Finally got a WE 500

[Dan/Panther]

Underneath the cradle, in the finger well.
No matter how much you dust a black phone it never looks clean.
D/P

[Greg G.]

Underneath the cradle, in the finger well.

Much more subtle than the toaster phones.

No matter how much you dust a black phone it never looks clean.
D/P

I blame it on the camera, it wants to highlight every little dust speck and blemish invisible to the naked eye. 

[Dan/Panther]

That tag is kind of in your face isn't it.
D/P

[foots]

  On the back of the phone housing just under the place where your fingers to pick up the phone it says     Signal Corps        U.S. Army
                                             Telephone Set     TA236/FT
                                             Western Electric

  On the base of the phone, on the opposite side where the handset cord goes in, it says,    ORDER NO.
                 19792-PC-60-C4-C4
                        GA-51859
                            6-60         

  The base plate markings are the ones from my particular phone.

[foots]

  Briny, your TP-6 must be an earlier version than mine. Mine doesn't have a riveted tag rather the info is stamped into the housing. Is that leather feet on yours? All of the ones I've ever seen have had rubber feet.

[Greg G.]

  Briny, your TP-6 must be an earlier version than mine. Mine doesn't have a riveted tag rather the info is stamped into the housing. Is that leather feet on yours? All of the ones I've ever seen have had rubber feet.

By golly, you're right, it does have leather feet, I never noticed that.  They're even in good shape.  Here's a link to pics in my Photobucket:  http://tinyurl.com/253dhv9  I also just noticed it as a WE F1 handset.  The date stamp on the bottom says Dec 48.

I have another one that came with the recent stash of phones I acquired that's more like yours, with the stamp on the back and rubber feet, but it has the original handset.