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Grey, Gray, or Grrayy!

Started by Babybearjs, December 31, 2014, 06:37:46 AM

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Babybearjs

well this is a first... got this on ebay, probably will make it into a 2 tone phone...  A gray 302.... I guess the code would be a W.E.302C-49.
I haven't gotten the phone yet, but from the pictures, it had green cords.... it needs a good cleaning and some screws replaced.... and I'll probably replace the cords with Black Cloth.... so what do you all think.... was it worth the price of $25.00???
John

unbeldi

#1
Gr[ae...]y?

-49 was never used on telephones, only some electrical parts, transformers, wiring, perhaps some PBX piece parts, not sure.

The only subscriber sets in gray were probably -5 in the late 1920s or early 30s (?).

The best known grays were those on the 500 sets, -52 (dark, 1950s) and -61 (light, 1958-..).

Then there was -41 which was only used on the decorator dials 6T and 6U, some Call Director dials (#6) and dial mounts, I believe.

The later years brought new shades of gray...
65, 66, 73, 82, 265-270, 323 .....   not nearly enough to fill a set of 50.

Looks like you have the complete set on your phone, only not very hot looking to get anyone in the mood.



Dan/Panther

#2
Around the edges, of the inside of the shell, it appears to have gray over spray ?
Look at the left side of the second photo.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Doug Rose

Do you have a picture of the outside of the phone?...Doug
Kidphone

poplar1

#4
687A-49 Ringer    http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-WESTERN-ELECTRIC-BELL-SYSTEM-BELL-TELEPHONE-SUBSET-LT-OLIVE-GRAY-NIB-/291336410722
181A-49 Backboard Assembly for L1A-49 ringer      http://www.ebay.com/itm/121524392407
Quad Inside Wire
E1C-49 Ringer
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301460626783
( dead link 03-07-22 )

42A-49 Connecting Block
685A-49 Subset
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

unbeldi

Quote from: poplar1 on December 31, 2014, 07:58:40 PM
687A-49 Ringer    http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-WESTERN-ELECTRIC-BELL-SYSTEM-BELL-TELEPHONE-SUBSET-LT-OLIVE-GRAY-NIB-/291336410722
181A-49 Backboard Assembly for L1A-49 ringer      http://www.ebay.com/itm/121524392407
Quad Inside Wire
E1C-49 Ringer       http://www.ebay.com/itm/301460626783
42A-49 Connecting Block
685A-49 Subset

Ah, yes, I think I have a few of the E1C-49 ringers myself.  Thanks.

Babybearjs

Heres the front of the phone....hope it helps!
John

unbeldi

#7
It looks very clean, almost stately.  But not original, sorry.
Original color painted 302 also had metal housings.  (Any exceptions confirm the rule).

poplar1

Except for the black and metallic color sets (oxidized silver, etc.), 302s never had matching finger wheels. The finger wheels on all other color 302s were either unpainted stainless steel (pre-1941 painted sets) or clear plastic.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

Mr. Bones

#9
Very interesting phone, thanks for posting the outside pic, as well. 8)

     I have exactly zero colour 302 sets, so please bear with some newbie questions, if you'd all be so kind. Please excuse my ignorance. (again!) ;)

QuoteAround the edges, of the inside of the shell, it appears to have gray over spray ? Dan/Panther

     From those of you who do have factory painted colour 302 sets, is there any detectable evidence of paint over spray?

     I've never had the privilege of close examination, or dissection of one, much less many to get a mean average. How about refurbs?

Reason I am curious is this:     

     I have seen many, (scores), though not myriad, gray 302s (and AE40s) in senior officers, and senior NCO offices and personal quarters aboard USNCTC, USNCBC installations, both CONUS and OUTUS... read like Commodores, Admirals, Master-Chief Petty Officers, etc.  Early on, when I was a mere, lowly minion in the Seabees, we were tasked with cleaning their spaces to 'white-glove' daily. Also have seen many still in use (at the time) in Company HQ offices, etc.

     As befits rank, and its privileges, the bling ranged from nonexistent to ornate. This phone looks very much like one from a company HQ office, etc., for the clerk to field calls. Some of the senior officers' phones had the aforementioned stainless fingerwheels, have also seen (and polished) brass ones.

     I have absolutely no idea of their provenance, whether they were contracted that way from WE, or if, all over the world, somebody decided to paint up a phone for the OM. I do know they dragged them with them from place to place as they were re-assigned, or deployed elsewhere. "It was their dam* phone, not the Navy's." ;) Definitely Phoneitis, right?

     All I know is in the mid-80's to mid-90's, when many of the ranking brass and NCOs were still WWII vets, they existed.

     My very best regards to all, and a safe and happy new year to you!

     
Sláinte!
   Mr. Bones
      Rubricollis Ferus

Babybearjs

OK, here a good question..... In military bases and the pentagon, where all the phones painted gray?  where else would they have used this color?
John

jsowers

I would think most military installations used black phones and never painted them, unless it was black over black. Has anyone ever seen a Signal Corps 500 in any color other than black?

This light gray 302 was refurbished by a company called Grand Com, or some other company, in the late 1960s and 70s for people to buy as extension phones. They painted them in all the 500 set colors including gold. The key to spotting them is the painted fingerwheel and the color-matched cords (or sort of matching in this one). They show up on eBay all the time.

To me they would be worth less than a black 302 because the paint is often in poor condition and would have to be removed for the phone to be original. I have a couple of these phones because I dearly wanted one as a kid when they sold them out of the backs of magazines and I wrote off for the free catalog. They painted 302s, 354s, AE40s and 202s in all the 500 set colors and refurbed them for the home market back when people still rented their phones from the phone company. They look nice when the paint is still good, but they're not factory painted by WE.
Jonathan

Babybearjs

thanks for the info! so, gray was a color that was commonly found outside of W.E.'s realm. (or at least in this instance) did W.E. take custom color requests? its going to be fun fixing this phone!
John

Doug Rose

I have seen many Northern Electric 302s painted an Army Green color with matching (almost) green cords. I had one for many years, I have seen too many for them to be from a refurb outfit.....Doug
Kidphone

Babybearjs

I have a feeling this phone is going to turn into a 2-tone phone like the green one I have.... black and gray....
John