Classic Rotary Phones Forum

Telephone Identification, Repair & Restoration => Telephone Restoration Projects and Techniques => Number/Dial Cards/Faceplates and Paper Attachments => Topic started by: jsowers on July 28, 2009, 01:48:15 PM

Title: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: jsowers on July 28, 2009, 01:48:15 PM
One of the best parts of an old phone to me is the number card, especially if it's an original one. The 1930s to the end of the 1950s may be the golden era of the number card, though there are nice ones from before and after that. Another favorite thing is when you get a bonus card on a phone that was turned around, so you didn't know until you got it home. Those are very special.

Take some pictures of your favorites and post them, and if you know the card's history and what city or town it came from, please share it. Or if you're looking for something specific, maybe one of us has something like it and can scan it for you, if it's not available already at the number card archive.

http://www.telephonearchive.com/numbercards/index.html (http://www.telephonearchive.com/numbercards/index.html)

I have four favorites, in no particular order. I can't pick just one...

First is a SChuyler 4 card from New York City, home of unusual exchange names. SChuyler is not only hard to spell, it's hard to pronounce. "Skyler" is how I think it's pronounced. How people knew to dial SC instead of SK is anyone's guess. This card came on a 202 painted silver, with a black F1 handset. I don't know if that's the original finish or someone's idea of an improvement.


Second is the card from my first dark blue 500 set, from 1956. It was from Cicero, Illinois, found still installed in a 1950s house the seller bought to refurbish. The insert on the card is unusual, like the bank had it installed.


Third is the card from my first 500U from 1958. A pink one from the Blue Hills section of Boston, Mass.


Fourth is a card I'm not completely sure where it came from or what phone it came from. It's a mouthful. I think it stands for South Orange and may be from New Jersey. If anyone knows for sure, please reply.


I've never had enough luck to find original number cards from the 1950s and early 60s from the area where I live. The telco may have had fairly tight control over their phones and replaced all the old cards when ANC (all number calling) became the norm. It was an independent telco that used mostly AE equipment and all I can remember is the standard AE card in white with a black squarish outlined area in the center.

I have a local 1963 phone book with letters still being used on about half the phone numbers, RE for REgent and CH for CHestnut, so I know it must have happened after that. I was in kindergarten at the time, so I don't have any memory of what all the cards looked like in the old days.

So let's see your favorite cards!
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: McHeath on July 28, 2009, 04:24:00 PM
Great cards!  I only have one original dial card and it's a blank that was in my 354.  Recently I went by the library and found that they have area phone books going back to 1950, with the statue of Golden Boy on the front.  Found that the local exchange back then was on 4th and D street, so we drove by afterwards but it's gone now and is a low income medical clinic.  I've never seen an old phone in my area with an original dial card with a number on it.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: bingster on July 28, 2009, 04:32:11 PM
Most of mine are kinda boring.  But there are three that I like, and here are two of them.  The first was mounted to the top of a manual C-mount hanging handset that was removed from service in Manhattan, and was sold by the daughter of the phone installer who brought it home from work.  It's an all-white card with a fine black outline around the number area, and there's an emergency overlay above that.  The second card came on a III-41 5L dial which was attached to a 34F dial mount.  The "card" is just a piece of office paper that was labeled using a typewriter.

The third one is the one on my daily driver 202, and it's just a standard black card with a medium-sized white center.  That one's blank and unused.  Oddly enough, it was found behind the dial card pictured on the left.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Dennis Markham on July 29, 2009, 12:10:27 AM
I found it very difficult to pick out my favorite.  I will post the minimum allowable by the software--6.  Many of the cards I have collected I have no historical background on them.  Each time I bought a phone with a nice card I'd grab the card to hold for future "collectible" phones. 

#1:  The first one is UBLY 4387.  I bought this Ivory D1 Continental from a seller in Northern Michigan.  I had a double bonus with this phone.  The first was that it has a #4 dial.  Secondly when I removed the finger wheel the card was turned around.  There is a small town in the "thumb" of Michigan named Ubly.  I'm sure this came from that area.  The seller lived in Cadillac, MI., about 150 miles from Ubly.

#2:  SCHENECTADY 4-4896.  Another "hidden" card.  I bought a two-tone Red & Black 500 from a woman in New York.  The phone is from 1954.  When it arrived, once again, hidden under a newer card was this one.  It's a little discolored but I believe it is original to the phone.

