Pictures of My Telephone Collection - ETS1979

[AET]

Thanks, glad you guys enjoy my automotive humor.  I have 30 weight Castrol R in my veins. 

And also, I'm not much farther north than you, in south central Wisconsin.

[baldopeacock]

ETS and baldopeacock:

What state are you guys from?

As ETS said, northwestern IL - although I'm in Texas and have been for 27 years, I still consider the IL/IA area "home".   I get back up there to see old friends a couple of times a year so I stay fairly current on what ET's been up to with his phone hobby.   When I'm there we typically hit the thrift stores and antique places looking for phones.

I think my daughter and I were there on a visit when ET got bitten by the phone bug,  he found an early black 500 at an antique mall that looked like it belonged in his early 1950s bungalow.   It cleaned up really well and took up residence in his living room.   Then there was an AE40.   Then they just took over.    The deal was clearly sealed when the nice pink AE Spacesaver (was it NOS, ET?) appeared on the wall in his amazingly preserved pink-and-black tiled '50s bathroom.

[ETS1979]

Here is another of my nice original phones.  It may even be NOS.  There are no signs of wear anywhere.  The spade lugs do not have any screw marks that I can see, so it quite possibly may have never been connected.

[JorgeAmely]

ETS:

You have an outstanding collection of antique phones.

By the way, how is the old blue 302 coming along? We haven't received an update on the restoration of that one for a while.

[ETS1979]

Progress on the blue 302 has been slow.  I have tried various things to make the repaired cracks less visible.  None has helped much.  It looks like I may have to live with some imperfections.  I quess that should be expected with 60+ year old plastic.  So I have just begun sanding and polishing the case.  I will try to post a photo on the "cracked blue 302" topic soon.

I have been reading some of the other topics.  Your bakelite polish method on the AE 40 and the Galion looks absolutely gorgeous.  I will have to give it a try sometime.

[AET]

Very nice Imperial! One of my favorites!

[jsowers]

I have several other phones which have not been restored.  I would call them "nice original".   This one is interesting in that it has a clear fingerwheel assembly on it. It is a black colored 302 if you will.   The previous owner claimed it was there when he found it.  Since it is 100% numbers matching, it probably is original.  It would involve a lot of effort for someone to create it.  Though this one has a 5H dial, I have seen one other one on Ebay like this that had a 5J.  Does anyone have any info on this subject?  Did WE build black 302's with clear fingerwheels?

ETS, I have a 302 similar to yours. I got it a long time ago on eBay, sometime in 2001. It went fairly low and I was hoping it was a color 302 in disguise because of the lucite fingerwheel. I even saved the auction picture. I don't know if it's date matching, but it's almost NOS looking, with beautiful fabric cords and a shine to the Bakelite handset. I've always found it odd looking, with the old type cords and the new type dial. The number card is all I added, and that lever action on the dial getting the fingerwheel off was a new one on me, but I didn't break anything.

I'll look inside and take it outside in the daylight and report back. But it seemed totally black to me when I got it. The first picture is mine, taken indoors with a very grainy camera long ago. The second is the even worse auction picture, and it does have an indigo blue cast to it, doesn't it? Wishful thinking.

[Dennis Markham]

Jonathan, I can see why you thought it may be a color set in disguise.  Nice looking telephone.

[baldopeacock]

ETS and Jonathan,

Are the plungers on those 302s black, or clear Lucite?   That would add another dimension to the "what is it" question, if the plungers were color-302 issue.

[Phonesrfun]

I am not sure when the plug came out, but it was probably in the 30's, and definitely before the 302 was born.  The reason for the four connectors is that originally, the four prong plug was used to plug a phone such as a D-mount oval base desk set into a subset.  The subset could then be mounted in a central place in the house or, say, a restaurant, and several jacks could be wired out of the single subset box.  The reason for the four-prong plug is that the antisidetone desk set needs four wires to connect to the subset, and those four wires were colored red, green, yellow, and black.

When the phone mount that had the combined ringer, coil and condenser (such as the 302 and later), they only needed two wires for the phone line, and three if you had a party line.  Rather than reinventing the wheel, or plug, they just kept using the same plug on later models and the line cord to the newer phones only had three conductors, red, green, and yellow, since that is all that was needed.

Just some trivia....

[bwanna]

i always wondered why 4 conductors on the plugs..... of course princess sets require 4

[jsowers]

ETS and Jonathan,

Are the plungers on those 302s black, or clear Lucite?   That would add another dimension to the "what is it" question, if the plungers were color-302 issue.

Mine are basic black, unfortunately. I haven't yet had a chance to look at the dates inside. And the handset is definitely Bakelite and not Thermoplastic like on a color 302.

[Jim Stettler]

Jonathan,
Do you know the part # for your 4 prong plug?
Jim

[ETS1979]

I've done some more investigating.  Looking over the phone inside and out under direct sunlight shows no hint of indigo.  The date on the dial is not visible, but all other dates closely match mid 1950.  Other than the fingerwheel assembly, all other parts are basic 302.  Though there are some scratches on the spades, there are no signs of normal wear and tear anywhere on the phone.

[Jim Stettler]

I've done some more investigating.  Looking over the phone inside and out under direct sunlight shows no hint of indigo.  The date on the dial is not visible, but all other dates closely match mid 1950.  Other than the fingerwheel assmebly, all other parts are basic 302.  Though there are some scratches on the spades, there are no signs of normal wear and tear anywhere on the phone.

It was a long shot, I have always wanted a verification on the exsistence of an Indigo colored clear set.
Maybe next time.
Jim