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Boyz and Girlz, There is a new Kid on the block.

Started by Dan/Panther, February 10, 2010, 02:25:38 PM

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Jester

#15
Quote from: jsowers on February 11, 2010, 11:55:16 AM
To get back to the black 302, the one in the first link, is it supposed to have the word Operator above the 0 or am I thinking of a later dial face? I saw some for bids yesterday that were dated very late and they had it spelled out. This one just has "O" in that space. I'm not that familiar with 302s and all of mine have the 0 and Z there. This one looks different.

I'm afraid the pictures are poor, but here's a link to the thread I posted detail shots of my '53 WE 251 on.
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=641.15
The number plate on this phone is the same as the one in the auction.  The only explanation I have for mine is that the dial is a Northern Electric 5H, and perhaps the plate was used in the French speaking provinces.  They aren't very common.

.
Stephen

bingster

I dont' want to take us back off topic, but I do have one brief comment on the subject of editing posts that I'd like to make and then we can return to the subject of this rather spectacular phone.  The only other person who could edit a post in the auctions forum is me, and I didn't make an edit, either.  Edits create a tag at the bottom of the post showing who made the edit and when.  For example, I just made a minor edit to the post directly above mine, and it shows that I did.  Don't worry, Stephen, I only added a period below the paragraph.
= DARRIN =



jsowers

Quote from: Jester on February 11, 2010, 01:16:02 PM
The number plate on this phone is the same as the one in the auction.  The only explanation I have for mine is that the dial is a Northern Electric 5H, and perhaps the plate was used in the French speaking provinces.  They aren't very common.

Stephen, that makes perfect sense to me. Same as the Canadian NE 500s I have. And who knew what country a military phone would end up in? Thanks for clearing that up.
Jonathan

JorgeAmely

This is odd. I went to visit the ebay page of this 302 and I was 302nd visitor to the page!

:o :o :o
Jorge

Dennis Markham

Must be fate Jorge.  That means you should buy one!

JorgeAmely

Jorge

Dan/Panther

As far a numbers are concerned, 302's are my most plentiful,  I currently have 25 of the beautiful ,little gems.  5 restored, 2 I've sold and the rest are in different stages of restoration, or original in great shape
I've been kicking around the idea of taking ten of the 302's I have and having them professionally painted different colors.

D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Jim Stettler

Quote from: Dan/Panther on February 11, 2010, 07:21:29 PM
As far a numbers are concerned, 302's are my most plentiful,  I currently have 25 of the beautiful ,little gems.  5 restored, 2 I've sold and the rest are in different stages of restoration, or original in great shape
I've been kicking around the idea of taking ten of the 302's I have and having them professionally painted different colors.

D/P

Isn't that cheating? Granted, they look nice, But do they really count.
Just my thoughts.
Jim

BTW, I have tried having many phones painted in clear.  The result just wasn't the same.
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

bwanna

d/p would not be cheating, they are his phones to do what he wants. only would be dishonest if he were to sell them & mis-represent as original colored sets. & dan would not do that.

jmho :)
donna

Jim Stettler

Quote from: bwanna on February 11, 2010, 08:07:24 PM
d/p would not be cheating, they are his phones to do what he wants. only would be dishonest if he were to sell them & mis-represent as original colored sets. & dan would not do that.

jmho :)
bwanna,
I didn't mean to suggest that he would. My point is that painting them only fools yourself.

My thought is a painted Med. blue or oxford gray is only a placeholder, and doen't  really count.
Specially created sets are "fantasy sets", I have created a few for my own amusement. (WE Clear 1554 comes to mind).  I only consider it a placeholder and not the real thing.

There is nothing wrong with creating your own phones. I know an old collector, that has many "created" phones like Remco's skeletal posting.  He has a very good machinest that modifies old phones into really rare examples, for his own enjoyment.

D/P is young enough to find the real stuff eventually. Why ruin a good phone, when affordable "real" phones will show up. All you have to do is attend phone shows.
Just my thoughts,
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

McHeath

To paint or not to paint, that is the question.  Whether tis nobler to have pure plastic that is fully pigmented, or only tinted at thy surface. :)

Painting phones is one of those hot button issues eh?  Preferably I would have only phones that the color goes all the way through.  However, Ma Bell certainly did not hesitate to paint and most of us have phones that the Mothership created out of a multitude of multicolor parts.  Ironically they are "authentic", as they are as officially issued, but...

Most collectors seem to want their plastics to be solid color with no paint, yet a 500 that was spray painted med blue by Ma Bell is also their handiwork and to me just as collectable, though not as valuable in my mind as one that is not painted.  And then what about the folks and companies that paint them today, companies like OldPhoneWorks do a superb job and it's hard to tell that it's not phone company work.  (and in a hundred years their painted plastic phones will be passed off as phone company paint jobs) 

The other odd problem that we face as collectors is that it's totally possible to assemble a rare phone from match dated parts and no one will know.  The phone would be a fabrication of sorts, but not even the best collector would be able to tell, unless the wear was dramatically different. 




Jim Stettler

Quote from: McHeath on February 11, 2010, 10:48:18 PM
To paint or not to paint, that is the question.  Whether tis nobler to have pure plastic that is fully pigmented, or only tinted at thy surface. :)

Painting phones is one of those hot button issues eh?  Preferably I would have only phones that the color goes all the way through.  However, Ma Bell certainly did not hesitate to paint and most of us have phones that the Mothership created out of a multitude of multicolor parts.  Ironically they are "authentic", as they are as officially issued, but...

Most collectors seem to want their plastics to be solid color with no paint, yet a 500 that was spray painted med blue by Ma Bell is also their handiwork and to me just as collectable, though not as valuable in my mind as one that is not painted.  And then what about the folks and companies that paint them today, companies like OldPhoneWorks do a superb job and it's hard to tell that it's not phone company work.  (and in a hundred years their painted plastic phones will be passed off as phone company paint jobs) 

The other odd problem that we face as collectors is that it's totally possible to assemble a rare phone from match dated parts and no one will know.  The phone would be a fabrication of sorts, but not even the best collector would be able to tell, unless the wear was dramatically different. 





An interesting point regarding phone company painting is that the painted phones were "B" and "C" stock.  B stock was typically a matching color to the plastic, C stock the paint didn't match the base color.

These were supplied to underpreforming companies, it was considered a warning to the employees to shape up or get new management.

I have some "B" stock HW converted to  mod  handsets and B stock "painted" cords. The cords have smoke tint mod ends and are dipped in Polane paint.

A phone company painted real set is still preferable over a created "fantasy" set.

I have an oddball factory painted 500 from 1957. It appears to be painted @ original issue. It is painted green over Blue, and the dial date matches the other dates. I call it greenish-blue. I will try to post photos soon.
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.