Turquoise Northern Electric 1702B Contessa

[Dave F]

Here is an interesting (1968) turquoise Contessa, Northern Electric's name for their version of the W.E. Princess phone.  The obvious differences between this set and a W.E. 1702B have been previously discussed at length.  However, this phone has an interesting additional twist.  First of all, it is genuine turquoise, a tough color to find.  With any necessary apologies for my inadequate photos, you can tell from the color of the inside of the case that the phone is indeed turquoise and not faded blue.  Happily, both clear plastic windows covering the designation cards are present.  These parts are very fragile and are often missing or broken.

This phone had recently been removed from a house in Rochester, New York (area code 716), where it had resided (in use) since the late 1960s.  What makes this set particularly unusual is that the "0" button on the NE25H4 dial has "operator" on it.  N.E. sets were generally made for the Canadian market and, due to the multilingual  nature of that country, most of these sets just had the "0" by itself.  It appears that this set was destined from the start to be used in the U.S., possibly by an independent phone company who couldn't obtain W.E. products.

Anyway, with the exception of some minor yellowing of the housing, this one has survived in essentially mint condition.  Rubber pad on bottom looks like new, and there is not a bit of dirt on the inside.  This is the first N.E. 1702 I have found, and I like it a lot!

DF

[Russ Kirk]

Wow,  I learn something every day.  I did not know about the operator on the zero button.  I need the two window covers.  Here are photos of mine.

[Dave F]

<snip>...I need the two window covers.

Most of the 1702 Contessas I have seen are missing one or both of the windows, which are so thin and fragile they can break just by trying to remove them.  I'm going to leave mine in place, making it just about impossible to refinish the housing.  I can't get it wet, so sanding and chemical treatments are out of the question.  Until a source for replacement windows turns up, I'll have to live with the discoloration rather than risk breaking anything.

If any Forum members have access to plastic molding facilities for small parts, these Contessa windows might be good candidates for reproduction.

DF

[AE_Collector]

Beautiful phone Dave!

I know it wouldn't be the same but couldn't clear plastic packaging be cut into a window with a tab on each side to fit the small slot? Or do you think it would permanently bow upwards too much in the centre? (used Canadian spelling since we are talking about a canadian phone). I know, you aren't removing your windows to try it!

Terry

[GTE Rick]

Awesome! .... If the Number Card(s) are original it is was from Rochester Telephone in New York where they called it the Princess-style

[poplar1]

<snip>...I need the two window covers.

Most of the 1702 Contessas I have seen are missing one or both of the windows, which are so thin and fragile they can break just by trying to remove them.  I'm going to leave mine in place, making it just about impossible to refinish the housing.  I can't get it wet, so sanding and chemical treatments are out of the question.  Until a source for replacement windows turns up, I'll have to live with the discoloration rather than risk breaking anything.

If any Forum members have access to plastic molding facilities for small parts, these Contessa windows might be good candidates for reproduction.

DF

Ray, are you listening?

[Dave F]

Awesome! .... If the Number Card(s) are original it is was from Rochester Telephone in New York where they called it the Princess-style

According to the guy I got it from, those are the original number cards, and the phone was removed recently from the same house where it had originally been installed more than 40 years ago.

I assume that Rochester Telephone was an independent.  Do you know if it was common practice for them to install N.E. phones?  If they could obtain 1702s from N.E., it seems to me that they probably could also have gotten "real" Princess sets from W.E.

Beautiful phone Dave!

Thanks, Terry.  It's not too shabby for my first NE1702 !

I know it wouldn't be the same but couldn't clear plastic packaging be cut into a window with a tab on each side to fit the small slot? Or do you think it would permanently bow upwards too much in the centre? (used Canadian spelling since we are talking about a Canadian phone). I know, you aren't removing your windows to try it!

I'm sure some thin plastic could be made to (almost) fit but, at least for now, leaving the originals in place seems to be the smart thing to do.  Anyway, the  yellowing of the turquoise isn't really severe.

DF

[paul-f]

I grew up in Rochester Tel territory and saw mostly WE, AE and SC phones - in about equal numbers.  I don't recall any NE phones, but they could have been there or added after I left town.

The house I lived in had a SC1243 manual set, that was upgraded to a SC1543 dial set.  When we added a kitchen extension, they installed a WE554.