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Who Amongst Us Has The Oldest 500?

Started by HobieSport, November 26, 2008, 09:53:35 PM

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What's your oldest mostly original 500?

I have a '49, but don't tell anyone.
1 (0.9%)
1950
12 (10.3%)
1951
20 (17.1%)
1952
25 (21.4%)
1953-1957
72 (61.5%)

Total Members Voted: 117

McHeath

Quotei know this counts as a modification, but it suits me

I modify commonplace phones a lot, changing parts around to get what I want from it.  I don't do that to more rare and valuable phones, but for my own personal enjoyment I don't mind creating a Frankenphone like my Faux 1955 model 554 built from several phones and parts with dates spanning several decades. 

Drew

I have a 12/52...oddly it has a 50's blue shell factory painted black ? Also a 10/54 with a white shell painted black.  Dates on internal parts on both sets substantially match.

Question; this might have been covered in this post, but has anyone seen or know of a 1948 or '49 field trial 500 mentioned in Paul's website ?  Says that some 4,000 were introduced in larger cities in 1949.

Love to see close up photos of one of these.

Wallphone

Read the TCI Singing Wires article by Russ Cowell and Paul Fassbender in the January 2009 issue.
The people receiving the phones did not know that it was a trial. They were told that there was limited production at that time. One of the things that came from the trial was the decision to put the dots on the number ring under the finger holes to give the user a target. Read the whole article here.
> http://www.telephonecollectors.org/singwire/samples.php <
Dougpav

Jim Stettler

Quote from: Drew on March 13, 2010, 08:17:49 AM
I have a 12/52...oddly it has a 50's blue shell factory painted black ? Also a 10/54 with a white shell painted black.  Dates on internal parts on both sets substantially match.

Question; this might have been covered in this post, but has anyone seen or know of a 1948 or '49 field trial 500 mentioned in Paul's website ?  Says that some 4,000 were introduced in larger cities in 1949.

Love to see close up photos of one of these.

I asked Paul F about 1949 sets. He assures me that at least 1 is in the hands of a collector. Paul has seen it and handled it. I am thinking their may be a photo in one of Pauls TCI articles on the 500 set.

Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Wallphone

Jim,
The one in the first picture in the Jan. Singing Wires is from the Bell Labs Record of Feb. 1950. It shows the word "Operator" in a straight line. Maybe this is a 1949 set, although it does have the dots under the finger holes.
Dougpav

Jim Stettler

I think these photos have been posted before.
They are from the Life Magazine photo archive on google
http://images.google.com/images?q=telephone&q=source%3Alife

Notice the word Operator on the dials of both photos.

I think the '49 set  that  a collector has has Operator in a small font like the clear dial below. The last photo shows a standard dial

Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Kenny C

does a 1949 have realy thin lettering "operator" on it??
In memory of
  Marie B.
1926-2010

Phonesrfun

Yes, and the word operator wraps around the zero slightly differently from the later ones. (ever so slightly).
-Bill G

Kenny C

ok I have a dial that was refub. in 2-56
In memory of
  Marie B.
1926-2010

rp2813

I guess the question now is, does anyone have an early 500 with bezel that has the 0 and Z divided by "OPERATOR" lettering?  The SW article states that such bezels were on the field trial sets only. 

The "figure 4" shot in that same SW piece shows a bezel with the U-shaped "OPERATOR" and the lettering looks really clunky.  The shot of the dials being tested (a few posts up prior to this one) shows the U-shaped "OPERATOR" but it appears a bit more refined.  So the next question is, does anyone have an early 500 with bezel that has the U-shaped "OPERATOR" lettering?  If the SW date range is correct, I believe there's a member who has a 500 from that period.  My own 10/50 is from the period where the U-shaped lettering was used, but I have the fine print upward arcing type with the "0" over the letter "P."  I think that while the chassis on mine has components from 10/50 and earlier, it may not have been assembled until 12/50 and perhaps as a result received the later bezel.
Ralph

Dennis Markham

I know of a collector with the U shaped "operator".  I do not have one.  I've seen two on eBay in the past five years.  One went high because it was advertised as such, the other went relatively low because the seller didn't realize what he/she was selling.

Phonesrfun

#101
Here is an example:

Photo #1 is from a 500 dated 2/51.  Compare that with the later #2, which is from a 500 dated 4/55.  Sorry, but the focus isn't perfect.

The 1951 is not the earliest example, but still early.  Does anyone know if there are any of the others in captivity somewhere?

-Bill G

Dennis Markham

Bill, I have a black 500 from December of 1950.  I'm not certain but think the dial bezel is like the one you showed here.  This also has a different type of bezel, not the kind that were injected with the two colors of plastic.  I believe this is an overlay of some type.

Phonesrfun

#103
Dennis:

Yes, the same as my 1951, but you are a better photographer than I am.  It is the earlier overlay type, and not injection molded.  Notice that the zero is right above the mid-point between the P and the E in Operator.  Later ones had the zero above the mid-point between the E and the R.
-Bill G

Dennis Markham

I thought so Bill.  I knew that I knew that but I had forgotten. :)  One of these days I'd love to get one of the curved "operators".  And the one with the Z is probably impossible to find.

No extra charge for the dust.