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Western Electric 302 Gold- Was I the Only One?

Started by WEBellSystemChristian, July 13, 2014, 10:52:52 PM

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Dennis Markham

I'm assuming that the metal sets that were repainted in the early 50's had black plungers?  Only the plastic colored sets had clear plungers?

Christian, what color are the plungers on your set?

Thanks,

Dennis

WEBellSystemChristian

#16
Quote from: Dennis Markham on November 15, 2014, 11:20:39 AM
I'm assuming that the metal sets that were repainted in the early 50's had black plungers?  Only the plastic colored sets had clear plungers?

Christian, what color are the plungers on your set?

Thanks,

Dennis

These plungers are clear. The phone was built in '39, but it was probably updated in the '50s with a new transparent fingerwheel and plunger set.

I'm guessing that it had black Bakelite plungers originally rather than matching painted ones. Western Electric would have known better than to paint something with a really high exposure to wear.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

unbeldi

#17
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on November 15, 2014, 06:51:02 PM
Quote from: Dennis Markham on November 15, 2014, 11:20:39 AM
I'm assuming that the metal sets that were repainted in the early 50's had black plungers?  Only the plastic colored sets had clear plungers?

Christian, what color are the plungers on your set?

Thanks,

Dennis

These plungers are clear. The phone was built in '39, but it was probably updated in the '50s with a new transparent fingerwheel and plunger set.

I'm guessing that it had black Bakelite plungers originally rather than matching painted ones. Western Electric would have known better than to paint something with a really high exposure to wear.

My interpretation of the history of this phone, as well as Dennis' oxidized silver version, is that it was ordered by a customer and built in the early 1950s. Calling it a 1939 phone is as wrong as calling a 5302 a 1940s telephone, just because it uses some parts from a generation earlier.

Western Electric stopped producing metal housings in 1946, a date arrived at by collectors' observations.  Undoubtedly, still in the 50s, they had many metal 302s coming back from the field being exchanged for 500 sets. All metallic colored phones after 1949 were finished in the refurbishing shops of the distribution centers, not made in the factories.

Your phone, as well as Dennis' oxidized silver version posted this week, have modern dials, I would say they were made in the 1950s, probably from previously black phones that had been returned to the center and were tested, newly painted and equipped.  They represent the product appearance of 195x and are therefore to be labeled as such, not by the manufacturing date of their oldest components.

JimH

This is my gold 302, chassis dated 8/39, but the 5H dial is dated '49, along with the handset capsules.  It was repainted at some point, either by the owner, or a refurb shop, as the dial is a darker color of gold.  The handset, not seamless, was originally painted black, and you can see red primer under the gold paint.  I thought this might not be an original gold phone issued the the phone company, but it has matching gold cords.  The plungers are painted gold, also.  It is in rough shape, I have not done anything to it.  I was planning on repainting it gold, since the matching cords are so perfect.
Jim H.