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A very rare ivory 554 with smooth cords :o :o :o
I seen that gem a couple nights ago. I figured it would finish out of my range and... Yep $356 and shipping :)
I am not a big wall phone fan at this point, but that 554 was a beauty!
Quote from: Craig T on March 11, 2010, 03:11:39 PM
I seen that gem a couple nights ago. I figured it would finish out of my range and... Yep $356 and shipping :)
I am not a big wall phone fan at this point, but that 554 was a beauty!
Craig,
Bite your tongue.
Wallphone (Dougpav)
Take a good look at it. I doubt we're going to see another like this, with matching straight handset cord, never installed again for a long time. It even has the little string that they tied to the cord when it was born. There a couple of us here that placed a bid. I was first runner up....like dancing with one's sister.
DougPav, speaking of wall phones, Jonathan and I showed off some of ours in this thread.
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1510.0
We'll get you hooked on this variety too. These are all soft plastic versions. That Ivory with the straight cord would have looked good in this group photo.
I have never seen a straight handset cord on a coloured 554. Doe anyone out there have one (that isn't black?). That phone is truly a time machine. I would say it is a 1957, based on the satin finish hook.
Dennis after reading the old 554 thread, what do you mean about the "lower profile of the open center finger wheel?"on the soft plastic 554's ?
Dan, I mean lower profile vs the hard center wheel. If you look at the wheels from a side view, the closed (hard) center wheel kind of has a dome shape. The open center wheel is high in the center, (around the hub) but the area where the finger holes are seems to be lower, not angled. Just kind of my personal view on the differences in the two.
I'll look at mine from the side to see what you mean, thank you.
Dan, to illustrate what I mean, when many of the 500's were refurbished often finger wheels were changed, or perhaps a black phone with a metal finger wheel had a clear Lucite wheel added. They were the later one piece finger wheel. The finger stops had to be modified other wise they would rub on the one piece finger wheel. There is a thread showing the different finger stop. Usually those modified dials have a finger stop that has a large X on the side of them. The stop part is bent upward to allow for clearance. Those would not be needed on the lower profile, open center wheel.
Here is that thread. Scroll down for photos of the different stops.
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=750.msg9046#msg9046
Thanks, I do like the "flat look" of the older pre-1965 open centered dials. I see why those original finger wheels are so expensive on ebay (since they are no longer made). It really is about making these sets original, even though a lot of dials have been refurbed along the way.
I was following this 554, and knew that the final price would be impressive and it was. Never seen the like before, and as Dennis notes it still has the string on the handset cord. Wonder how many like it are left out there? Can't be many.
I like wall phones as well as desk phones and I think that wall phones have the major advantage of being easier to display, just hang it on the wall and it's good to go.
Quote from: AtomicEraTom on March 12, 2010, 01:12:52 AM
I like wall phones as well as desk phones and I think that wall phones have the major advantage of being easier to display, just hang it on the wall and it's good to go.
AH, the Innocence of youth. I used to think that as well. The problem is when you get to many phones for display. That wall space can hold more shelfs of desk phones than wall sets.
I was clever with the wood wall phones, I bought "compact" sets and mounted them 4-5 high. It works, but desk phones on shelfs work the best.
I only keep wall phones that I really like.
To get back to the phone in this thread, It was an
exceptional phone, It sold high, but was cheap for the money.
JMO,
Jim
Tom, I hope you can experience the "problem" of too many phones.
Quote from: Jim S. on March 12, 2010, 01:37:23 AM
Tom, I hope you can experience the "problem" of too many phones.
I'm about there. That's part of why I'm moving.
If you won this or had another never-installed preserved NOS phone like this, would you install it or just keep it wrapped up to protect it?
That would be a tough decision for me. It's only never-installed once. On the other hand it would be difficult to have one this nice and never see it without taking it out of the box and unwrapping it.
I was fourth runner up, so I guess that's like dancing with your Aunt Mabel. :) And unlike Aunt Mabel, it sure was beautiful and I figured it would go fairly high, since NOS in the box usually does. But I would rather have had a fixer-upper, like Aunt Mabel, bless her heart. I agree with Dennis in that we will likely never see another one. To answer the question about whether or not to display it, it would no longer be mint and NOS if you took it out of the box and hung it on the wall. That's why I like fixer-uppers. That's the fun part of the hobby for me--restoring the phones.
About other 554s having straight cords, I think Jim posted a BSP a while back that said only ivory and black had straight cords in the beginning and the color 554s all had coiled cords from the beginning. Until this auction, I had never seen an ivory 554 with a straight cord, not even in company advertising. It was a rarity on every scale.
Long about mid-1956, coil cords became standard on all color phones. So I'm thinking this phone is from 1956. I think that was also when most of the satin finish switchhooks were made if Dennis' and my inventory is any indication.
Link to switchhook thread: http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1568.0 (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1568.0)
I do disagree with one comment
"To answer the question about whether or not to display it, it would no longer be mint and NOS if you took it out of the box and hung it on the wall. "
If you hung the phone on the wall to display and not in use, in my mind it is still Mint and NOS. NOS is new old stock. If it was not used, it would be new. I have more than a few NOS phones displayed, aside from the monthly dusting, these get no use and look like the day the came out of the box. just me two cents.....Doug
Quoteit would no longer be mint and NOS if you took it out of the box
For the record, this is the silliest thing I have ever heard. The reason I like these old phones is that they are still useful! It's a testament to the fact that old stuff is awesome, in contrast to the contemporary idea that new is always best. Something that sits in the box is worthless. You might as well not have it. Just my opinion.
I agree with the idea of using old items, and 90% of my phones have done rotation time in my phone circuit.
But this 554 is different, it's beyond rare. They don't make these anymore eh? In most collecting fields there are a few items preserved in like new condition, cars, firearms, etc. This 554 seems like a candidate for that treatment, in my opinion, and I'd probably leave it as is.
Though I would understand the drive to hang it on the wall and use it.
I'd use her for about a week, but I would do things like take a picture of the string that holds the handset cord and put it back when I was done to preserve the originality.