A friend just gave me a 554 dated 4-31-56. When did these begin production and who has the earliest?
I have an 8/59 model that has been seriously Frankenphoned by Ma Bell over the decades. Wasn't production supposed to have started in 55'?
I believe the 554's began production in Black and Ivory in early 1955.
I have an early black WE554 wall phone with the shell dated 11-23-56. Nice narrow chrome hook.
Come to think of it, I don't have a single 554 of any year. Just 354s.
Mine's a numbers matching '58 which I know the entire history of.
4/31/56? Really? I didn't realize Ma Bell had her own version of leap year. :D
Hmmm. Now since my birthday is on May 1st, does this qualify as a birthday phone/wrong year?
Hi Everyone--I'd like to chime in on this one. I've been lurking since the beginning and haven't made any comments until now. I think I may have a 554 that's hard to beat and will offer a little history on the side. I have a black numbers-matching 554 with a housing date of 6-10-55 (first shift). It's what I call a black switchhook model. The first 554s had black painted switchhooks--this may have been before ivory was offered, but I'm not sure. If anyone has ever heard of the Black Bumper Mennonites, a religious sect whose cars I remember seeing in Lancaster, PA when on vacation in the Amish country, this phone reminds me of them. They painted over the chrome on their cars because it looked ostentatious. Nowadays they probably save a lot of paint! But in the 1970s when I first saw it, they stood out coming and going.
I'm attaching three pictures of this phone. The first shows it off-hook. The second shows all the dates in a composite. The third shows the surprise number card I found. These pictures are from before I cleaned the phone, but it was amazingly clean when I got it. I always take pictures of my new phones, just to have a record. My favorite phones are the soft plastics from the 1950s, but I have lots of others. Most of them came from eBay. It's amazing what you can learn from just looking at all the phones for sale. I also collect old phone literature and I have a 1955 catalog with this black switchhook phone pictured.
jsowers:
First time I see one with a factory painted handset hook. Is it anodized black or enamel painted black? Bakelite handset?
You small picture of the blue 500 is very nice.
Welcome to the group.
Jonathan, thank you for your posting. That is one awesome telephone. I have never seen one with a black switch hook, nor was I aware that they existed. You're correct, that is going to be hard to top!
Welcome jsowers, and what a cool phone! I too like my comrades in arms never knew that the early 554s had black hooks, very striking. Could you post some more pics of the hook, inside and all? My 59' model 554 has the thin chrome hook from later days, but it would make sense that the early 554s had their hooks in black as the 354s did.
Quote from: JorgeAmely on June 23, 2009, 04:29:50 PM
jsowers:
First time I see one with a factory painted handset hook. Is it anodized black or enamel painted black? Bakelite handset?
You small picture of the blue 500 is very nice.
Welcome to the group.
Thanks! That blue 500 is one that got away, but I kept the auction picture. I have a couple dark blues in my collection, but I'm sure you know how hard it is to forget losing one or two special phones along the way. I use the picture on my computer desktop too.
The handset of the black 554 is Bakelite. I have a picture of the handset innards and a closeup of the switchhook I can post below. Some of the paint is worn off the inside of the switchhook from use. It seems to me to be more painted than anodized because the paint is shiny and chipped off. It looks to be bare metal underneath and not chrome. Also as you may have noticed, the switchhooks on the 1955-59 554s are thicker metal. Late 1959 or early 1960 is when they changed. It was about the same time they added the seventh hole to the earpiece cap on the handset.
Quote from: McHeath on June 24, 2009, 12:26:25 AM
Welcome jsowers, and what a cool phone! I too like my comrades in arms never knew that the early 554s had black hooks, very striking. Could you post some more pics of the hook, inside and all? My 59' model 554 has the thin chrome hook from later days, but it would make sense that the early 554s had their hooks in black as the 354s did.
