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I finally found one!!!!!(soft 554)

Started by Jester, September 13, 2009, 06:14:34 PM

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Jester

Or, I guess I should say I finally found a complete one.  I picked up a moss green example years ago, but the cover was long gone, the handset had many spots where the plastic was peeling & flaking off, the handset cord had been mashed, mangled & was cracked in several coils all down the length of the cord(a real shame, since it was dark gray) & the open faced fingerwheel was junk.  I've long since given up finding the needed parts to "restore" this one, and decided to buy another example with tenite parts.  Problem is, older 554's don't show up as frequently on ebay as the 500's, but I finally found and won this one--it arrived last week.  It is hanging in the dining room for now as a replacement for the ivory 354 that used to hang there.

http://tinyurl.com/pmxtbw
Stephen

Dennis Markham

Stephen, that is a great looking soft plastic 554.  I love those wide hooks.  What does the dial card read?  I can't quite make it out.  You mentioned dark gray, is this one dark gray (Oxford Gray) or Light Gray??  You mentioned having parts for a dark gray?  Hmmmmmmm I need a dial bezel for a dark gray.......

Jester

Dennis,
The dial card reads MErcury 3-3207.  The seller mentioned in the auction that this exchange was used in Shelbyville, KY.  This phone is light gray, and all external parts except the hook are dated 8/58.  All internal parts & the base are dated 9/58.  I'm still watching for a dark gray bezel for you, but I haven't seen anything yet...
Stephen

Dennis Markham

Thanks Stephen.  Great phone from 1958.  What color is next on your hit list?  I"m sure you're enjoying using this one.

jsowers

Jester, that's a really nice light gray soft plastic 554 and only the fourth one I remember seeing in ten years. Now that's what I call rare. I'm glad removing the sticker on the front didn't reveal any fading. Hopefully you didn't have any cracks in the housing. That's the #1 problem on those 554s. People can't figure out how to remove the housing, so they pry it off. Or the seller doesn't pack it well and it cracks in shipping. I've had both happen and it's very disappointing!

8-58 was a very good month and year. Just ask Bwanna. We were both born then. Just for giggles, could you post a picture of the internal handset parts with their dates showing? Both our birthdays are near the end of August, so it would be nice if maybe one of them matched.

That green 554 with the gray cord does sound like a basket case. Those also don't appear often.

Enjoy your 554. And be on the lookout for others. You never know when they'll appear.
Jonathan

McHeath

Really pretty phone, you are fortunate to have found it. 

Dan

Beautiful light grey! I am sure the 554's in soft plastic are much harder to get than the 500's. I know building a soft 554 collection would take years. I think Dennis has them all, but I'm not sure. Congrats!
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

Dennis Markham

I have a good start but do not have them all.  I do have a couple of the more difficult colors but still need Dark Gray, Light Beige (you'd think I'd be able to find a soft plastic in light beige), White, and Aqua. 

White, Light Beige and Aqua began production in 1957 so there are soft plastic versions out there.  What I did if I found a nice example of a 554 in a color I didn't have, I'd try and grab it whether or not it was soft plastic.  Then I could later replace it with the soft plastic version.  Same with condition.  A soft plastic Rose Beige for example that may be discolored is better than not having one at all. 

As with the 500's, Yellow is very difficult to find.  When the yellow soft plastic housings are held up to the light the light will pass through the plastic.  That won't happen with the ABS plastic housings.

Considering I only started collecting them five years ago I have done well with my soft plastic collection in both the 500's and 554's.  The wall phone versions are much more difficult to display.  I have yet to put mine up, other than the one I use in my kitchen.

McHeath

I was reading up on Tenite the other day, seems it's mainly made from wood and is not a petro based plastic.  Also seems that with all the desire for green products these days it would be able to make a big comeback. 

I still have no colored soft plastic phones.   :'(

bwanna

stephen

i'm glad you have "my" birthday phone.  ;) it sure is pretty!
donna

Jester

Per Jonathan's request, here is a shot of the disassembled handset & the inside cover showing the dates(I hope).  In case it's not visible, both U1 & T1 are dated 8-16-58.  The handset & caps are only dated by month/year & the cover is marked 8-26-58 2.
Stephen

Dennis Markham

I didn't want to steal Stephen's excitement about his Light Gray 554 and decided to make a second topic where Jonathan and I showed off our soft plastic sets.  My thinking is that this topic belongs to Stephen and we can all talk about his very nice soft plastic Light Gray 554 here.

Sorry about that Stephen!

The topic was split and can be found here:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1510.0

McHeath

That light gray is very nice, I would never have thought I'd like a gray phone but now I do.  Certain colors that I did not like I've been growing more and more fond of, this being one.  Even boring old ivory, at least that's how I saw it, is looking appealing. 

Jester

Dennis,
I appreciate the thought, but I didn't feel outdone at all by those other posts.  It was nice to look at what others had found & encouraging to me that most of my favorite colors for 500's were available on the 554 as well.  I thought this next phone was rather interesting.  Notice it is still light gray.  The handset is all ABS and has a mix of refurbed parts dated 60 or 61.  The base/ network is dated 2/60.  The dial is dated '60, but is also marked as a 7C-58-- strange because many refurbed dials I've run across have the original color code painted over.  The real interesting find on this collection of parts is the cover, which is soft plastic.  The date is clearly pictured below. 
Stephen

foots

Quote from: McHeath on September 18, 2009, 12:37:40 AM
That light gray is very nice, I would never have thought I'd like a gray phone but now I do.  Certain colors that I did not like I've been growing more and more fond of, this being one.  Even boring old ivory, at least that's how I saw it, is looking appealing. 

You too, huh? I have been looking at some beige phones locally. I have never liked that color, but am starting to find it appealing - maybe because of its familiarity. Brown too, is starting to look good.
"Ain't Worryin' 'Bout Nothin"