BIRTH DATES OF THE VIBROPLEX KEYS

© 1996by John Elwood, WW7P, 5716 N. 34th Dr., Phoenix, AZ 85017 USA

As a key collector I have been asked many times to date Vibroplex
keys. At first it appeared nearly impossible to do, so I decided toundertake a project that would help us know how old and when our keys
were made. It’s been a long job starting in 1990.
I’ll start with serial numbers and approximate dates, then list
the sources for my dates, such as when the keys were first/and last
advertised, patent dates, sales slips, Vibroplex’s addresses over theyears, information from owners, etc.
After the above dates have been ascertained, other dates were determined by extrapolation of the figures.
Remember, these are approximate dates but I feel they are very
close.
It appears that Vibroplex assigned blocks of numbers for different models of keys between 1905 and 1915.
KEY

SERIAL NUMBERSKEY

SERIAL NUMBERS

ORIGINAL

400-4416

ORIGINAL

50,000-51,814

DOUBLE LEVER

6010-6014

With the 253 Broadway ad-DOUBLE LEVER

D5015-D5310

dress and later plates theORIGINAL

9,000-9,999serial numbers ran consec-"X"

10,238-12,250

utively.

No. 4

B518-B1623

ORIGINAL

20,011-20,788"X"

25,090-26,154
1

Commas have been inserted to facilitate reading the numbers.
NUMBERAPROX. YR

NUMBERAPROX. YR

400-1,286

1905

84,682-88,402

1922

1,287-2,777

1906

88,403-91,375

1923

2,778-3,255

1907

91,376-94,316

1924

3,256-6,106

1908

94,317-95,865

1925

No numbers reported
between6,107-9,999

95,866-99,574

1926

99,575-101,339

1927

101,340-103,104

1928

103,105-103,952

1929

103,953-104,800

1930

No numbers
reported

1909

No numbers
reported

1910

10,000-10,399

1911

104,801-105,648

1931

10,400-11,766 }*} 191220,000-20,621 }

105,649-106,496

1932

106,497-107,344

1933

11,767-12,250 }*}
20,622-20,800 }
25,000-25,577 } 1913**}
50,000-50,907 }D5015-D5310}

107,345-108,192

1934

108,193-109,040

1935

109,041-109,888

1936

109,889-110,736

1937

110,737-111,571

1938

111,572-113,865

1939

113,866-116,159

1940

116,160-118,452

1941

118,453-122,536

1942

123,537-126,619

1943

25,578-26,154 }**}
50,908-51,827 } 1914
B518-B1623* No numbers
reported
12,251-19,999** No numbers
reported
26,155-49,999
51,828-54,231

1915

126,620-137,394

1944

54,232-57,268

1916

137,395-148,169

1945

57,269-60,308

1917

148,170-152,526

1946

60,309-64,573

1918

152,527-156,883

1947

64,574-72,352

1919

156,884-161,353

1948

72,353-80,960

1920

161,354-165,822

1949

80,961-84,681

1921

165,823-170,292

1950

2

NUMBERAPROX. YR

NUMBERAPROX. YR

170,293-174,762

1951

Portland, Maine

174,763-179,232

1952

386,952-391,230

1979

179,233-183,702

1953

1980

183,703-188,172

1954

4,003-4,955
5,261-5,921
40,000-40,787

188,173-192,642

1955

40,788-42,077

1983

192,643-197,112

1956

Assorted nos.
42,078-49,762

1982 through1984

197,113-201,582

1957

201,583-206,052

1958

01,185-01,671

1983

206,053-210,517

1959

01,672-02,158

1984

210,518-217,034

1960

49,763-51,710
02,159-02,645

1985

217,035-223,551

1961
1962

51,711-54,163
02,646-03,132

1986

223,552-230,068
230,069-236,585

1963

54,164-55,911
03,133-03,619

1987

236,586-240,870

1964

240,871-245,155

1965

245,156-249,440

1966

249,441-253,725

1967

253,726-258,010

1968

258,011-263,874

1969

263,875-266,151

1970

266,152-267,328

1971267,329-270,152

1972

270,153-272,975

1973

272,976-373,006
Only two numbers reported
373,007-375,415

1974

375,416-378,752

1975

378,753-382,089

1976

382,090-385,426

1977

385,427-386,951

1978

55,912-60,077
No numbers reported
60,078-61,963
03,620-04,106
61,964-62,254
04,107-04,337

1988

62,255-65,764
04,338-05,334

1990

65,765-67,132
05,335-06,439

1991

67,133-69,068
06,440-07,725

1992

69,069-70,410
07,726-07,896

1993

70,411-70,778
07,897-08,205

1994

70,779-80,361
No numbers
reported
80,362-80,870
08,206-08,514
Portland, ME &Mobile, AL
31995

NUMBERAPROX. YR

80,871-100,499
No numbers
Reported

NUMBERAPROX. YR

100,500-

1995 (Continued)

KEY

START DATE/SOURCESTOP DATE/SOURCE

ORIGINAL

June 1905
Still in production"The Commercial Telegraphers’
Journal", June 1905, Pg. 32

DoubleLever

Jul 1907-Aug. 1908
Nameplate from WD6DTC key

Feb. 1925"The Railroad Telegrapher",Feb. 1925, Pg. 32"X"