More pictures below. This phone also came with a painted wooden backboard, complete with the screws that held it to the wall. Also, I posted a scan from an early 1955 Western Electric catalog I have with the black switchhook 554 illustrated next to an ivory 354 with a chrome hook. That's what made me think black was made first, kind of like the 500 set. This catalog also pictured all the colors that 500 sets came in, so I feel sure it would have pictured ivory if it were available on the 554. Paul Fassbender's site says black and ivory were made first, so perhaps ivory came along a month later. I'll send these pictures to Paul, or send him the link to this thread, and let you know if he has anything to offer.
That is one nice phone!!! ::)
OT-I hear a lot of people refer to "1st shift" and "2nd shift" to explain the 1, 2 & 3 at the end of date codes. Has it been established that this is what the codes mean? It's hard to believe WECO was pumping out phones around the clock for all those years. I worked in manufacturing QC for a while and it seems to me more likely that the codes referred to which assembly line the phones came off, or more likely, which mold was used to make the casting. Also the dates are not so WECO knows how long the parts last (differential usage would make that irrelevant), its so Quality Control can track down defective lots when duds turn up.
Quote from: Sargeguy on June 29, 2009, 12:07:43 AM
That is one nice phone!!! ::)
OT-I hear a lot of people refer to "1st shift" and "2nd shift" to explain the 1, 2 & 3 at the end of date codes. Has it been established that this is what the codes mean? It's hard to believe WECO was pumping out phones around the clock for all those years. I worked in manufacturing QC for a while and it seems to me more likely that the codes referred to which assembly line the phones came off, or more likely, which mold was used to make the casting. Also the dates are not so WECO knows how long the parts last (differential usage would make that irrelevant), its so Quality Control can track down defective lots when duds turn up.
I think it's all speculation about the shift being the last number, unless Dennis knows more about it than I do. I noticed he used that reference to it being the shift and I had always assumed that too. I don't know how many assembly lines they had, but I have seen pictures of the "girls" as they called them assembling phones. The housings came down from rails mounted above their heads. The housings were back-to-back on a conveyer system with colors all mixed up. I have no idea where the handsets, caps and dial faces came from. I've also seen a picture of the room where they kept the new housings and they were stacked on pallets by color, about four feet high.
Someone should go to Indianapolis and find someone who worked in that plant and ask them how it all worked, before they're all dead. I did buy a phone once from someone who worked in the business office of that plant in the 1960s, and her late father helped design the plant, but she had very little to share. The building, which is huge, is still there, but phones haven't been made there since the 1980s. I would love to know one thing about that plant. Did the soft plastic housings reek when they were new?
I really like the early look of your all black 554, and have been prowling for one but not found any. So, who knows, I might have to take my 59' and give it the Treatment. I've got an early 7D dial with black fingerwheel, and a G1 handset from 55' that's in bad shape finish wise, and a beige housing for the 554 from 79', and with a can of black paint and some assembly time I might just make myself a faux early 554. Sure it won't win any awards, but it'd make a cool looking phone in the garage I think. (the hook will still be small, but it's pitted anyway and so some black paint will do it no harm)
Don't worry folks, nothing of any actual collectable value will be harmed in the making of this even more Franken'ed Frankenphone.
Jonathan, I guess my reference to the shift designation came from passed down "lore" from other collectors. I don't know the information to be factual and have no resource to support the theory. I have been thinking about it since the question was posed here by Sargeguy. I'll read Paul F's site to see if he mentions it there.
I believe you sent me the photos that you described of the assembly line. I did post them here on the forum but will have to search to find them.
Here is the link to the assembly line photo that I was thinking of:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=750.msg8916#msg8916
I saw a black 554 on eBay and took a chance with it after learning of the handset dates. It appears to have been made in May of 1955, one month before the phone Jonathan displayed above. However, the hook is not black, but has the satin finish.
