opposed to modular).

You have two options to mounting your phone. You can secure it to the wall anywhere and run the line cord included to the nearest jack, or you can mount the phone directly over an existing wall jack. I’m including instructions for both, but first instructions on opening up your phone.

Removing the cover

You will find two screws on the bottom of the cover. Remove these and the cover will slide off.

Mounting the phone

Inside you will see holes in various places for securing the phone to the wall. I recommend using at least three points. How you secure it to the wall depends on the wall material you are going into. I recommend toggle bolts on drywall for best holding power. If you’re not sure what to use, ask at any home store for a fastener that will hold 2 to 3 pounds to the wall securely.

To mount the phone over an existing wall jack, follow these instructions

1. Remove the wall jack from the wall and disconnect the wires from it (you can’t get shocked, it’s all low voltage). Wrap the yellow and black wires back out of the way, you will not need them. You will only be using the red and green.

2. If you have two wires coming from the back of the phone, you can attach your house wires to these. If there is a line cord, then remove the line cord, making note of which screws the wires were attached to. Color matching doesn’t matter so long as you use the correct two screws.

3. Mount the phone to the wall threading the wires through the hole in the back of the phone. Attach the red and green wires to the terminals.

4. Put the shell back on the phone and give it a try.

Adjusting the dial head and handset cradle
The dial head can be moved to an infinite number of positions and angles. The handset cradle can be either on the left side, right side, or centered. Both adjustments are accomplished with the turn of one screw. This is a phillips head screw in the center of the phone, under the dial head. Be sure to just loosen it up enough to move parts around. If the screw disengages the dial head, it’s a bugger to get back in again, though not impossible. After moving the dial head and cradle to the desired positions, retighten the screw. Don’t over tighten it, you don’t want to crack any plastic parts.

info from https://www.ericofon.com/

Below is an updated manual printed in 1981