Interesting dial name tag

[Witty]

I found this name tag on a WE D1 with an 4H dial I acquired a few years ago and just now getting around to cleaning and restoring the phone.
I'm curious if anyone else has come across one of these or has information about its development.
The apparatus has slots that you slide small thin cardboard pieces with letters or numbers on the bottom, and a top slot for sliding a name tag. Any combination of letters and numbers can be inserted in the bottom section.
I'm showing a back photo with the bottom tags slid out slightly thin slid back up in the last photo.

I hope you find this interesting.

Ken

[rdelius]

Have seen many of those  All on older 1930s sets

[Witty]

Thank you rdelius.
Having not seen one before, I'll have to keep an eye out for more.
I really like these.

Ken

[Witty]

After looking thru my other phones, I found one with the same name plate sitting on display in my collection all this time, yet I never noticed the difference.
It's a B1 with a 2HB dial.
The design is slightly different but the same function and appears it has the original tabs that were never replaced with labeled tabs.
Very exciting for me!
I'm posting pics below.

[paul-f]

Find more info in the BSPs. There are several variations. Also later made of paper.

https://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php/search?q=c37.311

Some examples: https://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=12433.msg131190#msg131190

[Witty]

As always, Paul, you come through with good search results, and I keep learning more and more details about phone collecting.
Now I'm curious if any of the original unused strip pieces still exist and if anyone has any of them.
Thank you so much!

Ken

[poplar1]

I couldn't find Cornwells using a Google search.

Since the phone number ends in -W, the card must have been from a manual (non-dial) exchange.

[loblolly986]

BSP section C37.312, issue 1, from 1942 covers the paper versions of these "make-up" number cards. https://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php/search?q=c37.312

IIRC, I've seen these on phones as late as black '50s 500s, but it's been a while and I don't recall whether they were acetate or paper.

There's not all that much success to be had anymore in researching exchange names online since the plug was pulled on the TEN Project last year. Did anyone in the collector community ever get in touch with Robert Crowe? I'm not on LinkedIn or X, otherwise I would have.

The design is slightly different but the same function and appears it has the original tabs that were never replaced with labeled tabs.

Seeing that the "backs" of those are black, have you pulled them out to check that a previous owner didn't just put the inserts in backward?

[poplar1]

There's not all that much success to be had anymore in researching exchange names online since the plug was pulled on the TEN Project last year. ]

Since only the first letter (C) is in large font, I believe that Cornwells is a place.
Central office names ("Exchange Names") usually have the first two letters in large font.

[Witty]

What I found online was Cornwells Heights, Pa. I found this description on the site.
" Cornwells Heights, which began as "Cornwells," is thought to take its name from Thomas Cornwell, who owned or worked the land at the time of his death in 1839."
I assume this phone must have been used in that location.

I'll see if I can remove the tabs on the other name plate without damaging them to see if there are labels on the black sides, as shown in the BSP documents.

[Witty]

I was able to reverse the tabs very carefully, and I think you were right that they were inserted backwards. Since they were so tight I think they probably just left it.
Any thoughts on where SHErwood would be located?
Here is the reverse labels.

[poplar1]

The only places in the US that had 3L-4N directory numbers were Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

SHErwood 4548 probably changed to SHerwood 3-4548, which is same 7 digits:   743-4548

[Witty]

Thanks David.
That's good information to have.