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Gray cords: Straight vs. coiled

Started by benhutcherson, December 11, 2009, 01:07:56 AM

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benhutcherson

Stephen,

Glad that you won one recently as well-I've really enjoyed mine the past few months. It was on my desk for a while, although it's since been switched out for a metal 302(which doubles as a great paperweight :) ).

It's true that I initially did almost walk away from it, but that only before I really had fully processed just what exactly I was looking at. My initial reaction was "that's just another overpriced 500", however half a second later I realized that it wasn't so overpriced after all. I'd made my peace with spending that much within about 30 seconds of picking the phone up to buy it.

Interestingly, the seller had two other phones in their both-an ITT and Stromberg-Carlson 500, both late models and priced at $25 each. They're still sitting there to this day.

JimH

#16
Here's a few "before" pics of the Mahogany Brown 500 with the straight cords.  The handset cord has a small "hole" in the vinyl about an inch from where it goes into the phone, otherwise they're in excellent shape.  I was thinking of moving the restraint and cutting this part of the outer vinyl off.  I don't know if I can get matching vinyl to "fill" the hole or not.   P.S. These are the ebay photos, not mine.  I would never set a telephone down on it's cord!
Jim H.

AET

Oh How I'd love to have a straight-cord 500.  I am so jealous of you guys!!  Keeps me going in the hobby though.
- Tom

benhutcherson

Jim,

Beautiful telephone-that's one's definitely a keeper. I can see why WE went to the trouble of making up colored cords for brown. Gray certainly wouldn't have looked very good, while a matching brown cord looks great.

Tom,

Keep your eyes open. Black 500s with a straight cord aren't exactly common, but they're not terribly difficult to find, either. This one



was about $35 shipped on Ebay.

I have another black one with a straight cord that was about $20 shipped, although it's not as nice as this one.

So, they're definitely out there for a decently small investment.

Jester

That's a great looking phone, Jim.  I remember your post on the auction page when you won it.  If you decide to move the restraint, I would leave the extra length of casing on the end if it were me.  That will give you or the next caretaker the option of trying to fill the hole to restore the cord.  I bought a vinyl repair kit at the auto parts store that works by mixing the set of base colors in the kit to get the exact shade you want.  I tried it with an aqua cord and got a really close match on the color.  I'm still trying to master using the iron to set the repair without melting the cord, though. :P

Ben, I like finding them close to home, too.  Funny thing is I have been more successful with doing this with the older ones than I have the colored 500's.  I even saw a A1 deskset in Lake Charles, LA about twenty years ago--that's 60 miles East of Beaumont, but it wasn't for sale!  I didn't get my hands on one until this spring, & had to rely on the internet to find it.  I'm sure there are still some finds around here, but not as many as there used to be.
Stephen

AET

That was just the inspiration I needed.
Quote from: benhutcherson on December 11, 2009, 09:33:36 PM


Tom,

Keep your eyes open. Black 500s with a straight cord aren't exactly common, but they're not terribly difficult to find, either. This one


was about $35 shipped on Ebay.

I have another black one with a straight cord that was about $20 shipped, although it's not as nice as this one.

So, they're definitely out there for a decently small investment.
- Tom

McHeath

Tom, I found a straight cord 500 on E-bay for 10 bucks earlier this year, they are out there and snaggable.

I then moved the cord to my 51' model 500.  

JimH

Excellent point about not cutting the vinyl, Jester.  I will do just that.  Did any of you guys ever notice that the newer 500s have a "spot" under the ringer to hold down the end of the handset cords?  On some of my older ones, I've actually loosened the ringer and put the end part of the handset cord under the ringer and tightened it back down.  I've seen many old 500s with the restraint "unhooked" from it's slot....and twisted up into oblivion.  This seems to prevent it.  On newer 500s (like late 60s on), the engineers seemed to correct it.
Jim H.

bingster

I hook mine under the ringer, too.  It seems too easy for the restraint to come unhooked when the cord isn't held down inside.
= DARRIN =



jsowers

#24
Quote from: Dennis Markham on December 11, 2009, 11:49:58 AM
After that posting I checked with Paul F's site again.  I guess red was introduced in 1953 but those had the black handsets and dial bezel.   I thought it was mid to late 1954 that the full colored sets came out, so there are some earlier ones out there.  But again, nice grab on that one.

