Colored Station Sets in January, 1941

[poplar1]

Notes from Bell System Practice Section C30.111 C30.011, Issue 4, 1-2-41, "Colored Station Sets:"

Section reissued to include new thermoplastic (plastic) colored sets, new transparent P-298941 finger wheels, and new (smaller) number cards and colored masks needed for these finger wheels.

TELEPHONE SETS:

Thermoplastic 302s now available in Ivory (App. Code Dash No. --4), Old Rose (--16), Dark Blue (--18), Gray Green (--19), Pekin Red (--20).

Plastic 305 available in ivory.

"On a special order basis involving some delay in delivery" 304, 305 (other than ivory...), 306, 307, 401, 410 and 411 plastic sets may be obtained in the above colors.

302s in oxidized silver (Dash --8), old brass (--6), statuary bronze (--7) and dark gold (--12) "painted" finishes will still be available. "Other telephone sets or hand telephone sets in theses finishes or any other painted finishes will, of course, be made up on special order."

HAND TELEPHONE SETS: [202s, 211s]

Hand telephone sets in the standard colors for non-plastic apparatus, "or in any other colors, may be obtained only on special order."

[Thus it appears that at least by 1941, 202s were no longer offered in any color other than black, except by special order.]

CORDS:
Rubber insulated conductors and colored cotton braid

BASEPLATES:
"Brown[black???]bases are covered with brown suede leather; all others are covered with felt."

DIALS:
The 4J and 5J dials have white enamel cases. "4J or 5J dials of earlier manufacture have stainless steel finger wheels, cardholder frames and finger stops while dials of later manufacture have transparent finger wheels with integral cardholders and nickel silver finger stops."

[Contempra]

thanks for the informations David

[Doug Rose]

David...as always....good stuff. I have been collecting for a long time and have never held a 4J dial. The only one I have ever seen is one that Dennis showed pics from one of his phones. Were 4Js that common? I have seen a ton of 5Js, still waiting for my 4J. I am patient....thanks...Doug

[Sargeguy]

Interesting information.

[poplar1]

David...as always....good stuff. I have been collecting for a long time and have never held a 4J dial. The only one I have ever seen is one that Dennis showed pics from one of his phones. Were 4Js that common? I have seen a ton of 5Js, still waiting for my 4J. I am patient....thanks...Doug

$7.50 extra one-time charge on the phone bill for color was a lot of money in the 1930s! (About $125 in today's dollars). So there weren't a lot of them. But if you find an all original colored 202 with E1 and original cords,  it should have a 4J. I also found two 4Js on Continentals. EDIT: 4Js (with stainless finger wheels) would have been furnished on ivory 202s only in 1937 (or later if any were still manufactured?). Before 1937, ivory 202s would have had 4H dials with matching finger wheels and cases (4HB--4 for example).

I'd like to find some earlier issues of C30.111 and other sources. I'm still confused about the finger wheels and case colors: here all tThe finger wheels on J dials are stainless or transparent, and all the dial cases are white. However, you could still order painted finger wheels in the parts list. And in the earlier W.E. catalogs  you had to specify the color of the dial (4HB-12 on your dark gold 202)---but maybe these were 4H dials, not 4J.