I put an album together for those that may be interested in seeing the phone that I believe is all original to May of 1955. I also included Jonathan's photos to show the comparisons. The album can be seen here:
http://tinyurl.com/lpjhzr
A couple photos posted here as well.
very nice find, dennis. thanks for the pictures. interesting about the handset hooks. maybe the the black one got broken off by the same angry person that bent the existing one. :o
A great find! It gives us a bit more of the history of the early 554s, as we now know that curly cords were installed on some, and that some had a shiny finish hook. As for how long they made the black hook I've no idea, but I do know that my Northern Electric 554 with black switch-hook, which was made in March of 1965, was last in a refurb shop in 1997 and they kept the black hook on it even at that late date.
My black hook is plastic however, but has the same shape as the early wide metal WE ones.
Dennis, that's a great find you have and it will be even greater when you finish with it. I like your album too, with all the nice closeups. Some of my pictures are lousy by comparison. I never thought they'd be examples or I would have tried harder! :)
I have another theory, but it's only a wild guess. Maybe, like Donna surmised, someone damaged the original black switchhook or knocked the paint off it and some repairman put the satin chrome one on in place of it? The bent axle shows it had abuse at least once, but there's no way to trace it to when. I wish they had dated the switchhooks. And why they didn't replace the axle is anyone's guess.
Or it could all be original, as it appears to be. There's no R stamp anywhere. I have always envisioned the parts on the assembly line being in a huge vat and when they had a change, what was to stop them from combining old and new parts in the vat? In 1955, I think the Shadeland plant in Indianapolis was the only manufacturer of telephone sets for Western Electric, but I could be wrong. So they all came from the same place, which would preclude different manufacturing sites.
It just points out that there's still a lot we don't know about our phones. And finding lots of examples will only help us learn more.
Thanks Jonathan. I didn't think you would mind me using your photos for the album. If you would like to use others feel free to e-mail them to me and I'll swap them.
I think about how much force it would take to bend that axle. One would have to slam the phone down perfectly and quickly in order to bend the cradle without striking the plastic housing on the way down. I thought perhaps it fell on the hook but then you'd think the plastic would have been damaged.
I've run into a bent axle in the past. I just set it on the flat, top side of my vise so that the high end in the middle is up, leaving the gap beneath. Then strike it with the hammer and it will bend back flat, or level. It doesn't look like the mounting bracket is bent.
I was disappointed that the dial gasket is missing. Obviously the housing has been removed a few times since 1955.
Another collector must have been interested in the phone. I learned by checking the seller's sales that it went through a weekly listing once with no bids. This time it sat at $9.99 until the bitter end when there was some action by bidders with high feedback numbers. I had asked a question about the dates on the phone which may have prompted a bid or two. Had one of the other bidders increased their bid by only $1.56 they would have been the winner. That's more than I would normally pay for a black 554. But I wanted it if the dates were in fact from May of 1955. Now to find an earlier one!
Here's the ebay listing:
http://tinyurl.com/pfvpon
Quote from: Dennis Markham on September 23, 2009, 03:31:43 PM
Thanks Jonathan. I didn't think you would mind me using your photos for the album. If you would like to use others feel free to e-mail them to me and I'll swap them.
I don't mind your using them at all. I should just do a better job getting stuff in focus! My camera is nowhere near an expensive model, so it has a few drawbacks when it comes to closeups.
Quote from: Dennis Markham on September 23, 2009, 03:31:43 PM
I think about how much force it would take to bend that axle. One would have to slam the phone down perfectly and quickly in order to bend the cradle without striking the plastic housing on the way down. I thought perhaps it fell on the hook but then you'd think the plastic would have been damaged.
That would definitely be more force than I would ever be able to exert, even after a telemarketer. :) Maybe the damage happened in storage? Or something caught the phone by the switchhook when it was off-hook? It's a puzzle for sure. You'd think that much force would have damaged the handset.
Quote from: Dennis Markham on September 23, 2009, 03:31:43 PM
I've run into a bent axle in the past. I just set it on the flat, top side of my vice so that the high end in the middle is up, leaving the gap beneath. Then strike it with the hammer and it will bend back flat, or level. It doesn't look like the mounting bracket is bent.
