American Art Metal Tubular Doorbell #101 Circa 1934
This chime was manufactured by American Art Metal Company of San Francisco, California.This tubular door chime has a copyright date of 1934 making this one of the earliest tubular door chimes in the Doorbell Museum collection after the single note TeleChime Call Boy.
This chime is of heavy duty construction and has a voltage requirement of 24 volts like other early door chimes.
The Model 101 was the top of the line from American Art Metal and features a unique decorative grill suspended from an engraved center tube. The grill protects the two bells.
This example was acquired by a collector approximately forty years ago from an antique shop on Valencia Street in San Francisco. The chime had hung silently for several decades until the owner generously made it available to the Doorbell Museum.
Manufacturer | American Art Metal | |
Location of Manufacturer | San Francisco, California | |
Date of Manufacture | 1934 | |
Materials | Painted Cast Bronze Case | |
Dimensions | 10 inches wide, 32 inches tall, 2 3/4 inches deep |
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Robert,
I’m glad to see you’re still doing well in the door chime business, and also pleased to see the photo of the Model 101 in my house included in your images! I’m not sure if I told you this story, but that bell came from the home of my childhood best friend Rich Canonica, and I’m sure I rang it thousands of times going over there between the ages of five and fifteen. When his family home was sold and was going to be “updated”–i.e, ruined–he removed it and stored it away. Twenty years later, knowing I’d always admired it even as a kid, he brought it down from his attic and gave it to me. Sadly, Rich has since passed on, but the bell remains in daily use at my house, and every time I hear it ring, I think of him.
Continued good luck with your work, and here’s wishing you a healthy and happy 2022.
Arrol Gellner
Architect C20256
gellner.net