Have you seen one of these before?

[Jester]

Debbie,
The date stamped on this phone appears to be Aug. 8, 1955.  Yours looks like it reads 1956 to me, which would match the company info. Bingster listed on the thread that HobieSport listed above.  I believe both of these phones were manufactured within 18 months of the company's bankruptsy filing.

D/P,
The electricals are completely ala 302--even the switch will bolt right into a WE 300 set.  Both of these gray phones have 6A dials with gray painted housing & painted metal fingerwheels & card retainers.  All the metal covered sets I've seen were gov. property, & had AE dials & rubber grommets around the cord openings.

[Dewdrop]

Jorge,

I looked at the eBay auction that ended on Dec. 9 that you mentioned. Thanks, I took some screen shots of that phone. I couldn't see the date on that one. While here on the forum I just turned the channel to TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and Betty Davis was talking on a "dreamy" WE 202. Maybe someday...  But I would have to be a REALLY good girl all year for one of those.

Debbie

[bingster]

Mine is stamped in red on the bottom (the picture is posted). I can't tell if it's 1956 or 1958. What do you think?

It should be 1956.  They went bankrupt in 1957, making a 1958 date unlikely (if not impossible).

[Jester]

The auction Jorge made reference to is the one I won.  The seller is Ray Kotke, a familiar name to many of us here on the forum.  While this phone is 100% original,(except for the handset cord & missing mounting cord & transmitter element) it is totally within Ray's capability of casting new plastics in any color desired.  I know it's posted elsewhere, but, for convenience, his website follows.
http://www.telephonecreations.com/

[JorgeAmely]

Hi Jester:

I had the chance to visit an eBay seller from the Los Angeles area that had two of Ray's creations.

One was an AE50 cast in Dark Blue resin with all the chrome trimmings.

The second, and the most beautiful phone in that collection was pink 302 phone with pink leather feet. I think he said he paid $700 for it.

[Jester]

Jorge,
Did you take pictures?

[Phonesrfun]

I believe the nickname for this style of phone is affectionately called the "toaster" phone.  Not to berate it in any way.  I have seen them on e-Bay, and I believe these were genreally an electrical equivalent to a 302.  Definitely from the same time period.  Also, I believ Connecticut telephone was a supplier to the US Signal Corps, but that may have already been stated.

I am sure it will serve you quite well.  I don't own one myself, but I am sure they are pretty rugged, except for the shell.  The shell in most phones seems to be the most vulnerable parts.

-Bill Geurts

[Dewdrop]

Forgot to mention in the center of the dial are the words: Connecticut Private Line 21.


Debbie

[Dennis Markham]

Jorge, that is the phone that Jester posted above.  He got it as a second chance offer.  The seller was Ray Kotke.

[Jester]

I finally finished cleaning this one & thought you'd enjoy some pictures.  You'll notice the open faced fingerwheel in the opening shots-- I always liked these on colored plastic phones & thought I'd add one here.

[Jester]

And a few more.  The last shot is a physical comparison of the width & length of the CT to the length & width of the WE 302/5302.

[McHeath]

You've done a very nice job on the restoration of this phone, the color is impressively deep.  It's odd that this is on the same chassis as the slender 302, a very different design philosophy.  It's big and buff looking, perhaps they were aiming at creating a unique brand identity since they took the design in such a radically different direction.

[LarryInMichigan]

Great job, Jester.  How did you remove the cracks from the handset?

Larry

[bingster]

Very nice job, Jester!  The black ones look rather odd and clunky, but the addition of color really changes the look of the phone, and makes it very interesting.

[Jester]

Thank you all for the compliments.

I didn't really remove the cracks, Larry.  I did remove the dirt embedded in them, & that makes it look as though they "went away".  A little light sanding & some vigorous buffing & polishing also had a positive effect.

Bingster, I agree that the color of this set makes it more appealing.  I have wanted one for quite some time, but seeing this one in colored plastic is what encouraged me to really try.