I bought this Ivory 500 in early June. I think Dan made a comment on this one in an earlier thread-- it is a soft plastic set that someone cut the mouse hole on to install a RJ-11 jack in the phone! Since I didn't have one, and the starting bid was$24.95 with free shipping, I placed a bid--and won the phone. My initial thought was that I'd sit on this one & ask around for a ruined Ivory cover that was intact enough that I could cut the rear cord opening out of it & graft it to this cover. As it turned out, I got a better break than that-- less than 2 weeks after this auction the phone in the last pic. went up, & I won it for the opening bid of $6.99 plus shipping. It has a crack free cover & is soiled but not banged up at all. I think one reason it didn't get much attention is because it was incorrectly listed as beige.
I was able to clean it up today, and replaced the missing line cord with the cord off an Ivory 302-- since I didn't have the proper cord, and put the '57 cover on the first Ivory I won. Sometimes it pays to go with your gut on these auctions.
Jester, I don't remember this one because it was originally posted before I started reading the forum regularly. It's a great example of ivory, one of my favorite colors. For whatever reason, we don't see a lot of badly faded ivory soft plastic. That color was very stable and it cleans up well, as everyone can see by your pictures. It's great that the plastics from both phones match so well. You really got a great deal on the second phone.
You did a great job on the coil cord. It looks like it got the dowel treatment. Can everyone see how different those older cords look from the newer, skinnier cords? The number card is great too. Looks like WYdown 1 or something like that. Do you know where that's from?
The first ivory phone you got points up something we all need to realize. Be sure to ask a lot of questions before you bid. If they don't show the back of the phone, ask about it. I just ask if the hole in the back is rounded or squared off. I've been the victim of those modularized phones too--it's a real bummer. Also if the seller won't answer your questions in a timely manner, or at all, then don't deal with them. Another one will come along.
Congratulations on your ivory 500. Keep on the lookout for an ivory mounting cord. You should be able to find one somewhere. I've found them on phones of different colors.
Nice Jester!
Thanks for the comments, fellas. I also like the look of ivory on the 500, Jonathan. There are some who think it looks common & bland-- I feel it adds the elegance of understatement.
I looked up the dial card and decided, based on the seller's location, that it's from the Ladue suburb of St. Louis MO. Funny thing though-- WYdown was also used in Buna TX, a small town 40 miles North of me. I'm quite sure this one is not from Texas, though.
A final opinion on this color. I think everyone will agree that ivory dresses up a scenario like the one pictured below!
Stephen, that Ivory phone is very nice. It's one of my favorite colors as well. That one I recently posted photos of (Model 591) has a real nice thick, pliable handset cord as well. For your first four colors you've done very well. Better start building some more shelves!
I finally found An Ivory wall cord that belongs with a phone like this 500. Its a little discolored--even after some attempts at cleaning it with some SERIOUS stuff! Still, it looks better than the cloth line cord that I had on it, and the brass crimp reads II 56, which matches the phone.
Ivory is nice pleasing color to me, subtle and mellow. You've made a silk purse out of a sows ear here.
Great addition to your collection!
Jester;
Nice phone, I also like the Ivory white. Great stroke of luck on the second one.
You say you used the cord from an Ivory 302, that set is more valuable than the Ivory 500, how many do you have. I have one, I paid a good price for, I wouldn't think of using the cord for anything else.
D/P
Quote from: Jester on September 27, 2009, 07:05:43 PM
I finally found An Ivory wall cord that belongs with a phone like this 500. Its a little discolored--even after some attempts at cleaning it with some SERIOUS stuff! Still, it looks better than the cloth line cord that I had on it, and the brass crimp reads II 56, which matches the phone.
I remember this one and that mounting cord just makes it complete. You have a beautiful ivory phone. I've seen ivory cords discolor like that too. And nothing I've tried--bleach, denatured alcohol, or whatever--will touch it. It's down in the plastic and that's how it's going to look. Which isn't that bad, so consider yourself lucky to find all the parts to bring your phone back to how it looked originally.
Jonathan,
I'm very pleased with this cord and how it looks on this phone. Thank you for your kind words.
D/P,
This Ivory 302 I "borrowed" the wall cord from is an extra that I bought as a parts phone. I wouldn't normally do such a thing, but I already have a nicer one than this phone, the price was relatively cheap, & I was looking for parts that are specific to the colored sets that can be very expensive when bought seperately. I also tend to "rob Peter..." when I want to complete a project.
Jester;
Are you talking about a painted 302, or a solid color Ivory 302 ?
D/P
stephen, very nice work, indeed. sometimes all it takes is vison & patience, with a little luck thrown in.
it is a handsome family you have started there. as dennis said, better build some shelves. or another room. phones have a way of multiplying when you are not looking ;)
Here are a couple pictures of the Ivory "parts phone". As you can see in the pics., it is not in terrible shape & is quite fixable. My justification for cannibalizing this set is that I already have an Ivory that is older and in better shape that is my keeper. I also wanted to swap the base assembly, dial & handset capsules with the ones I used on my blue 302. I still believe the blue one was the result of some collector's tinkering with a pile of leftovers, and the parts on this phone are a better match to the dates on the blue one. I still intend to make this one a complete phone, just not with the same parts it came with. The last pic. is of my "keeper".