1970s Refurbished 1958 Northern Electric 500

[b3tamax11]

I keep a watch out on the local Kijiji pages for any phones that come up, and I managed to get this Ivory Northern Electric/NT 500 set. At first it really didnt seem like anything special or interesting, but I didnt have an ivory 500 and for 10 bucks with a nice dial card it was a steal. I immediately noticed that the base was painted black, which as far as I know would indicate that at least the base was made before 1960 when Northern Electric stopped painting their bases. The date stamp on the base seems to be missing, but fortunately it has its original network which dates the phone to 1958! Unfortunately, this phone seems to have been overhauled, and none of the dates are matching, but it is quite a cool find I think. All the plastis date to 1979, the handset parts are from 1974 and the ringer is dated 1977.

[andre_janew]

I'd say it is amazing that the didn't turn it into a fully modular phone!

[poplar1]

I'd say it is amazing that the didn't turn it into a fully modular phone!

Bell Canada did not make these fully modular when they rebuilt them. Rather, they were "quarter modular", with only one modular plug on the mounting cord, which was to connect the phone to the wall jack.