Were you ever a vice cop? ;) I think it's a
vise you put that in, but I'm sorry, I couldn't resist the jab. That's a great way to fix that. I don't have a vise in my house. I have to use my grandfather's, still in his garage after all these years. Not to stray too far off topic, but my grandfather was good at inventing things. He made this sled out of a sheet of stainless steel that would literally FLY. It would mold itself to the uneven snowdrifts and you'd have to hang on for dear life. That was back when we actually had snow in NC. In Michigan it would probably be suicide to have a sled like that.
Back to the phone, it is odd that it sat bidless for one outing and then suddenly four bidders took interest. It's not that high a price for an early model that's numbers matching. We've seen 554s go for lots more. I do think your question helped bring out the bidders. I usually try to ask as late as I can, so maybe someone won't see it, but I run the risk of not getting an answer late in the game.
Thanks Jonathan for tipping me off on "vise" instead of "vice". I thought it was vice but it was vice-versa. Poor grammar can be one of my vices. I appreciate the advice.
:)
Dennis, I have the same problem too. I supervise and advice coworkers in the office to revise televised material. I don't allow them to improvise or misadvise customers, otherwise, their unsupervised and improvised behavior could cost me a revised unsupervised job. ;) ;)
Give that man Jorge a pair of Vise Grips!
Vise and vice are both correct spellings for that clamping gizmo. Vise is more common in North America, while vice is more common in Britain and Australia. Betcha didn't know that.
Bringing it home, I don't have a 554. ;D
Thank you Jonathan.
My novice advice is that such device would service Dennis better. He is our expert phone serviceman and capable of fixing small crevices on phones.
Holy vice mania Batman!
I admit that I also never had a 554 since childhood!
But I have also stood beneath the big bell of Notre Damme in Paris and heard her ring.
I'm not sure if that counts for something.
I know the 500 came out in 1949, i've seen a few on Ebay made in 1953
http://www.paul-f.com/we500typ.htm
I'm going to re-open this old thread about the black hooked version of the Western Electric 554. Last weekend I was contacted by RotarDad. He sent me an Etsy link for a phone he thought might be a legitimate, early 554 with a black hook. The seller said it was NOS. After looking at the listing I agreed that it looked legit to me as well. He said that he was not interested in buying the phone so with his blessing I pushed the button. It arrived yesterday. Turns out I bought a NOS 554 in White from the same seller back in 2013. If I can get them to upload, here are some photos of it as I pulled it out of the box. No extra charge for the dust.
The parts that are specific are dated June 5, June 6 and June 8. So today would be the 60th birthday of the ear piece. The transmitter is dated June 8, 1955 so we'll have to go with it's birthday being in two days. The housing is dated 6 5 55 2.
The 554 that Jonathan posted here is dated June 10, 1955. So this one would be just a couple of days older.
It came in the original box marked BR554 -3. I believe the B indicates a dial version and the R is for the retractile cord. By the way, the cord is the heavy rubber with a 55 date on the strain relief. The only thing missing is the little package with the dial card retainer ring and acetate disc.
Thank you RotarDad for the tip on this phone. It fits well in my 554 collection.
~Dennis
Dennis, even sight unseen I can tell you got a nice prize there. Rare plus NOS plus it fills a hole in your collection. What's not to like?
For those who don't want to go back and read the history, they only made the black switchhook models for a short time--just a few months in mid-1955. My theory is the ivory 554 was introduced to replace the ivory 354 and the switchook changed to chrome across the board. Then shortly after came colors like dark beige, moss green and red. There are very few 554s from 1955 that have surfaced, so it's only a theory from what we've seen and phone company literature of the era.
Dennis - Thanks for posting the pics. I'm very pleased this one turned out well! I wouldn't have even known about the existence of black hook 554s without this great forum and all your efforts to maintain it as well as share your knowledge. Thank you! Paul
Wow, great phone, Dennis!!! You obviously have the best of both worlds; black hook AND it's NOS!! Great find!
How much did it cost, BTW?
