Telephone from the Yechidus Room of the Rebbe Rayatz at 770 – With Letter of Authenticity by His Eldest Daughter ...

Telephone from the Yechidus Room of the Rebbe Rayatz at 770 – With Letter of Authenticity by His Eldest Daughter Rebbetzin Chana Gurary

Telephone from the yechidus room of Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch. The telephone was used by the Rayatz from 1940 to 1944.
Western Electric dial phone (model 102?), United States, 1930s.
Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chana Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz: "I hereby gift... my father's first phone he used in 770. He used it from 1940-1944. It was replaced with a newer model after his wheelchair once rolled over the cord and broke it. The replacement looked very similar". The letter is dated December 3, 1989. Enclosed is a wooden box which was possibly used by the Rebbe Rayatz or his family (the box was given with the present telephone, however it is not mentioned in the letter of authenticity).

In 1939, with the outbreak of WWII, Rebbe Rayatz, his mother Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah, his wife Rebbetzin Nechama Dina and his daughter Rebbetzin Chana and her husband, R. Shemaryahu Gurary were stranded in Warsaw under German occupation, their lives in great danger. After several months of travail and wandering, the rebbe and his entourage reached the United States on Tuesday 9th Adar II, 1940.
Immediately upon their arrival, Agudas Chasidei Chabad invested great efforts in finding an appropriate permanent residence for the rebbe and his family and on Friday, 12th Av 1940, a residence was acquired at 770 Eastern Parkway, in the center of the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. On 19th Elul, the Rayatz and his family moved to their new quarters. The official inauguration ceremony took place two days later, on Tuesday, 21th Elul, with the participation of the Rayatz. The ceremony was attended by a large group of his Chassidim.
The building at 770 Eastern Parkway had three floors and a basement. The first floor housed the synagogue, the beit midrash and the offices. The Rayatz lived on the second floor. His daughter Chana and her husband, R. Shemaryahu Gurary lived on the third floor. The basement was primarily used for the library. An elevator was installed in the building (rare in those days) and a large yard surrounded the house.
Rebbe Rayatz's study – called "yechidus room" was located on the second floor of 770. From this room, the Rayatz managed the Chabad Chassidic court after his arrival in the United States. There he met community leaders and activists, held private audiences (yechidus) with Chassidim, wrote letters to all parts of the world and worked unceasingly to strengthen and support Judaism.

Fully packed bookshelves stood against the four walls of the room; the Rebbe's desk - a large black wooden table, with a heavy glass cover - stood in the center. Placed on top of the table were the rebbe's stationery and writing utensils, books and documents, a bell and a lamp and other items. A telephone sat in the corner of the table.
Based on the enclosed letter of authenticity, the Rayatz used this phone in 1940-1944. It was replaced by a similar, newer model after the cord was torn by his wheelchair [due to his poor health, after arriving in the United States, the Rayatz needed a wheelchair for mobility]. The new telephone can be seen in video and photos documenting the U.S. citizenship ceremony of Rebbe Rayatz at 770 (16th Adar 1949) and it indeed highly resembles this phone (see enclosed photo).

14X14 cm. The mechanism was not inspected. Missing cover of mouthpiece. Minor damage. Tears to cords.