Just a minor correction, Dennis. The 1953-54 red phones (and dark blue, yellow and dark gray ones too) came with a black dial, dark gray cords and color matching handset. Those are what I like to call "black dial models." It was the two-tones that came with the black handset, dial and cords. It's very confusing. Just remember... two-tones had all black cords. Early black dial models had dark gray cords.

And I haven't ever seen a totally 1953 color 500. Has anyone?

I think the full color sets (as in matching dials) came out in early 1955, when Dennis did. ;) The cords didn't all match, though, until about late 1956 or early 1957.

About those nice straight corded phones, yes they are much rarer and more sought after. I've admired them for many years and was able to get a few back when Dennis and I were both bidding on them much more than we do today. For a real challenge, try to find one with a red, dark beige or yellow straight cord, evidently made for a short time in 1956.

Jim, that is one great deal on that brown 500.  And Ben, you got a good deal too on the red one. My only phone with gray cords found locally was about ten years ago at a Goodwill, for $5. A cracked moss green with a gray coil cord and a nice turned-around number card with a local PArk 4 exchange. I've never found a straight corded phone locally, but I live 20 miles from Bell System territory. Coil cords were supposedly an option early on, and a very popular one at that. I think coil cords were mandatory sometime around late 1956 or early 1957, judging what I've seen in auctions and company literature.

Below is a picture of my "straight line rack." It's a shoe rack and the top couple shelves are straight corded phones. I took it last Christmas Eve. I also have a reprint of a C&P Bell brochure propped on it, showing the black dial models, like the red one in the middle. Under the rack is a wool Bell logo flag, complete with moth holes, and on the right is an odd piece of Lenox china with the Bell logo on it. You can also see a blank spot on the bottom shelf for more. I also have a red 500 with a red straight cord and a brown one not on the shelf.

I hope Santa brings everyone in the forum a straight corded phone.
Jonathan

Dennis Markham

Thanks Jonathan for clearing that up for me.  So my two-tone Red/Black and Ivory/Black would be correct in sporting a black straight handset cord?  Both are two-tones with the G1 handset and black dial bezel.  Both from 1954.  When I got each of them they had replacement coiled cords but I have managed to obtain a couple of black straight cords that I am going to substitute for the replacement coiled cords.  Both are completely original except for the cords--as far as I can tell.

Your phones are very nice.  Is that my yellow one there with the matching straight cord?! :)


benhutcherson

Jonathan,

Thanks for the additional information.

So, would I be correct in saying that my red phone with a 2-55 base date, and parts dated 1-55 and even 12-54, would be a very, very early full color phone?

jsowers

#27
Quote from: Dennis Markham on December 14, 2009, 10:52:13 AM
Thanks Jonathan for clearing that up for me.  So my two-tone Red/Black and Ivory/Black would be correct in sporting a black straight handset cord?  Both are two-tones with the G1 handset and black dial bezel.  Both from 1954.  When I got each of them they had replacement coiled cords but I have managed to obtain a couple of black straight cords that I am going to substitute for the replacement coiled cords.  Both are completely original except for the cords--as far as I can tell.

Your phones are very nice.  Is that my yellow one there with the matching straight cord?! :)

Dennis, I don't see anything wrong with putting a straight black cord on there. I've seen two-tone phones in ads with straight cords. I attached one. It's kind of hard to see, because the handset cord goes in the back and not the side (not sure why they did that--I've seen other ads done the same way) but it has a straight black cord. There's also a mention at the bottom about spring cords being a convenience option. Sorry it's so cut off, but this was a large magazine, a 2-page ad and a small scanner.

