Author Topic: WE Princess? Listing? (Read 262 times)

Devansphones · « **on:** July 16, 2020, 11:03:09 PM »

Found this listing locally. Would someone care to explain what I'm looking at? I'm not well versed in all things "Princess", so this just confuses me. Hardwired handset cord, modular line cord? Weird base? Messed up inner workings?

Key2871 · « **Reply #1 on:** July 16, 2020, 11:25:26 PM »

Got me, but it's not Western electric. Or it would be marked on the base. But I have never seen a three pole relay in any phone base, with a capacitor too.
Got me.

Devansphones · « **Reply #2 on:** July 17, 2020, 12:05:32 AM »

I'm glad I'm not the only one. The receiver is stamped BTT-1, I just noticed there was another photo.

HarrySmith · « **Reply #3 on:** July 17, 2020, 07:08:42 AM »

Is the handset marked? Appears to have started life as a Princess but was changed to something else.

Key2871 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 17, 2020, 08:29:29 AM »

Nice try with the Western box though..
It's not even the correct size of box either..
It looks like a Kellogg / ITT, base but they added the modular line cord.

paul-f · « **Reply #5 on:** July 17, 2020, 08:44:02 AM »

Obviously not a Princess. As Ken said, probably not including any WE parts.

It looks like part of a line of phones sold by Metropolitan Teletronics, a retailer in New York City in the 1970s.

Here's another example (photos found on the internet many years ago).

Devansphones · « **Reply #6 on:** July 17, 2020, 10:34:30 AM »

How weird? The woman is a bit too far from me and I doubt she'll ship it, but I might have to ask just because it's so odd.

LarryInMichigan · « **Reply #7 on:** July 17, 2020, 11:07:18 AM »

Quote from: Key2871 on July 16, 2020, 11:25:26 PM

Got me, but it's not Western electric. Or it would be marked on the base. But I have never seen a three pole relay in any phone base, with a capacitor too.
Got me.

Perhaps the relay was used as a crude ringer.

Larry

GTE Rick · « **Reply #8 on:** July 17, 2020, 12:12:51 PM »

It looks like a Stromberg-Carlson Petite to me...

Stormcrash · « **Reply #9 on:** July 17, 2020, 12:33:39 PM »

Based on the pictures I think Paul nailed it. It's certainly not Western/Stromberg/ITT in origin, the dial has the fingerstop in the wrong position (it's positioned more like an AE dial) and since the shell is notched around the fingerstop it must have been made for this specific dial configuration. All the ITT/Stromberg models I've seen are full clones of the WE design including fingerstop placement

Key2871 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 17, 2020, 12:45:51 PM »

That's possible Larry. Very crude at that, but the cap would kind of indicate that. Because the line cord they have on that set won't support the use of a relay.

A true oddity.

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