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Poll: Rarest WE telephone?

Started by Kenton K, October 22, 2014, 01:57:55 PM

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What is the rarest Post 1949 WE production telephone in your opinion?

Thermoplastic Color 302 (excluding blue)
2 (7.1%)
Thermoplastic Blue 302
9 (32.1%)
1950 500 set
9 (32.1%)
500 H/P/U mushroom light
9 (32.1%)
500 in rare colors
5 (17.9%)
554 in rare colors
8 (28.6%)
1500 ten button set
0 (0%)
10 button princess
1 (3.6%)
10 button trimline
3 (10.7%)
Color 5302 sets
17 (60.7%)
Other?
4 (14.3%)

Total Members Voted: 28

Kenton K

I was wondering if there is a consensus on the the rarest WE production telephones post ~1949. I don't really care about about the value, as I know rarity and value don't always go hand in hand. I also want to keep in production telephones, and not field trials/prototypes; they are almost certainly more rare than any production telephone. Please let me know if I've missed anything. And you can also change your vote at anytime.

I think the boards had a discussion like this at one point, but iirc, that was a very long time ago.

Thanks-KK

Fabius

#1
Quote from: Kenton K on October 22, 2014, 01:57:55 PM
I was wondering if there is a consensus on the the rarest WE production telephones post ~1949.


Thanks-KK

Thanks for the poll. You may want to add the post 1949 part to the question. Also since you say post 1949 you'll need to remove the 1949 500 set as that's not post 1949. 8-)
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

Phonesrfun

I voted for the '49 500.  The options for voting for a rare phone and then having options for rare 500's and rare 554's is kind of confusing.  I guess if they are a rare 500 or a rare 554, then by definition, they are rare.
-Bill G

unbeldi

#3
1949 500 sets are not production units. Regular production manufacturing of the 500 was starting in the spring of 1950 and it was announces to the Associated Companies in May that the first batches were available (few tens of thousands in certain models).

The 5300 and 5400 sets were also not "production" models, technically.  They were refurbishments in the distribution center repair shops.

Kenton K

#4
Ok, I will remove the 49. Could the 49 people please re-vote?

I feel like color 5300 should be included given that a fair number were made and they were not 'special' back then. It wasn't a prototype like the 49. But you can vote however you feel is right.


-KK

Kenton K

thanks Undeldi.

Also, to the person who voted for 'other', what phone did you have in mind?
I may want to add it to the list.

KK

poplar1

5302s were "conversions" of 302s. Other sets were "remanufactured" at the WE distributing houses, without being converted to a different model. "Remanufactured" is a step above "refurbished" because it implies that new parts and latest repair specs were used.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

Russ Kirk

#7
I like this poll. It got me thinking about the phones listed in the poll, how often do I see them for sale on eBay?   Some of the items in the poll I see quite often, others (card dialers and interphones) are more hard to find. 

For example, take the 10 button sets, I see 10 button sets more often that say card dialers.

Production numbers vs. existence today may vary. For example I believe many more call directors were made than colored 302s, but people saved the 302s for home use and dumped the call directors. 

So I voted on how often I see them on eaby.
Just my opinions....
- Russ Kirk
ATCA & TCI

Doug Rose

I don't think there is a tougher WE phone to get than a "Blood Red" 302. When is the last time you saw one? Have you ever seen one? Made in 1955 for a few months to keep color sets coming and WE using up their surplus parts. A SOFT plastic shell, YES a SOFT plastic shell and a matching PAINTED black F1 handset.

It seems every month you see a Blue 302 grace eBay, but when is the last time you saw one of these. Same color as a Red WE 500 set. It doesn't get much tougher than one of these beauties. If you have the Big Five in WE 302 thermoplastic colors, the Blood Red Soft plastic is what you need to fill out the collection

Soft Plastic shells were made in Ivory and Green that simply duplicated the thermoplastic colors and looked the same side by side. There are rumors of a Blue, but I have never seen one. The Red, the Blood Red is a truly different color. This is a RARE set....Doug
Kidphone

Russ Kirk

Nice description Doug. The blood red now has my vote.
- Russ Kirk
ATCA & TCI

JimH

Beautiful trio!  Doug, was that painted handset on the 302 original, or a repaint?  I must say it looks like it's in superb condition!

Jim
Jim H.

Kenton K

Are those cords original?  And are they the same as peking red cords?

KK

Doug Rose

Thanks All...The cords are not original, they were made from switchboard cords and are the perfect match. They are darker than the Pekin red. The handset was not a repaint, it was original for the phones. When I found mine it had a brown bakelite F1 on it. Mark Scola and I were in the ATCA at that time I posted a pic of it. He said he had the same set and had and extra handset. I didn't know Mark and told him I was happy with my set as is. He just sent me the handset as in the ATCA, all members address were public. What a guy!! They don't come any better than Mark. He was correct....perfect match! I know of two members of the Forum who own the same Blood Red 302.....Doug
Kidphone

paul-f

It's interesting to see the variance in the specificity of the poll choices.  Some are very broad, like 1500 ten button set or 500 in rare colors, while others are much narrower, like thermoplastic blue 302 (only one color) or 1950 500 set (only one year).  Autovon sets should be added to the list.

When going down the list of 500-series variations, there are a lot of specific model numbers that have been very difficult to identify, let alone find.  If you add a specific color or year (first year of production), many have never been seen by most collectors.  For example, has anyone seen a 592 (part of the 1A Speakerphone) in any color other than black?

Even at the model level, here is a list that would be very difficult to find:  501B, 501F, 501P, 512 (secretarial set), 513, 516B, 529, 533, 535, 536, 537, 543, 552, 559, 565L, 568HT, 592, 625, 665, 680, 691 and 755.

Since the poll includes all post 1949 sets, Design Line sets should be considered as well. The Glow Phone certainly belongs in the rare categoty.

Picking the rarest set at that level would be quite a challenge!
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

.

Kenton K

I totally understand. I tried to pick out what everybody thinks of as rare, at the same time unintentionally leaving the even rarer ones out. A little ironic right? Its rather hard to narrow down rare phones into categories, especially when there is such a large range.


On another topic, does anybody know the production years of the 10 button trimline? I have one from 1966 and I haven't seen one earlier.

KK