#3:  WOodward 1.  Once again, this card was turned inward.  I bought this Green Continental D1 via eBay.  The seller was located in Detroit.  It also came with a #4 dial and a nice dial card with a matching mask.  Woodward Ave is a famous length of highway that kids would "cruise" back in the 1950s.  I'm pretty sure this would be a local exchange.

#4:  POntiac 1711.  I like this card because it is from the 6 digit era.  I saw the card on a model 500 on eBay.  Because I live not far from Pontiac, MI I bought the phone for the card (as I have done on several occasions).  It turns out that the exchange is from Ohio.  The seller lived in the general vicinity of Pontiac, OH.  Ironically I have another POntiac card with a hand written number.  The card is now on a black D1.

#5:  TYler 4-7453.  This is a Detroit exchange.  I got the card on a black 500 at a flea market.  It now accents my soft plastic Ivory 500.

#6:  I decided to post a group of cards.  All awaiting a phone to call home (E.T.)  A friend gave me the one card on the left, in a chrome AE dial card retainer ring.  It reads Detroit Police Telephone System.  I actually have another one that is in a Kellogg/Itt black 500.  The cards on the right side of the photo are AE cards.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: JorgeAmely on July 29, 2009, 01:02:14 AM
Here is a group of six from independent and Bell phones.

#1: This one is part of a group of cards (WE and AE) that I purchased from a seller from Northern CA. I have a few of these red cards, so I think the seller had access to a bunch of phones removed from service from some office building. This phone is work in progress.

#2: This one is from an AE80, also from ebay, for which I paid less than $5. This is the most complete AE80 phone I have. Even the 283B plug is stamped with the AE logo. There is a city named Woodland Hills not too far from here, but the phone is from Northern CA, so I doubt they are related. It features a 20 Hz frequency ringer.

#3: This one sits on a 302 from Pennsylvania. Phone is dated 1952.

#4: This one is from the east coast, from the city of Woodbury, Connecticut. It was taken out of service in 1993 and sat inside a box until a couple of years ago.

#5: This is a very nice card. It was originally covered by a stick-on card. And it just happens to be on a WE500 that dates back to the month and year I was born. I believe it is from the New York area.

#6: This is a cool repro card from an early candlestick. I show this to little kids that come to my office and see a rotary phone for the first time.  ;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: mienaichizu on July 29, 2009, 01:15:00 AM
I like AE numbercards
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: foots on July 29, 2009, 03:30:42 AM
Never a camera around when I need one. The card in my 202 is the same as JorgeAmley's 302. Mine says  BRiargate4-
                                                    0998
I looked it up a while back and I think its from Chicago Illinois.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: bwanna on July 29, 2009, 09:33:01 AM
jorge
cool dial cards. i like the instructions ;D & the woodland exchange.

foots
i am about to get a new camera. maybe you want my old one ??? PM me if interested.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: jsowers on July 29, 2009, 10:09:32 AM
Quote from: bingster on July 28, 2009, 04:32:11 PM
Most of mine are kinda boring.  But there are three that I like, and here are two of them.  The first was mounted to the top of a manual C-mount hanging handset that was removed from service in Manhattan, and was sold by the daughter of the phone installer who brought it home from work.  It's an all-white card with a fine black outline around the number area, and there's an emergency overlay above that.

Bingster, that STerling card is very unusual. They have three-digit numbers for fire and medical and a regular 7-digit number for the phone, with a three-digit extension. Did that mean the fire and medical were in the same building? In NYC, it could happen, I guess.

Dennis, that UBLY card wins the contest for the most unusual city name. One letter off from UGLY, but anything but.

I have some more cards to share. I agree with Dennis that it's hard to pick a favorite. It's like children. You love them all. I've enjoyed seeing all the cards that were posted.

1: I have a SCHENECTADY card very similar to Dennis' from a dark beige two-tone from the same city. Dark beige is not one of the four colors they advertised, and I thought it was very faded ivory until I bleached it and then it turned back to dark beige. Also like Dennis' card, mine has adhesive marks on it. Someone must have done a really good job promoting two-tones in Schenectady.

2. Not a card but a directory listing from 1963 for my dad (Graham), uncle (Max) and grandfather (Paul). These numbers all changed in the mid-1960s and I don't remember seeing REgent on the cards of my childhood. They all looked like Jorge's WOodland 6 in design, but had only numbers in them.

