curly cords

[jsowers]

Susan, if you were born in early 1956, your yellow birthday phone would have a dark gray cord. Later in 1956 yellow cords became standard. Here's a picture of a WE color -56 yellow from 1-56 with a dark gray coil cord. Yellow, red, green and dark blue all came with dark gray cords at the beginning. I just wanted you to know you have two cord colors to choose from in that year. Also there were straight gray and later straight yellow handset cords available in 1956. It was a very good year for phones.

I also attached an Illinois Bell color chip chart from 1955 with some of those color names.

[suhoni56]

Thanks Paul, I noticed that. I am very new to studying rotary phone history and use your pages as my go-to site. I can't thank you enough for the wealth of info you have compiled. Fantastic!!

[unbeldi]

Here is what the 500 sets looked like when in October 1955 New Jersey Bell advertised them in their billing inserts.

However, by then, all colors except blue and green, were already available with matching straight or curly cords.

[suhoni56]

Thank you both for the info and photo ads!
My birthday is March of '56. Would they still have grey cords then?
I have never seen one like that.... very interesting.

[unbeldi]

Thank you both for the info and photo ads!
My birthday is March of '56. Would they still have grey cords then?
I have never seen one like that.... very interesting.

Many sets in 1956 still had gray cords, indeed, but matching cords were available starting in August of 1955.
Green was the last color to receive matching cords in 1956. Blue never did and was discontinued in 57.
In fact, it's hard to find colored cords dated 1955.

Ivory and brown always had matching cords from day one.

[poplar1]

Ivory and brown always had matching cords from day one.

Except for the brown one in the ad.

[unbeldi]

Ivory and brown always had matching cords from day one.

Except for the brown one in the ad.

LOL, yes. I know.  I think the color has faded.

[jsowers]

Thank you both for the info and photo ads!
My birthday is March of '56. Would they still have grey cords then?
I have never seen one like that.... very interesting.

I don't have one from March, so I can't say for sure when they made the change, but I do know I have never seen a yellow 500 with matching yellow cords from 1955. The ones I have with yellow cords are all from 7-56 or later. Those early yellow cords also faded quite badly, so now some of them look white or ivory. The dark gray cords didn't fade like that. They make quite a contrast to yellow. I have to wonder if some of them were replaced when color matching cords came out.

I think red may have had matching cords in 8-55, but I haven't seen any photographic evidence of yellow or dark beige cords from late 1955. Seeing as how green changed much later, it's plausible that all the colors didn't match at the same time. Does anyone have a yellow or dark beige 55 cord they can photograph and post? I'd love to see one. The cords have a date stamped on the strain relief, so it's easy to tell.

Susan, you'll have to look for a yellow 500 that's not refurbished from 3-56 and then you'll have the definitive answer. I searched my bookmarks of eBay auctions for the past several years and did find one yellow from 3-56--with gray cords--that ended in 2009. Yes, I put the phone date and cord color into my bookmark names. You can't see auctions that old, so the bookmark is all the evidence I have. Good luck!

[paul-f]

We should get our notes together, Jonathan.

I have this photo from an old (2007?) ebay auction without a description.