Princesses in Color!

[Tonyrotary]

Nice collection guys! I need a princess phone for my collection. I know the difference between 701 and 702. But what tells the difference between the modular and hardwired? And can you get a hardwired 702? I would like mine to have the ringer.

[Dan/Panther]

702's are hardwired. I'm not positive about a modular designation.
D/P

[compubit]

702B is hardwired.  702BM is Modular. 702BMG is the "newer" one without a light (I'm assuming, since the 2702BMG has the opaque Touch Tone pad.

Jim

[poplar1]

G indicates a polarity guard, and only for Touch-Tone sets.
CS (Consumer Sales) indicates a set with no lamp.


ROTARY:
701B -- no ringer, hardwired
702B -- with ringer, hardwired
702BM -- with ringer, modular
CS702BM -- with ringer, modular, no lamp

TOUCH-TONE:
1702B --10-button Touch-Tone
2702B -- 12-button Touch-Tone, hardwired
2702BM -- 12-button Touch-Tone, modular
2702BMG -- 12-button Touch-Tone, modular, with polarity guard
CS2702BMG -- 12-button Touch-Tone, opaque dial, no lamp

[compubit]

Thanks for the clarification!

Jim

[unbeldi]

Here is my compilation of a colors timeline for the Princesses.

It could well be that some are missing for the 1980s and later. I have not attempted to find the colors of the Asian-made models of the 1990s.

Is the slate blue–293 one of those?



PS:  The table should have a note stating that for each year the new colors were issued in addition to the prior period, not replacing the earlier colors.

[savageje]

Unbeldi -- That is a handy list.  Saved that one for future reference in case I spot any of these.  Were any of the early princesses done in soft plastic, or were they all the newer plastics?  I have a 1959 pink princess and it is in hard plastic.

JS

[unbeldi]

Unbeldi -- That is a handy list.  Saved that one for future reference in case I spot any of these.  Were any of the early princesses done in soft plastic, or were they all the newer plastics?  I have a 1959 pink princess and it is in hard plastic.

JS

The field trial versions before 1959 may have used Tenite for the housings and handsets. But we probably also know that WECo experimented with plastics and molding processes starting ca. 1957. We have found handsets that had molded dates and were later stamped with ink and a much different date.

ABS plastic was introduced for housings in the 500-sets starting in 1959.  I believe all the production versions of the Princess used ABS plastics, and I have not seen any evidence to the contrary.  However, I have found and seen Princesses with handsets that had the center holes missing in the transmitter and receiver caps, but that is a molding issue, not necessarily a material issue and it could well be that some old stocks of caps were used until exhausted.

I think I have read some claims of "soft plastic" Princesses, but I believe that the vast majority of collectors do not know the difference, or would simply not be able to tell the difference. There is much confusion about these issues. I believe, there were some late date Tenite versions that do not produce the "cheesy" smell as others do.

I have been in fact thinking that it was the development of the Princess model that prompted Western Electric to use ABS for all colored telephone sets starting in 1959. The thickness of the plastic for the housing of the Princess is distinctly smaller. This would probably have prompted WECo to look for new materials with higher impact resistance than Tenite has.  ABS plastics fulfill that need, and rather than maintain inventory and processes for two types of plastic, they opted to change the plastic on all the color housings for the 500-type sets as well.  This explains also why the black 500-sets still used Tenite until ca. 1964. Note that black was not an option for Princesses until 1963 and they supposedly had not even planned on manufacturing Princesses in black. Therefore, they did not need to maintain two types of plastic in black.

[poplar1]

CS (Consumer Sales) Princess sets c. 1984  were available in  ivory (-50), yellow (-56), white (-58),  dark blue, and possibly others.

The colors available for remanufactured 702BMs and 2702BMGs in 1990 were
Ivory (-50), White (-58), Cameo Green (-255), Peach (-258) and Slate Blue (-293).

2703BMG Signature Princess sets were first assembled  in the Atlanta Service Center. According to Bill B., they originally had problems with the ringers and cracked PCBs. Slate blue and cameo green were dropped. These sets were available in
Ivory (-50), White (-58), Pink (-59), Aqua Blue (-62) and Peach (-258).

[unbeldi]

thanks for the additions, Poplar1.  I'll incorporate that into my table too.
If anyone else has info please contribute.

[jsowers]

I have been in fact thinking that it was the development of the Princess model that prompted Western Electric to use ABS for all colored telephone sets starting in 1959. The thickness of the plastic for the housing of the Princess is distinctly smaller. This would probably have prompted WECo to look for new materials with higher impact resistance than Tenite has.  ABS plastics fulfill that need, and rather than maintain inventory and processes for two types of plastic, they opted to change the plastic on all the color housings for the 500-type sets as well.  This explains also why the black 500-sets still used Tenite until ca. 1964. Note that black was not an option for Princesses until 1963 and they supposedly had not even planned on manufacturing Princesses in black. Therefore, they did not need to maintain two types of plastic in black.

I totally agree with your thinking and I have thought the same thing for years. The timing is not coincidental, that the plastics changed for the color 500 and 554 when the Princess was introduced in mid-1959. They have to be connected.

I'd like to share an ivory 702B I got in 2002. It was refurbished in 2-74 according to the sticker on the bottom and for whatever reason they used a Tenite handset and painted it. Over the years the thin 1970s paint wore away and the original color was a better match, so I took the paint off (I think by sanding) and had a fairly nice looking ivory 702. I attached pictures. It's the one on the right. One of the handset caps is also Tenite, but the other is ABS. That Tenite handset has a much more substantial feel to it.

Speaking of ivory, I've seen experimental Princesses in ivory that look to be Tenite. I don't know for sure if it was a Field Trial model or not. I think Paul Fassbender has one. Years ago he and I were the only ones who recognized what it was and he won the auction. No hard feelings, Paul! It's the second Princess listed.

http://www.paul-f.com/weproto.html#PrincessProto

[Tonyrotary]

Thanks for the clarification guys!

[unbeldi]

...
I'd like to share an ivory 702B I got in 2002. It was refurbished in 2-74 according to the sticker on the bottom and for whatever reason they used a Tenite handset and painted it. Over the years the thin 1970s paint wore away and the original color was a better match, so I took the paint off (I think by sanding) and had a fairly nice looking ivory 702. I attached pictures. It's the one on the right. One of the handset caps is also Tenite, but the other is ABS. That Tenite handset has a much more substantial feel to it.

Speaking of ivory, I've seen experimental Princesses in ivory that look to be Tenite. I don't know for sure if it was a Field Trial model or not. I think Paul Fassbender has one. Years ago he and I were the only ones who recognized what it was and he won the auction. No hard feelings, Paul! It's the second Princess listed.

http://www.paul-f.com/weproto.html#PrincessProto

I would think that Paul's field trial set is actually white, not ivory.  Perhaps it is slightly discolored.  Ivory was not supposed to be in the field trial palette.

[jsowers]

I saved the auction pictures from 2005. You be the judge. Looks ivory to me. The dial is white. The plastics aren't.

[unbeldi]

I saved the auction pictures from 2005. You be the judge. Looks ivory to me. The dial is white. The plastics aren't.

Hmm... sure looks that way.