3. Here's an example of a stick-on card over an older one. These stick-ons were sent out when area codes came in during the 1950s and 60s. Notice they're the same number and the adhesive pattern is similar to the card in my first picture. Luckily this card was stuck to the clear plastic protector and not the original card.

4. This is a number card from a 1954 ivory 500. It had a sticky label over the original card and I couldn't remove it without taking part of the original card off. It also had a rust stain. I did soak it for a while, but it was stuck fast. So I scanned the card and fixed it in Photoshop. It's not perfect, but it looks better than the damaged original.

5. This card also had a stick-on, but luckily it came off easily. Notice the card is light gray behind the stuck-on part. Most all the cards from the late 50s were light gray originally. We rarely see that today because light fades them to more of an ivory color. I have strips of unstamped cards from the late 50s and early 60s and they're all light gray.

6. Here's an example of a card with a stamped exchange and number and then someone typed a message in it. It didn't come on this early red 500 with a black dial, but it looks like it belongs on an emergency phone, so I attached it.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: McHeath on July 29, 2009, 12:44:38 PM
Love that last one, "Do not use this phone".  Hilarious, exactly what then was the phone for if not to be used? 

You all have some fab cards!
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Dennis Markham on July 29, 2009, 02:48:01 PM
Bingster, Jorge, Jonathan, those are some great cards.  Jonathan, your SCHENECTADY card even has the same mark in the center.  It's fun to see the cards and learn a little bit of history about them when possible.  I thought I'd post a couple more too......although I have many I'd like to share I'll just add a couple more then stop...promise.

#1:  On my 4/1955 "birthday" phone I put this card.  It did not come on the phone but I kind of liked it.  KEllogg 2-3237.  It seems like it should be on a Kellogg phone but it wouldn't be the correct card.  I can't help but see that word and hear the old Beverly Hillbillies theme song when they spelled out "KE-double L, Oh Double-good" during their commercial.  I believe it was Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs that sang the theme.  For any old-timers out there.

#2:  Last year I made an out-of-eBay purchase from a fellow in Pennsylvania.  He said that he had two phones that both came from a 75 year old hardware store in Ohio, near Galion, OH.  One is a Kellogg Masterphone 1000 (Red Bar) and the other is a North Electric Model 7H6 "Galion" phone.  The Galion has an A.E. card with a handwritten number but the Red Bar has this PLaza 9 card.  It was apparently a stick-on card that they put on over an original Kellogg card.  It's a little crooked but I like the originality of the card.

#3:  This Seattle EAst card is on my Old Rose 302.  It came to me with that card. I don't know the history of the phone or the card.

#4:  TEnnyson 5 -1126 is on my red soft plastic 500 with straight gray cord.  It was not original to this phone but like the way it looks.

#5:  RHinelander 4 - 2283 has a new home on one of my Mediterranean Blue 500's.  I think it's from the east coast.

#6:  CLinton 6 - 0951.  I don't think that this card has any affiliation to you-know-who.  It came on the phone where it is currently displayed---a black W.E. 500 from 5/1955.  I believe it came from Ohio.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: jsowers on July 29, 2009, 03:16:02 PM
Dennis, I am old enough to remember that Kellogg's jingle, words and melody, and that it ended with "Kellogg's best to you." I think the person singing it was Jerry Scoggins, from what I could find out. Flat & Scruggs did record the Ballad of Jed Clampett, though.

For those young whippersnappers who don't know what the heck Dennis and I are referring to, I just found it on YouTube. The jingle is at the end...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA5DTejequw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA5DTejequw)

How come I can remember that tune from childhood and I can't remember the name of most anyone I just met?

Also, I think RHinelander 4 is from New York City, home of BUtterfield 8, MUrray Hill, LOngacre 4, COurtlandt 7, PEnnsylvania 6, and one very favorite, used by Humphrey Bogart in the movie Sabrina, BOwling Green 9.

Dennis, thanks for the additional card shots. It's amazing all the diversity in something so small and insignificant, or at least they were a throwaway item to telcos. I'm constantly surprised that the old card is still there on some phones, after all those years.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Dennis Markham on July 29, 2009, 04:20:09 PM
And thank you for the jingle.  That sure sounds like ole Lester & Earl to me.  (Update-  Jonathan graciously informed me that Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs did play the music to that jingle but it was in fact sung by Jerry Scoggins.

http://tinyurl.com/mxnjwl

My apologies for doubting jsowers on this one!)