Dec. 1911"The Railroad Telegrapher",Dec. 1911, Pg. 376a

Jan. 1923"The Railroad Telegrapher",Jan. 1923, Pg. 6

No. 4/
Blue Racer

Aug. 1914"Journal of the Telegraph",Aug. 1914, Pg. 15

Dec. 1966
Harrison Ad.
"QST", Dec. 1966, Pg. 170

Upright

Nov. 1917"Electrical Experimenter",Pg. 458

Feb. 1919"Telegraph and Telephone
Age", Feb. 1919, Pg. 11

MidgetOct. 1918"The Railroad Telegrapher",Oct. 1918, Pg. 268

Sep. 1920"The Railroad Telegrapher",
Sep. 1920, pg. 358

MartinJuniorc. Jul/Aug 1920
WW7P Survey

Oct. 1939"QST", Oct. 1939, Pg. 106

No. 6/
Lightning

June 1927"The Railroad Telegrapher",
June 1927, Pg. 126

Nov. 1980
Tufts Ad. "73" Magazine
Nov. 1980, Pg. 163

ChampionNov. 1939
"QST", Nov. 1939, Pg. 114

Nov. 1980
Tufts Ad. "73" Magazine
Nov. 1980, Pg. 163

ZephyrJan. 1939
U.S. Pat. 2,187,351 showsa Zephyr. Filed 1/9/39

1958
WW7P Survey. Last Zephyrs/n: 201,928

Presentation Nov. 1948
"QST", Nov. 1948, Pg. 138

Still in production

Vibro-Keyer

Jan. 1960"QST", Jan. 1960, Pg. 140

Still in production

IambicDec. 1979"QST", Dec. 1979, Pg. 212

Still in production

Brass Racer- Nov. 1982
Iambic"QST", Nov. 1982, Pg. 162

Still in production

4

KEY

START DATE/SOURCESTOP DATE/SOURCE

Brass Racer- Nov. 1982
EK-1
"QST", Nov. 1982, Pg. 196

Still in production

Straight Key-Nov. 1996/"QST", Nov. 1996, Pg. 201 Still in production
Most recent
Pat. Date or
Latest Pat.
NumberDate Range

Aug. 9, 1904
767,303

Aug. 9, 1904 - Apr. 15, 1906

Aug. 9, 1904
Others pending

Apr. 16, 1906 - Jan. 21, 1907

Jan 22,07
842,154

Jan. 22, 1907 - Jun. 30, 1911

Jan 22, 07
Ohers pending
842,154
Others pending
Nov. 5, 1912
1,043,449

Oct. 27, 1911 - Nov. 4, 1912

Nov. 5, 1912 - Aug. 3, 1917

1,043,449
Others pending

Aug. 4, 1917 - Mar. 18, 1918

1,178,291(Boulter)aprox. 1918 & 1919
WW7P Survey

1,260,008

Mar. 19, 1918 - Jul. 1920

Vertical Nos.

(On later keys with the Bug logo)

763,303

At top of list is wrong. This patent is for a clip
issued to Joseph A. Mayers, June 21, 1904. Correct
number should have been 767,303 issued to Horace G.
Martin, August 9, 1904

1,260,008

825 Broadway.

1,445,226

This patent number preceeded 1,260,008 plus other patents pending on Vibroplex keys.
825 Broadway. Feb. 13, 1923 (U.S. Pat. date) Feb. 12, 1925
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 796 Fulton.

(Start of 825 Broadwayaddress)

Jul. 1920 - Feb. 12, 1923. "TheRailroad Telegrapher", Jul. 20, 1920,Pg. 274

Feb. 13, 1925 - Jan. 8, 1939
"QST", Apr. 1925, Pg. 76 (Minus 2 mosfor ad to be submitted)
5Vertical Nos. Date Range
Magazine ads for period Jun. 1925 - Apr. 1941 shows
address as either:825 Broadwayor
832 Broadway
however, all keys for this period are marked:
796 Fulton St.
1,260,008
Other patspending

796 Fulton St. Jan. 9, 1939 - 3-26-42 (Date on J-36 key)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 833 Broadway

3-27-42 ---1945"Patented"
833 Broadway

1948 - 1963

WW7P Survey

No Pat. Nos.
No word Patented
833 Broadway

1963 - 1980

WW7P Survey. New company using up
833 Broadway plates between Sep. 19791980.

No Pat. Nos.
No word Patented
No streetaddress

1980 - Aug. 1994

START/SOURCE
Jun. 1929

WW7P Survey

RED/GREEN/BLUE COLOR BASE
STOP/SOURCE"QST",Jun. 1929,
Pg. 86

Jul. 1936"QST", Jul. 1936,
Pg. 71

VIBROPLEX PATENTS
Only Vibroplex patents listed that appear as last patent number/or most recent date on the nameplate.
For a rough estimate of when your key was made, use that patent
date and the next patent’s filing date.
Patent Number
767,303
842,154
1,043,449
1,178,291
1,260,008
1,445,226

Filing Date
5/7/04
4/16/06
10/27/11
8/1/148/4/17
12/10/21

Patent Date
8/9/04
1/22/07
11/5/12
4/4/16
3/19/18
2/13/23

As I mentioned at the first of the article; this has been alengthy project - well over six years, quite costly, data on over
3,135 Vibroplex keys and the aid of nearly 2,000 owners.
6

I want to say a special thank you to my wife, Edith, for all
her help and patience over the years.
Another who has been most helpful is Tom French, W1IMQ.
This article deals only with the dating of the keys. For much
more information on Vibroplex keys such as pictures, identification,ads, patents, modifications within models, nameplate data, etc., I
recommend you purchase Tom French’s latest book "Vibroplex Collector’sGuide", Revised Edition. Tom’s address is:
P.O. Box 88
Maynard, MA 01754
U.S.A.
A most heartfelt thank you to the many who furnished data on
your keys. The first draft of this article listed each of you but
it ran two and a half pages - single spaced. I’m afraid no publisher
would accept that, so this paragraph will show my appreciation foryour fine cooperation.
Now, when someone asks how old your key is, you can say, "Thebirth date of my Vibroplex key is".