Matt's Dream Collection

[HobieSport]

As a Newbie with the Old Phone Bug I've been looking around and narrowing the parameters of my dream collection to the phones that really "sing"to me.  Feel free to chime in with any other ideas or input.  I'll post pics and descriptions of the phones as I acquire them.

1. Western Electric, Northern Electric, Automatic Electric and

2. Pre-1960.  (I'm a model 1957, personally)

3. Any color as long as it is black.

4. Metal dials only.

5. Decent working condition, but willing to tinker, clean and lubricate, put on new cords, etc.. I'll let Ben service the dials if needed.

I'm willing to take a few calculated risks for inexpensive bargains on Ebay that aren't well documented.  Maybe find a few pleasant surprises that way.

Am currently seeking:
(as a newbie I may not have all the model numbers quite correct)

Western Electric:

WE 500, the older the better.
WE 554
WE 302
WE 352
WE 211
WE 202
WE Candlestick
And I'd kill (well, not quite) for a WE 520 "explosion-proof".


Northern Electric:
NE Signal Corp
NE Galion desk
NE wall

Automatic Electric:
"Jukebox" wall phone

If anyone wants to chime in here, add anything I've missed, or make any suggestions please feel free.  I'm a newbie just absorbing.

I plan to slowly acquire the phones, clean them up and eventually hook them all up all over in my hobby trailer  (a big old classic art deco birch interior 1954 Roadmaster...drool).  I guess I'll know when the phone rings! That ought to make the cat jump! 

Thanks, -Matt

[McHeath]

Nice list, once you get them all you can box them up and mail them to me.

I would add a couple of WE phones, the Princess and the Trimline.  The older the Princess the cooler, if you can find a 59' model with external ringer and the original box you will have scored.  The Trimline is a nice sleek mid-century design, and an early one has those funky proto-RJ-11 connectors.  Of course not everyone like these phones, I did not for a long while, but after getting a few they grew on me.

[bingster]

One clarification to the list... the NE signal corps, NE Galion, etc., are made by North Electric, rather than Northern Electric.  It's a easily-made mistake, but North Electric made phones for independent phone companies, while Northern Electric was the Canadian manufacturing arm of the Bell System.

When looking for North desk phones, make sure they have vents on the back.  If they don't, they're 1970s refurbishments.

[HobieSport]

Bingster;  Thanks for the clarification.  I didn't know that North and Northern Electric were differnt companies.  That clears things up.  Good to know.

McHeath;  Just my newbie personal tastes, but I simply don't go for the Princesses or trimlines. 
I now draw the line with the the 500s at 1952.

I'm revising and narrowing my dream phones now:
(I still might be off on my companies and model numbers here, so feel free to correct me or ad info.)

WE: Candlestick, 202, 302, 354 and pre '53 500.
AE:  Jukebox and 40
NE:  Galion and Galion Signal Corp

You can see where my tastes lie.  -Matt