1948 Western Electric TT prototype found at estate sale.

[Russ Kirk]

Just saw this on Facebook. It was found at an estate sale.

[poplar1]

Last one on eBay sold for $18,000.

[Jester]

I would love to find one.  Any idea how many were made?

[Doug Rose]

Offer to double his money. He has no idea if he is psting on FB

[HarrySmith]

The person who posted it is a member of the clubs. I think he knows what he has. Do we have any idea what he paid for it?

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Do we have any idea what he paid for it?

Not enough...

[Russ Kirk]

The person who posted it is a member of the clubs. I think he knows what he has. Do we have any idea what he paid for it?

Not yet..

[paul-f]

I would love to find one.  Any idea how many were made?

Not many!

The field trial was with 35 Bell System families. Probably less than 100 made.

http://www.paul-f.com/weprotot.html
http://www.paul-f.com/we1948pb.html

[AE_Collector]

Like usual with these old junkers...no star or pound 

Terry

[Fabius]

In the late 1970s I was a central office tech in Northern California and worked as a volunteer for the Telephone Pioneer museum in San Francisco. The museum had two of these phones. I opened them up to look inside and all I saw was mechanical linkage of some sorts. No indication of any electronics that would generate tones. I asked the curator what they were used for and he said they were used on a toll test board. The two phones I examined had a 310 plug as a line cord. Notice in the above picture of the phone under discussion that there  is a 310 plug on the left.

[poplar1]

They used tuned reeds rather than electronics.

BellSouth museum in Atlanta had (has?) one of these. I believe AT&T plans to vacate much of the W. Peachtree tower so who knows what will happen to the museum. Last time I went, instead of one of the Pioneers, there was only a rent-a-cop on duty.

[Dan/Panther]

Poplar1's comment about the last one for sale, sold for $18,000.00 on eBay, really got me thinking.  If this phone is worth $18,000.00, and the potential that 35 to 100 were made, makes me wonder why My pre-production 500, was estimated to be worth around $2,000.00. My phone has many components that many had never seen before, variations of components that were updated before production started, and no one has come up with even as much as an original photo of one. However the phone does match patent drawing going back to 1947 or maybe earlier.  In my opinion it may be the ONLY one in existence. Shouldn't it be worth a little more, and if not why not. Even Mo's picture phone went for $45,000.00, and there were several made. I don't get it.

Yes I'm Whining a bit.

D/P

[AE_Collector]

Mo's picture phone went for $25k...or $22k...somewhere in there. Carry on....(whining)....

Terry

[HarrySmith]

Mo's picture phone went for $25k...or $22k...somewhere in there. Carry on....(whining)....

Terry

$21,433.67 to be exact.

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Poplar1's comment about the last one for sale, sold for $18,000.00 on eBay, really got me thinking.  If this phone is worth $18,000.00, and the potential that 35 to 100 were made, makes me wonder why My pre-production 500, was estimated to be worth around $2,000.00. My phone has many components that many had never seen before, variations of components that were updated before production started, and no one has come up with even as much as an original photo of one. However the phone does match patent drawing going back to 1947 or maybe earlier.  In my opinion it may be the ONLY one in existence. Shouldn't it be worth a little more, and if not why not. Even Mo's picture phone went for $45,000.00, and there were several made. I don't get it.

Yes I'm Whining a bit.

D/P

You also have to realize that, in the broader spectrum, the picturephone and TT prototypes were bigger steps than the 500 prototype. The 500 had all new components, but the function or use of those components wasn't too different from the 302 it replaced. A museum would KILL to have examples of prototype "stepping stone" technology, like Touch Tone and Video Phone. It's more historically important than a prototype of a phone model.

That being said, your phone is worth a whole lot more than $2000. I'd guess more like $15,000. 500s have also gained tremendous popularity since you found and restored yours.
The 500 may not be a major, major technology advancement, but it is absolutely the most publicized, advertised, and recognizable single telephone form to date, well known all over the word...and you have possibly the earliest one in existence.