I also posted the other half of the ad, FYI. It features a moss green 500 with a straight handset cord, and you can plainly see it going in the back door instead of the side. What were they thinking? That they were an AE80 or something? It does look more like dark gray, but I have another lighter scan that's plainly green. Some sellers have difficulty with dark gray and claim it's moss green. You also have the color lineup from 1954 on there.

And yes, that's the long lamented yellow one you missed by "that much." I missed plenty back in those days too. I let it all go. (Inhale... Exhale) See?  :)

I also remember writing the seller of the red 500 I got with the straight red cord. She was from Texas and said that phone belonged to her late uncle, who steadfastly refused to update his phone. Thank the Lord for people like that. Otherwise we wouldn't have much to collect.
Jonathan

jsowers

Quote from: benhutcherson on December 14, 2009, 11:14:16 AM
So, would I be correct in saying that my red phone with a 2-55 base date, and parts dated 1-55 and even 12-54, would be a very, very early full color phone?

Ben, I would think so. But we have no proof other than the dates we find in the phones and the ads that we see in magazines, and some brochures. Normally 1954 models in red, blue, yellow and dark gray had black dials. By early 1955 it seems that they matched. Have you ever noticed the MPCo mark inside the back of the dial faces? My theory is they had them done in the early days by a supplier and this is their mark. That may also explain why dial faces had no dates and why it took a little while to get them all to match. We also see dial faces with degraded plastic while the rest of the phone is fine. Dennis has a dark gray one like that and I've seen others.

The red-black-gray 500 you see on my shelf was a phone with mixed dates and it originally had a cracked housing from 6-30-54. The base and network was dated to 5-55. The handset elements were 4-55. Both cords were 55 dated. I ended up replacing the housing with a 5-55 one. The crack was pretty bad and right in front. I posted a picture of the inside showing both the date and the crack. I have no idea why the dates were a year apart like that.
Jonathan

JorgeAmely

Ben, that is a very elegant red with gray cords phone. I was lucky to get one similar, dated to my birthday date. It is in the garage now, waiting for some TLC in the new year ahead. It replaces the "inheritance phone" I was going to get from finlover some months ago.  ;D The straight handset cord makes the handset feel lighter, partly because there is no spring tugging constantly at you.

Jim, you can perhaps use some Crazy Glue to seal a small hole on the insulation of your cord. I have repaired a few of those cords in the past, and so far, they are still holding very well. I usually clean the area with alcohol before applying the glue. Any excess glue can be trimmed off with an Exacto knife. If the insulation is missing, cutting the hole off, and joining the two sections of cord is also possible, but if the missing portion is just one inch away from the strain relief, pulling the hole under the relief is worth pursuing.

I have attached a picture of my 500 collection, showing some with straight and some with curly cords. They are in numeric color code order.

The black set (-3) is a 532 (10-56), with a small adjustable amplifier for hearing impaired customers.
The ivory set (-50) is a 500 (11-54). It has a three point dial support bracket inside.
The green set (-51) 500 is a 3-55 model. It and the ivory model came from the same ebay seller.
The gray 500 (-52) is an 11-55 model.
The red (-53) is a 500 with curly cord, dated with my sister's birth date (3-58), so it is a very special set.
Next is a (-54) brown, also a 500 model, dated 5-55. This one appeared in the Singing Wires TCI magazine, where I discussed how it was refurbished.
The (-55) dark beige is a 501 set dated 3-57, with a 426A tube inside. It was a good learning experience getting the tube to operate on modern lines.
Next is the yellow (-56), dated 7-56 and owned by a lady due to the lipstick marks on the mike caps.
Blue (-57) is a 501 model dated 2-55. It came also with a 426A tube.

The final six all have spring cords.
The shelf below has a white (-58), pink (-59) and light beige (-60). The beige arrived here from finlover, about a couple of years ago. They are dated 9-58, 10-57 and 8-62, respectively.
Finally, light gray (-61), aqua blue (-62) and turquoise (-64) with dates of 11-59, 8-57 and 4-64.

Dennis probably remembers the aqua blue, since it came from his collection.

Jorge