Hello all...
Although this is my first post I have been a member for several months and have enjoyed the rich treasure that this forum has provided. Have collected fountain pens for a long time and for the past couple of years have expanded into telephones.
Having watched some of the great phones come up on the "Find of the Month" I had to take this opportunity to post pictures of my new WE 302 in yellow plastic. Saw what looked like a yellow 302 listed on eBay for $149.00 or "Make Offer" so offered $95.00 and was surprised when the offer was accepted. The phone is showing some signs of age but slides on and off the base without any binding. I was concerned about the plungers being solid yellow instead of clear but have to say that I'm very happy with the phone.
Thanks for the opportunity to brag...
Congratulations, you have a very desirable phone!
It's isn't Yellow, it's actually Ivory. This one looks like a prewar phone. Postwar Ivory 302s have clear plungers and a fingerwheel that mounts differently. While Ivory 302s in general aren't especially rare (but are pretty desirable) this one is much rarer and more sought after by collectors. Check the inside of the base, you will probably find a 1939-1941 date.
I would say you got a fantastic deal!
Be especially careful with that fingerwheel...those are the earliest examples of clear fingerwheels offered by Western Electric and are IMPOSSIBLE to find!
Welcome to the forum, by the way! ;)
Thank you for the additional info. Yes there is a date of 3/24/42 stamped in red beside to line cord mouse hole. There is another number/text there but I'm not able to read it. Will take a picture to post and hopefully someone can explain what it means.
You did good!
Thanks, got lucky this time... ;D
Nice! :)
Thanks...
That's a really nice buy for your first acquisition. I'm surprised too that the seller accepted $95. In general offers that knock off more than 20% of the asking price are rejected. I don't know if you have ever sold on ebay but when listing a "Make Offer" a seller can also set to automatically accept offers above or reject offers below preset thresholds. You got over that lower threshold here. I hope what you learned in the forum help you identify a genuine article. There are so many later era repros out there.
What a great find at a really nice price. You can bleach these ivory beauties back to their original color with a 50/50 bleach and water solution. Use Vaseline on the dates so they stay as the dates are important. Welcome to the Forum.....Doug
Thank you very much for all the encouraging comments.
mariepr - Have bought & sold on eBay since 2003 so have seen a lot in that time. I was very surprised not only by the low asking price but even more so that the offer was accepted. Some times you just get lucky.Your are quite right about sellers setting a reserve price that automatically rejects low offers. When I get one of those I'll pass on any further interest. From what I saw in the pictures of the bottom it didn't appear to be a black phone paint on the outside.
Thank you Doug but I think I'll put off the bleach treatment of the moment. Not that daring yet. :)
Will be posting more pictures in that I have some questions about this phone and I am sure more than one person here can answer for me.
Nice find. I also bought a yellowed ivory 302 on eBay. Mine is a much later model, 1950. I am planning on bleaching it this summer. I will post pictures so you can see the difference. Here is a pic of my ivory 302. Here is a link that shows before & after pictures of bleached ivory phones.
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=17360.0
Your 302 is beautiful. Have read a number of posts about bleaching to return the plastic to original color. Some how it seems like an obvious process to undertake when being done with with somebody else's phone and some how more intimidating when I contemplate doing it to my own. Probably will get around to it at some point.