Not too long before the invention and popularity of the mobile, “cell-phone” there was something called—the landline.

The corded, now ancient technology—which usually hung on a wall in your kitchen, or sat up on a table in the living room—was a common household and business item for well over a century, and in many parts of the world still is.

If you’re old enough, you can probably still remember what the phone in your childhood-home looked like, or even what the number was (I can recite mine to this day like an old nursery-rhyme.)

But for a lot of us, the days of using these relics outside of an office or public-establishment are slim. Today, phones have evolved far beyond being just being phones. Which is why it brings collectors like me great joy to stumble-upon these classic, corded heirlooms.

Therefore, episode four is going to look at just such a thing. Say hello to Sly the TeleMania Dog Phone.

I spotted Sly here at one of my favorite local spots for a little under $30, and for only missing his tail—which I replaced after a quick trip to my local RadioShack—I knew I had come across yet another great find.

Sly, who has been advertised under the names “Dog Phone” and “Dog Telephone,” was made by a New York company called Kash ‘N’ Gold Ltd. in 1987 by their novelty phone division, TeleMania.

During the time of Sly’s creation, TeleMania—whose slogan was “Crazy Phones for Classy People”—was already a household name amongst consumers. The company was known for their unique line of novelty, landline telephones during the ’80s, and would go on to produce more well into the ’90s and early 2000s.

As you can see, Sly was not exactly the craziest invention from TeleMania (check out their Michael Jordan basketball telephone, here.) Novelty phones of sci-fi ships, pop-culture icons, sports cars, boats, animals and more were all brought to life by the innovative corporation.

In this (below) 1985 interview with now-defunct business and retail magazine MART, CEO Kash Gobindram (of TeleMania/Kash ‘N’ Gold Ltd.) details the popularity of the company during this prosperous time, saying that the novelty-phone division has been, “The success story of the year.”

At the time, TeleMania was doubling their sales records and had achieved national distribution with both major department stores and merchandisers. And soon they found themselves at the top of the telecommunication industry.

“When consumers buy our novelty phones, it doesn’t mean they actually need a phone. It’s a second or third phone in their home. One they want to purchase or receive as a gift.”

Kash Gobindram, former President of Kash ‘N’ Gold LTD. & TeleMania | MART Magazine (1985)

Eventually, Kash ‘N’ Gold Ltd. began partnering with other businesses and manufacturers, and as a result copycat (get it?) phones started appearing in newer markets and brand-names in order to reach more customers.

Unfortunately, information on TeleMania and their “Dog Phone” is pretty scarce today. Aside from appearing in some old office-supply catalogs, as well as a handful of eBay listings, there really isn’t much more documented on Sly—or TeleMania in general for that matter.

The Better Business Bureau lists Kash ‘N’ Gold Ltd.’s last-active address as: 1 Trade Zone Court, Ronkonkoma, New York, and that they are no longer in business. The State of New York confirms this for the TeleMania-division of company on their business entity database as well, despite other websites listing still-active contact information.

It seems the only place you can still find traces of this unique business and their crazy phones, is if you look in the right corner of the internet or your local antique store.

As always, if you have any information on this item that you’d like to share with me – feel free to comment! Watch the full video on Sly the TeleMania Dog Phone on the official Diary Of An Antiquer YouTube channel, here.

Thanks for reading, and happy hunting.

-G

P.S. When contacted in regards to Sly, former CEO of Kash ‘N’ Gold LTD. Kash Gobindram did not respond. If he does, I will update this post accordingly.