A rare 500 in a museum

McHeath · January 26, 2012, 11:10:09 PM

I found a picture of this 500 in the Hawthorne Works museum. Obviously it's early with that bezel, and it has a chrome retaining ring for the dial card which is unusual, though not without precedent. I wrote to the contact for the museum to ask what the date on the phone is. Obviously the handset cord is newer, late 60's early 70's, but who knows what the rest is. Maybe another 49'?

rp2813 · January 27, 2012, 03:29:27 AM

I pulled up the site and noticed the statement that all photos are courtesy of Alcatel-Lucent archives in Murray Hill. Isn't that where DP's prototype 500 was supposed to be returned to? If we were to take that statement at face value, it would imply that the phone in question is not necessarily located in Cicero, but the photos of the actual museum seem to indicate that the phone is safe and sound, and indeed not far from Hawthorne.

I'll be interested in reading further information about this rare 500 if you get a response from anyone at the museum.

jsowers · January 27, 2012, 09:00:55 AM

The strange number card on the black phone says "Mfg. May 1949" on it and it has a Chicago area code (312). Can't make out the one on the pink 500, but it's obviously a much later phone.

ESalter · January 27, 2012, 01:29:09 PM

I looked through the photos I took when we visited the Hawthorne Museum on 8/11/10. If anyone is in the Chicago area, I recommend it, there is a lot of interesting stuff there. It's handled by a university, so the woman giving the "tour" didn't know much about what was there, but was very nice and let us just wander around and look. Anyway, I attached my photo of the 500s. I left it full resolution in case anyone wanted to look closer. ---Eric

Dan/Panther · January 27, 2012, 01:53:13 PM

In case anyone forgot, I just thought I'd rub this in a bit.
And again thanks to all for the help I received, and Jim for the handset and shell.
D/P

McHeath · January 27, 2012, 11:58:00 PM

So with that dial card claiming the museums black 500 is from May of 49' perhaps we have located a second intact 1949 model 500. (the first being the one in the Seattle Washington phone museum:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=2689.0

No response from the Hawthorne museum yet. Anyone live near there and want to go on a field trip to try to get a good look at this phone? Sadly I have no funds to reimburse you for the trip, but you will get eternal glory if it turns out to really be another 49er!

A curious collection of 500s they have eh? Mostly modular and later. I expected more like this black 500, early and rare. Maybe they had to scrounge around to get these, I suppose after the factory was closed and then sold that all the contents were tossed.

AE_Collector · January 28, 2012, 12:56:11 AM

I have no idea if they "inherited" anything for the museum but it was just set up a few years ago (5, 6 or 7 years ago?) and I know that they bought a lot of items on ebaY for the museum at that time. Most likely a combination of ebaY and donations from the area and past employees etc.

Terry

Doug Rose · January 28, 2012, 08:09:19 AM

I do not claim to be a 500 set expert or really have any 500 set knowledge at all. I look at the bezel on Dan's phone with the Z and the Hawthorne with operator in the smile wrap around the zero. Which is correct?

Secondly, isn't it a real leap of faith that everything inside this phone is a '49 just because of the dial card. Isn't the curly cord incorrect. Just what I noticed.

With all the modular 500 sets not in the best of condition, no mushroom or gray corded 50's soft plastic sets sets; who knows what knowledge the person had who put this display together. Just my two cents. It is not really an impressive "museum" display at all in my humble opinion...Doug

Dan · January 28, 2012, 09:42:23 AM

The black is the prize of the bunch, but he really needs a straight handset cord on that phone to be period correct. The others are "commons" you could get on ebay for 20-40 bucks.

Dennis Markham · January 28, 2012, 10:22:50 AM

Quote from: Doug Rose on January 28, 2012, 08:09:19 AM
I do not claim to be a 500 set expert or really have any 500 set knowledge at all. I look at the bezel on Dan's phone with the Z and the Hawthorne with operator in the smile wrap around the zero. Which is correct?

Secondly, isn't it a real leap of faith that everything inside this phone is a '49 just because of the dial card. Isn't the curly cord incorrect. Just what I noticed.

I'm no expert either, Doug. I agree that it is a leap of faith to accept it on face value that it is from '49. That dial bezel is an early one. I'm pretty sure the one on Dan/Panther's phone is the earliest. We know the cord is much later. Often eBay sellers advertise their black 500's as being from '49. I think they read somewhere on-line that the Model 500 came about in 1949 and make that conclusion. Maybe that's what was done at the museum? We'll never know without seeing the rest of the dated parts----"under the hood".

McHeath · January 29, 2012, 12:53:00 AM

Agreed Doug that it's a pretty pedestrian display of 500s, and yes the black is the pick of the litter. Certainly the handset cord is later, 1970ish give or take, but that dial bezel is very rare and makes this phone work looking into, methinks.

But we have several members here who could put together a much more impressive collection of early 500s! And of course D/Ps prize prototype is icing on the cake.

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A rare 500 in a museum