Northern Electric/Telecom Message Waiting Set?

[Fabius]

I came across this in a local antique shop. It's been a few months since I took the pictures and I forgot how the hand set was marked. NTI 500 is marked on bottom. Northern Telecom?

[finkmac]

What does the rear "stamp" behind the handset, and the "stamp" on the handset say?

[Ktownphoneco]

Good question.     As Finkmac mentioned, there should be some indication at the label location behind, and below the handset on the case, and in the usual spot on the handset.    The patent number "3,403,883" is registered to Northern Electric, Montreal, but the patent itself has to do with male and female plastic molds used to cast numbers, letters or images in plastic.      It doesn't specifically seem to have anything to do with a telephone.      True, the method of casting the company name and logo into the handset and telephone body is a manufacturing process most likely covered by some sort of patent, but I've never seen it ink stamped in fairly big letters on the base of the telephone.    Odd.

Jeff Lamb

   

[andre_janew]

Judging by the pumpkin on the dial card, I'd guess these pictures were taken last October maybe around Halloween.

[AL_as_needed]

Is the raised label on the bottom a rebuild date? If that was indeed something Northern Electric did, maybe it was a cost saving measure. Would not be surprised if they got parts from a third party unmarked, and only assembled in house.

Or it's a rare "Jack-O-Phone" 500 as denoted by the logo 

[Ktownphoneco]

Sorry Fabius, I had a "senior's moment" and missed your comment regarding the handset and case markings.      Here's a page from Northern's T-9 Telephone Catalog, describing the set and it's function.

Jeff

   

[Dominic_ContempraPhones]

I came across this in a local antique shop. It's been a few months since I took the pictures and I forgot how the hand set was marked. NTI 500 is marked on bottom. Northern Telecom?

Northern Telecom International
500YR with Voltage Message Waiting Indication (not CLASS FSK of course).

[Fabius]

Thanks for the info. I'll be passing this antique mall today and I'll check how the handset is marked, if the phone is still there. As seen on the tag how is the price?

[poplar1]

I believe this was assembled in Northern Telecom's Michigan plant. NT also assembled brown 500s there in 1973. I was told by a collector friend in Montréal that brown 500s  were not available from Bell Canada in 1973. (Thus I was able to trade him a US-assembled brown NT 500 for some NE parts I needed.)

Dominic, why did they move from Michigan to Nashville, or did both exist simultaneously?

Also, I heard that they couldn't use "Northern Electric" in the US, because that name belonged to a US-based electrical supplier; thus a name change was required. True or not?
And, even if true, did that have anything to do with the change outside the US to "Northern Telecom"?

[rdelius]

Northern Electric made electric blankets

[paul-f]

I believe the U.S. trademarks have expired.  Here are a few vintage ads.

[rdelius]

Did not know that the Northern Electric blankets used the Hawthorn font.

[Dominic_ContempraPhones]

I believe this was assembled in Northern Telecom's Michigan plant. NT also assembled brown 500s there in 1973. I was told by a collector friend in Montréal that brown 500s  were not available from Bell Canada in 1973. (Thus I was able to trade him a US-assembled brown NT 500 for some NE parts I needed.)

Dominic, why did they move from Michigan to Nashville, or did both exist simultaneously?

Also, I heard that they couldn't use "Northern Electric" in the US, because that name belonged to a US-based electrical supplier; thus a name change was required. True or not?
And, even if true, did that have anything to do with the change outside the US to "Northern Telecom"?

Both locations existed simultaneously.  Northern had at least 15 manufacturing facilities in the US.  Are you referring to the Ann Arbor, Michigan Phoenix Drive plant?  They didn't make phones there.  That was memory systems, which was Sycor, which became Northern Telecom Systems Corporation ... then BNR/NTSC.  NT moved a lot of handset manufacturing to Nashville because it had the cheapest labor market.  Different stuff was made in different places.  SG-1 was made in California (part of the deal with the dummies who bought it -- just kidding) -- DMS-100 moved to Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.  The Meridian DVs (while they lasted) were made in Minneapolis before Apple threatened to sue.  It was scattered.

The name change was part of a reorganization and unique rebranding initiative tied to the launch of SL-1 and the whole Digital World media blitz in 1976.  Incorporation was at the state level in the US if I remember right.  In Canada, you can incorporate federally.  We had issues with trademarking telephone set names in the US and Canada under the same name.  The preferred name that we chose for Canada was often taken in the US.  Athena was challenged I remember.  That's why Vista was Powertouch in the US, and Nomad was Maestro, etc.