'55 Ivory 554

[ESalter]

Hi Everyone,

A couple days ago I swapped out one of the phones hanging on the wall in our switch room (a beat up plain old 354) for this one.  I think it's pretty neat, so I took some pictures today to share.  I picked it up on Ebay probably around a year ago.  I don't remember the exact price, but it was a BIN in the $25 range.  I was lucky and saw it just a few minutes after being listed.  It came complete except for the handset.  The real gem is that cord, I'd say.  The housing has some discolored spots and a couple little raised spots where some type of solvent got on it, but they aren't very noticeable.  At some point I might try retro-briting the housing to remove the discolored spots.  The handset I have on it is one I dug out of the parts bin.  It's soft, dated 1959.  It was rattle-canned black at some point, but thankfully that was easy to remove.  It's discolored a little different than the rest of the phone, but it's the best I have for the time being.  If anyone has a decent looking 1955 Ivory handset laying around, let me know!

---Eric

[jsowers]

It's a beautiful phone and you took really good pictures of it too. I don't see many flaws. I have a similar one mostly from 1955 hanging in my kitchen, but with a replaced coil cord from the 1970s. You definitely don't see many ivory 554s with the straight handset cord. I think by 1956 they all came with coil cords, so it was only done for a short time during that introductory year.

You also got a great deal, even with having to replace the handset. You have to wonder how the original one went missing when the rest of the phone doesn't look abused.

Thanks for posting it.

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Beautiful phone, Eric! It even has a straight handset cord, which was supposedly not a factory option for 554s. To me, it's a little more than 'neat'.

I have to ask; is there a cord exit hole on the bottom of the housing for a line cord? The earliest 554s did not have this.

[unbeldi]

The ivory 554 was the only colored 554 that ever came standard with straight and matching HS cord. Black did too.

Yours came with handset cord but w/o handset?
Interesting.

Does the metal back have cutouts for inside wiring ?

Those red on ivory number card masks are pretty special, did it come on the set?
I have one that came on a 302, with red ink on ivory stock, but mine says:

    PLEASE
  WAIT FOR


  DIALTONE

[LarryInMichigan]

I have found that soaking in chlorine bleach and water in the warm sunlight does wonders for discolored soft plastic including ivory.  I would do that instead of peroxide because it will result in more uniform bleaching.

Larry

[Jim Stettler]

The ivory 554 was the only colored 554 that ever came standard with straight and matching HS cord. Black did too.

Yours came with handset cord but w/o handset?
Interesting.

Does the metal back have cutouts for inside wiring ?

Those red on ivory number card masks are pretty special, did it come on the set?
I have one that came on a 302, with red ink on ivory stock, but mine says:

    PLEASE
  WAIT FOR


  DIALTONE

Do you know which colors of 500's came with the straight matching handset cord?

Thanks,
Jim S.

[unbeldi]

I have found that soaking in chlorine bleach and water in the warm sunlight does wonders for discolored soft plastic including ivory.  I would do that instead of peroxide because it will result in more uniform bleaching.

Larry

I agree much!
When sitting in bleach it is easy to stir the solution around the plastic and avoid concentration gradients around the plastic.  In addition it is easy to evaluate the progress of the bleaching and stop when sufficient.  It does take longer though, as it is a somewhat gentler method.  But bleach is also a lot cheaper.

[unbeldi]

Do you know which colors of 500's came with the straight matching handset cord?

Thanks,
Jim S.

I believe it was black, ivory, brown, and gray.  I think that matches the curly cords.

[jsowers]

Do you know which colors of 500's came with the straight matching handset cord?

Thanks,
Jim S.

It's not an easy answer. Originally all color 500s came with straight handset cords but only three matched. The ones that color matched at first were ivory, mahogany brown and dark gray. Later, around spring of 1956, straight cords were made in red, yellow and dark beige for a short time. And of course black matched too, but I'm concentrating on color phones.

By 1957 coil cords were standard and all but dark blue matched their coil cords.

So early on: Ivory, Mahogany Brown and Dark Gray
Later 1956 additions: Red, Yellow and Dark Beige

At least that's all we have evidence of. We're learning more every day!

[Jim Stettler]

What color was  the straight handset cord on a blue 500 set, dark gray or light gray?



Thanks for the info,
Jim S.
My guess is light gray, but I think dark gray would look better.

[unbeldi]

What color was  the straight handset cord on a blue 500 set, dark gray or light gray?



Thanks for the info,
Jim S.
My guess is light gray, but I think dark gray would look better.

I don't think, light gray was ever used to complement any other color but light gray.
The dark blue sets, wall or desk, had always dark gray cords.

Light gray was the replacement for dark gray, and dark blue was discontinued the same time as dark gray.

[Jim Stettler]

Thanks,

I guess there are 3 shades of gray cords. Dark gray early line cords,  "curly cord" gray and light gray to match the light gray set.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did the straight gray handset cords come in Dark gray as well as (curly cord) Gray?
Thanks,
Jim S.

BTW: The 1958 Transparent display sets (F-53115) also had light gray cords.

[jsowers]

Thanks,

I guess there are 3 shades of gray cords. Dark gray early line cords,  "curly cord" gray and light gray to match the light gray set.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did the straight gray handset cords come in Dark gray as well as (curly cord) Gray?
Thanks,
Jim S.

BTW: The 1958 Transparent display sets (F-53115) also had light gray cords.

That's why I always say "dark gray" and "light gray" and not just gray. Same with blue and beige, which also have light and dark versions.

Dark gray (-52) was the color for both the straight and coiled handset cords and the mounting cords, sometimes also called "neutral gray." They were all the same color of dark gray. I wouldn't use the term "curly cord gray" because that makes it sound like the color on the coil cords was different. It isn't. It matches the dark gray plastics and the straight handset cords and mounting cords too. Just one shade of dark gray in those days, -52.

And yes, starting in late 1957 it changed to (-61) light gray coiled cords on just light gray 500s and 554s (and that clear set you mentioned), and the dark gray cords and housings were discontinued. Also with dark gray, dark beige and dark blue, the dark colors have white numbers and letters on the dial while the lighter version pastel colors have black numbers and letters.

[HarrySmith]

Nice!

[ESalter]

Here are a couple more photos.  The bottom doesn't have a line cord exit hole.  The numbercard isn't original to the phone, I just picked one I had that would look decent and that I could "customize" with the phone's actual number.  Sadly it isn't in very good shape, it was very difficult to get it to stay in there straight when putting the fingerwheel assembly together since it was so wrinkled.  I could have used a couple drops of rubber cement to hold it to the solid card behind it that I wrote the number on, but I didn't want to risk messing it up, so I didnt.

I don't have anything to add, but the discussion about the progression of the gray cords is really interesting.

---Eric