Classic Rotary Phones Forum

Telephone Switching => Intercom & Interphone Systems => Topic started by: Bartonpipes on February 20, 2015, 05:26:26 PM

Title: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: Bartonpipes on February 20, 2015, 05:26:26 PM
Can anyone tell me about what time this model was introduced?

I just bought this set on ebay, and it's missing the receiver. I am trying to determinate what model of receiver would be the most accurate replacement.

Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: unbeldi on February 20, 2015, 05:41:27 PM
The No. 3 catalog of 1916 is probably the first one to have these in a metal case.


Yup.... No. 143 receiver.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13063.msg137444#msg137444

Look also in the 1916 General Supply Catalog, it has a large section on Interphones.
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: Bartonpipes on February 20, 2015, 07:18:39 PM
Thanks! That catalog answered all my questions.

Any chance anyone has a 143 receiver for the 1916 price of $2.30?  ;)
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: poplar1 on February 21, 2015, 12:43:21 AM
$2.30 in 1916 dollars= $49.95 in 2014 dollars:
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: Bartonpipes on February 21, 2015, 12:36:13 PM
Good point! But I'm pretty sure that if these were still in production today they would cost under $5 in materials to make.
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: Bartonpipes on February 24, 2015, 03:33:09 PM
Does anyone know if there are replacement water slide decals that say "Western Electric Inter-Phone" available any where?

I have decided to repaint the housing because there will need to be some welding done it the back to fix a broken bracket. Also when cleaning the housing in hot water original decal's gold color was lost.

I have a few generic "Western Electric" decals but they aren't quite the same..
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: unbeldi on February 24, 2015, 03:48:01 PM
I have no idea about decals, but somehow I doubt it, don't recall ever seeing anything but the company name.

Can you tell whether the frames for the name plates next to the buttons are nickel under the paint?  Has the whole unit been simply overpainted at some point?  I think originally only the bare case was black, and all trim was nickel or brass.
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: Bartonpipes on February 24, 2015, 04:14:31 PM
It doesn't look like it has ever been repainted, no brush strokes, etc, so I I doubt it was ever repainted. Of course, it may have been  spray painted, but I doubt it.

Perhaps this was made later, just before the time Western Electric split the intercoms off under Graybar?



Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: unbeldi on February 24, 2015, 05:07:01 PM
Quote from: Bartonpipes on February 24, 2015, 04:14:31 PM
It doesn't look like it has ever been repainted, no brush strokes, etc, so I I doubt it was ever repainted. Of course, it may have been  spray painted, but I doubt it.

Perhaps this was made later, just before the time Western Electric split the intercoms off under Graybar?

Graybar never manufactured anything, as far as I know. Is that correct?  And it is clearly labeled as a WECo product.  In one of the Graybar catalogs of the 1920s the system is described as the "Graybar Inter-Phone System No. 1"  and the description reads "Black with nickel trimmings."

But I can see that at some point the nickel finish was deemed old-fashioned, as WECo painted all wooden subsets black and the nickel trimmings on deskstands also turned black.

These inter-phones still appeared in the 1925 catalog (No.6), but had been taken out in the next, no.7 of 1929.
Graybar was split off from WECo in 1925 and issued the first general catalog in 26.
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: unbeldi on February 24, 2015, 05:16:41 PM
BTW, since these were made for quite a long time, it would also be correct to use a later receiver, such as the 144.  The 143 apparently was the first one though.
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: Bartonpipes on February 25, 2015, 01:01:30 PM
I noticed another clue that might help date it, it uses a 323BW transmitter, which I didn't see in the 1916 catalog. So that would mean it was definitely made later than that, unless they didn't offer 323BW's for separate sale in 1916.
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: unbeldi on February 25, 2015, 01:08:07 PM
Quote from: Bartonpipes on February 25, 2015, 01:01:30 PM
I noticed another clue that might help date it, it uses a 323BW transmitter, which I didn't see in the 1916 catalog. So that would mean it was definitely made later than that, unless they didn't offer 323BW's for separate sale in 1916.

According to the History of Engineering and Science of the Bell System, the 323 and 353 transmitters were introduced in 1917 and ca. seven million were produced by 1925, by far the most common transmitter of 1920s.
Title: Re: Information needed for Western Electric 1324 C12 Interphone
Post by: poplar1 on February 25, 2015, 01:14:13 PM
In the 1923 #5 catalog, WE was transitioning from nickel plated to black transmitters.

Transmitter section includes the 323BW and 337BW (page 266).
While both are shown in black finish only, the 323BW has the following notation:

*Nickel plated transmitter will be furnished until present stocks are exhausted.