Old speaker in my school. Manufactured ~1880!!!

[The VCR King]

I am at an older middle school, built in 1950-something, and there are portable buildings outside of the middle school for "off level" students to be taught in separately (in other words, a room that separates the white-trash bullies and pot-smoking idiots from the rest of us). At dismissal today me and my friend were waiting outside for the bus and one of the special ed teachers from the building allowed us to come in to the heat. I was walking and looking around, and I saw a big wooden speaker on the wall hooked into a BOGEN intercom call button. All of the speakers in the school look kinda like this:

However, this one had darker, and thinner, wood and it was splitting and you could see the little decorative fabric thing had rotting areas in the corner.

I asked the teacher about it and he said that the speaker was used in an old log-cabin schoolhouse that was demolished around 1940-something, and this speaker, MFD in 1880, was moved into the new building.

Here is a photo of it:

Could any of y'all speaker gurus here please tell me what brand/mfr this speaker is?

 

[strollin]

I can't ID that speaker but I truly doubt that it was manufactured in 1880. Where did you get the idea that it was manufactured in 1880?

 

[The VCR King]

teacher said it was 1880s

 

[salvage-this]

Must have been quite a bit of progress in speaker technology since 1877

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph

 

[Darren]

Judging by the look of the speaker and the one found here (speaker L, second to last picture) I'd say it's probably from around the 40's.

http://www.preservationsound.com/?p=1481

 

[The VCR King]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilVelWnGwHs
I think I found it!

The rest of the speakers in my school are these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0_Y9HTMViU

 

[strollin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilVelWnGwHs
I think I found it! ...

It's similar but not the same speaker.

 

[spirit]

Judging by the look of the speaker and the one found here (speaker L, second to last picture) I'd say it's probably from around the 40's.

http://www.preservationsound.com/?p=1481

I think it's definitely 1940s/50s. Certainly not 1880s! You can tell just by looking at it. If your school is a 1950s build then it'd make sense that this speaker is also from that time period. Probably installed when the school was new and never removed.

 

[The VCR King]

I think the portable building that the speaker is in is older than the school to begin with.

 

[Geoff]

I think the portable building that the speaker is in is older than the school to begin with.

I know around here, the portable buildings are usually put in place after the school was built because they needed more room.

 

[spirit]

I think the portable building that the speaker is in is older than the school to begin with.

I doubt it's 1880s though. It makes sense to me that the speakers are about the same age as the school buildings. You said your school was built in the '50s, therefore the speakers are also probably from that time.

If you go museums or watch films about WWII you often see speakers, especially those in radios, that look a bit like the one you pictured, so my guess is '40s/50s.

 

[Darren]

I know around here, the portable buildings are usually put in place after the school was built because they needed more room.

That's almost always the case. I would be willing to bet the speakers is 40's or 50's, possibly 30's, but nothing lower than that.

 

[voyagerfan99]

There's no way that speaker is from the 1880's. They didn't have anything like that back then. It's from the 40's at the earliest.

 

[Okedokey]

Looks nothing like the ones from 2014 though!!

 

[The VCR King]

^lol

 

[strollin]

That pic appears to be some kind of listening device, not a speaker. Possibly new Beats earbuds?

 

[Geoff]

That pic appears to be some kind of listening device, not a speaker. Possibly new Beats earbuds?

Shhhh, the hipsters would go crazy over that.

 

[Darren]

Hipsters don't wear Beats...?