I can remember what I did on July 16, 1969 but can't remember what I had for lunch today.  I think that is an aging thing...I read about it recently but can't remember where.  :)
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: rp2813 on July 30, 2009, 01:41:22 PM
I like the one with the dialing instructions.  Necessary once again today for all the youngsters who have never dealt with a rotary phone.  I'd have that card on most of my phones if I could reproduce it.

Wasn't/isn't Woodbury an independent phone company?  Possibly in the New England area?  It rings a bell, so to speak, from my days with SBC/AT&T after they bought out New Haven-based SNET.

Ralph
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Phonesrfun on July 30, 2009, 03:48:27 PM
Quote from: Brinybay on July 30, 2009, 02:11:08 AM
Only a few of the phones in my collection have dial/number cards, and they're rather boring.  The only one I have worth mentioning is on the NEC:



Brinybay:

If you have a deskjet, some card stock and some patience, you can get pretty good at making your own number cards.  I even went to the extent of getting a circle cutter from JoAnn Fabrics to make perfect circles.  Not worth the $15 or so bucks if you only make one every once in a while.  Besides, even the circle cutter requires learning and patience to center it and get the circumfrence just right.

-Bill
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: brshaffer on May 19, 2014, 07:52:09 PM
Waking up a old thread to prevent duplicate topics...

These are my top three.  The first is an acquisition from this weekend (and what gave me the idea for this post).  An original acetate that was on filthy 202 with a 634BA subset that I got for $40 (it has plenty of potential for clean up).  It's special to me because it came from an actual estate in New Hope, PA my favorite place in Bucks County.

The second I like because of the round number and the ringing cadence instructions (which I assume is for a party line?).

And the pièce de résistance, the crown jewel, is my original Bell System logo card.  You often see these reproduced in restored phones, but I have yet to see another original on ebay.  This was hidden behind the first 302 I purchased (and only my second phone).  Beginner's luck!

What are some of your favorites?
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Dan/Panther on May 20, 2014, 12:06:37 AM
I've always wondered who may have owned this phone. It's a 5302. What's weird is the last 4 digits are the same as our home phone when I was growing up. 2527.

D/P
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Greg G. on May 20, 2014, 12:06:39 AM
These are the most interesting I have in my collection now:
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Dan/Panther on May 20, 2014, 12:39:37 PM
Here is one I made that I was actually able to use my last name and phone number.

D/P
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: persido on May 20, 2014, 01:07:31 PM
My 3 favorites are......

Scot
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Whitcrane76 on April 20, 2019, 09:25:51 PM
This is definitely the best one I have, and it might be pretty rare because it's the only one I've ever seen.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Telephones_etc on April 20, 2019, 11:31:09 PM
Quote from: persido on May 20, 2014, 01:07:31 PM
My 3 favorites are......

Scot

Nice celluloid dial :D
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Jim Stettler on April 20, 2019, 11:43:22 PM
Quote from: Whitcrane76 on April 20, 2019, 09:25:51 PM
This is definitely the best one I have, and it might be pretty rare because it's the only one I've ever seen.
My guess is it is for the boards for operator trainees.
Just a guees.
Jim
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: HowardPgh on April 27, 2019, 10:33:50 PM
These are some of my loose number cards.
Also a picture of some Western Electric retaining rings.
Which Mt. Airy? The one near Philadelphia PA, or the one in North Carolina (Andy Griffith's hometown)?
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Texas1880 on April 27, 2019, 11:10:46 PM
Quote from: HowardPgh on April 27, 2019, 10:33:50 PM
These are some of my loose number cards.
Also a picture of some Western Electric retaining rings.
Which Mt. Airy? The one near Philadelphia PA, or the one in North Carolina (Andy Griffith's hometown)?

Most likely mt airy North Carolina. Mt airy is a neighborhood in Philadelphia proper, and Philadelphia exchanges weren't neighborhood titled, except for CHestnut hill. Mt airy was definitely not a Philadelphia exchange name.  The act of consolidation was 1854 that unified  the city and county of Philadelphia, so mt airy has been in the city since before telephones.