Not sure of dates on my 554's, but I have every color they made.
Well, Paul (Rotordad)--the master "find-finder" for some of us--strikes again! He pointed me towards a black-hook 554 on ebay, this one with what appears to be an original backboard. Not too bad a deal for $85 plus shipping, considering it's probably all original.
So, it seems like I might have a contender for the "oldest 554" nomination. Thanks Paul! ;)
I'll create a separate topic for it when it arrives.
www.ebay.com/itm/332681581782
You're welcome Christian. Glad to help fill out your 554 collection. I'm hopeful this one will be all-original from the early days in '55. Looking forward to the arrival pics!! Paul
I do believe I have an oldie here... a mix of dates between June and July 1955!
The mix is explained by the housing date: 6-28-55, the end of the month. The only replaced part is the handset cord, also the only part damaged. Other than stretch cracks in the replaced cord, everything looks nearly perfect. In fact, I may not need any chemical polishing...the plastic only has minor scuffs that will come out with Ultimate Compound.
I'll get some pictures up a little later in a different thread.
Congratulations, Christian! I'm glad it was original except for the cord that you were going to replace anyway. Those "all black" 554s are not easy to find and they have consistently been early models. I'm sure it will look nice once again when you're finished. Was there a surprise number card in there? A black masked card looks good on these phones and mine happened to come with one. Might as well carry the black theme to the end. They almost disappear in the display, but they are very sleek looking.
These phones will always remind me of my family's trips to the Lancaster, PA area and the "black bumper Mennonites." They painted the chrome on their cars black because they thought it was ostentatious. The cars themselves were also black. I was a total car nut when I was a kid, so I was always on the lookout for those cars, and a 1950s car with all the chrome painted was quite a sight. In those days (the 1970s) it was easy to tell that had been done. Nowadays it looks normal not to have chrome on a black car. But not in the 1970s.
I just came across this post, yes I have not read it all. As I recall the first 554's did not have the "knotches" on the top to "hold the handset". The top was smooth. The hook was black also. At one time I heard of someone having one of these very early ones. I tried to make a trade, but it never happened.
Vern
Quote from: Vern P on April 03, 2019, 11:44:27 PM
I just came across this post, yes I have not read it all. As I recall the first 554's did not have the "knotches" on the top to "hold the handset". The top was smooth. The hook was black also. At one time I heard of someone having one of these very early ones. I tried to make a trade, but it never happened.
Vern
I'll believe in the missing notches when I see a picture. So, Vern, is this something you heard or did you actually see the phone in person? We need evidence or at the least an eye-witness.
Just won an old black Kellogg/ITT wall phone one-bid-wonder on ebay with the idea of stealing it's wide chrome switch hook for my 1959 moss green 554, learning a bit with this my first Kellogg/ITT, then restoring and reposting it on ebay to fund my habit--but with my 554's narrow hook switch .
This phone has a Kellogg/ITT soft plastic case with the cool griffin marking, and ITT bakelite handset, a Kellogg/ITT ringer, plus an unmarked moss green long cord--all as expected. Here's the thing I didn't expect though: The body is a really old Western Electric 554 dated 4/55 and the dial is a 7E-3 dated 3/55. I never heard of a 7"E" before and learned from TCI it was MD at some point before 1968. The body has no markings on the back except two long black arrows pointing to the mounting holes and the internal date is stamped in very light vermilion. The handset elements are stamped 4/55 and 6/53 .
I am much more interested in building a small collection of soft plastic colored phones and already have a red and green 554. Stealing the fat hook then 'restoring' this phone with the components as purchased doesn't seem right either. Any advice regarding how unusual or desirable from the 554 crowd would be appreciated--sell for parts, trade, or keep 'just in case?'.
This is my base and dial seems to match base but mic and receiver elements and plastics are newer 1970s
I have my Aunt's early 554. It has the black-painted hook, and only ONE mouse hole in the shell - for the handset cord. There is none for the line wire. That has to come in through the base plate. Have never seen another like it.
Mike