Dial plates found on Western Electric Telephones

[unbeldi]

Are celluloid dials more or less desirable?  (From a collecting standpoint).  My WE202 came with a 4H and a 149B dial plate.

I suppose almost anything that is genuine and in limited supply is more desirable. The cellulose acetate faceplates just didn't hold up over time as well, so good ones are valuable. The cellulose acetate shrinks and could peel off the metal backing.

[brshaffer]

149s in good shape are much harder to find than 150s.  They were made for a stuffer period and tended to deteriorate more rapidly.  What shape is yours in?

Fairly decent shape, aside from needing a cleaning.  It's a recent acquisition and there are a few projects ahead of it in line.  A few scratches but no fading, warping, or cracking.

[unbeldi]

149s in good shape are much harder to find than 150s.  They were made for a stuffer period and tended to deteriorate more rapidly.  What shape is yours in?

Fairly decent shape, aside from needing a cleaning.  It's a recent acquisition and there are a few projects ahead of it in line.  A few scratches but no fading, warping, or cracking.

That one is very nice, I would say.

[Sargeguy]

Looks like it should clean up nicely with a little soap and water, then some Novus #2.  I would not try anything stronger.  This one looks white, usually they have faded to a beige color.

[brshaffer]

They have faded to a beige color.

It is beige, it just looks white in the picture due to the white balance (which I can't control on the iPhone).  It looks like something that is made of that "glow in the dark" material--a little yellow/green/beige.  Definitely a different color compared to my porcelain dials.

[brshaffer]

That one is very nice, I would say.

Hehe, I really lucked out with this 202 then.  It came with a 4H dial, a nice 149B, and an acetate number card

[unbeldi]

That one is very nice, I would say.

Hehe, I really lucked out with this 202 then.  It came with a 4H dial, a nice 149B, and an acetate number card

Very nice!   Well, I have a special find too...  for this topic.  next post.

[unbeldi]

Here is a special find. One of those exceedingly rare all cellulose acetate dial number plates without metal backing.

This one came on a #2AB dial of a 51-C desk stand that was installed for tip-party message rate service with a 554-C subset.

By all indications this desk stand was last refurbished in 1933, as indicated by several matching dates on the unit.

The dial plate is dated II-33 on the back, and has the inscription that indicates the patent application was still pending.  Indeed the patent was not granted until later in the year.

The dial plate is for a #4 dial, as is indicated by the notch for the finger stop on the edge. However, the dial is indeed a 2AB. I have found no references that indicate that these were ever found notchless for #2 dials.

By the dial card, the instrument was installed in Brooklyn, on the BUckminster exchange.

[tallguy58]

Here's one from a 151AL. Phone was refurbed in '42. It cleaned up beautifully. I just sent it off to Steve Hilsz for lubrication.

I think the cream color lends a touch of nostalgia to these dials.

[Contempra]

Nice dial tallguy

[tallguy58]

Merci, mon ami!

[Contempra]

you're welcom

[Sargeguy]

Those are pretty cool finds!

[unbeldi]

It would be interesting to discuss the meaning of the dots on the dial plates. Many of the plates have anywhere from 1 to 4 dots before the date or between the quarter and the year, for example, one of your plates is marked IV::53, another ···III 53, yet another ····II46

As another example of the dots 'surrounding' the date marking, here is a 150B plate, dated Q1 1952, which I just received on a 5J dial.

It has two dots before the quarter (··I) and it has one dot above the 5 of the year.

So what does that mean?  I do not believe that these markings are just random. They mean something.
I like to think that it's the second month of the 1st quarter, but as we noted here before, there are examples of four dots in that position. Alternatives would be to count weeks somehow. week is always 1-4.

[Sargeguy]

My guess is that it is control mark used to distinguish one batch/assembly line/workshop etc.  from the others.  I don't think it has anything to do with the date of manufacture necessarily.