PEnnypacker is a creek in Philadelphia, and MUnincipal is still the exchange for all Philadelphia city lines, though, to this day 215-68(x)-xxxx is always the city calling.  Some street names are exchanges, like WAlnut, POplar, etc.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: jsowers on April 28, 2019, 01:40:34 AM
I agree with Texas1880. I live about 58 miles south of Mt. Airy and that number card would be for a party line phone in a small town. You could come to Mayberry Days sometime and bring your card and ask some of the old timers if they remember them.

During the era when this card was used, maybe before WWII, Philadelphia had 3L4N numbers. Like RITtenhouse, my personal favorite. Below is a nice list from 1935 I found in an auction listing. I know a lady who was a Pennypacker before she was married. Very unusual name.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: andre_janew on April 28, 2019, 04:12:17 PM
I have a couple I would like to share:
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: shadow67 on April 29, 2019, 12:50:22 PM
Here's my favorite
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Russ Kirk on April 29, 2019, 06:38:09 PM
On one of my payphones
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: dsk on April 30, 2019, 12:17:00 PM
Are this link of interest?
I was just told about it, a dial card maker page: https://bre.is/s0ctxJalZ
If not relevant please delete.
dsk
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: kleenax on April 30, 2019, 04:24:20 PM
Quote from: dsk on April 30, 2019, 12:17:00 PM
Are this link of interest?
I was just told about it, a dial card maker page: https://bre.is/s0ctxJalZ
If not relevant please delete.
dsk
If it would allow you to print on 2 lines, it would be nice!
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Russ Kirk on April 30, 2019, 07:27:51 PM
here are some more...
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Gary Millam on May 01, 2019, 04:11:49 PM
A couple of my favorite number cards.

Gary Millam
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: andre_janew on May 04, 2019, 11:55:54 AM
I have one that came off a Leich made AE80 telephone.  The phone was made in 1957 and, as I understand it, the first year for the area code printed on the card.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: AT2796 on May 04, 2019, 09:10:57 PM
Quote from: andre_janew on May 04, 2019, 11:55:54 AM
I have one that came off a Leich made AE80 telephone.  The phone was made in 1957 and, as I understand it, the first year for the area code printed on the card.

Very cool! That's my area code!
805 area code is (was) mostly Pacific Bell,  General Telephone had Santa Barbara county and a few small exchanges in rural areas in neighboring counties. If I am remembering correctly, 805 used to stretch from Monterey, CA all the way south to Ventura, CA  including my (Pacific Bell) county of San Luis Obispo and east to Kern and Kings counties.
I would love to know where that phone came from.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: andre_janew on May 05, 2019, 05:44:29 PM
I bought the phone on eBay from someone in Chico, California about four years ago.  Is that even close to the 805 area code?
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: AT2796 on May 05, 2019, 10:56:52 PM
Nope, Chico is 350-400 miles north of me, different area code.
That is a cool dial card you've got, thanks for sharing!

According to area-codes.com that prefix is in Oxnard, Ventura county.
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: Russ Kirk on May 06, 2019, 06:59:01 PM
I have quite a few of the General Telephone dial cards with area code 213 (Los Angeles).
Small is 1 1/2 ", larger is 1 13/16"
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: ka1axy on February 16, 2022, 04:05:13 PM
Nothing particularly exciting here, but I bought a 7/52 vintage "heavy" 500 off Goodwill because the prefix matched the one I had growing up (different area code though). I started to clean it up, and removed the dial card ring. Thought I was missing the plastic disc at first, but when I got it apart, this is what I found: the original dial card under the plastic disc, to which a stick-on all-numeric replacement had been stuck! 

Also of interest: our "alpha" prefix was "OLympic", this one is "OLympia".

Disappointingly, I notice that some (many?) Goodwills have taken to removing, not only the dial card, but also the holder, before putting the phones up for auction. Allegedly for "privacy" reasons :-(
Title: Re: Post your favorite number cards
Post by: ka1axy on July 15, 2022, 12:33:32 PM
Re: making dial cards

I have played around with both Word (Windows) and LibreOffice Writer (Linux) and it's not too difficult to get some pretty realistic looking dial cards out of them. I've even been able to vary the shading and alignment of the number digits, to simulate stamping.

I have some starter documents if anyone's interested, though I don't think they can be posted, due to file type. PM me if you want to try playing with them.  I, also, got a 1.5" circle punch off Amazon and it's exactly right for the round cards. The notch you still have to hand cut though. Bonus: you can also use it to make plastic windows out of produce containers or any other source of flat, clear plastic!

Originals on the left, my fakes on the right.