andre_janew's telephone collection

[andre_janew]

I admit it!  I'm new to phone collecting and don't know what I am doing at least half the time.  Sure, I can buy an old phone for very little money.  However, I have no idea how much of it is original and how much is not.  I will later post some pictures of a black 1954 WE 500 phone I have just purchased and let the experts decide how much of it is original.

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Are you talking about this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331450131295

To me, it looks all-original, except for the G6 handset and later tapered handset cord, both from the '70s.
You could replace the cord with a Bakelite version, which are surprisingly easy to find, and are pretty cheap, too.

[WesternElectricBen]

Phones pre (sometime in) 1959 should be soft plastic. The handset (+ generally the rest of the phone) can easily be determined by having no holes in the center. If it does, like this phone, it is hard plastic.

Still a nice phone, that will clean up nicely.

Ben

[Kenton K]

I just buy phones that have keep value. It's not worth buying and selling most basic phones online, because of shipping costs. My strategy: If I can sell it for the same cost I bought it (taking shipping into account), then I buy it.

[Greg G.]

I admit it!  I'm new to phone collecting and don't know what I am doing at least half the time.  Sure, I can buy an old phone for very little money.  However, I have no idea how much of it is original and how much is not.  I will later post some pictures of a black 1954 WE 500 phone I have just purchased and let the experts decide how much of it is original.

WE was good at putting date stamps on nearly everything every time they touched it.  Places to look (500s):

1. Bottom - base manufacture date, M-YY.  May be covered with a refurb sticker.
2. Transmitter and receiver elements.  Often they will have a refurb date stamped on them also.
3.  Back of dial.
4.  On network.
5.  On ringer (quarter in Roman numerals and year, e.g. II 54 would be April, May, June 1954).
6.  On the case.  Depending on how early the model is, early models were stamped on the inside front, later the year only was embossed on the inside underneath the cradle.
7.  Handset receiver cup, embossed, year only.
8.  Line and handset cord restraint reliefs, year only.
9.  Handset caps, month and year, but not always.

As far as strategy for collecting, it varies with the individual.  Some have no problem "flipping" a phone and buying something better and have built impressive collections that way.  For me, I'm basically a hoarder.  Very rarely do I get a phone that I don't want to keep, they are all my precious babies that I rescued from a life of neglect and abuse, and after spending a lot of time and effort fixing and cleaning them up, I don't like to part with them.  Collectors also have individual preferences for models and era.  My favorites are 20s-30s era phones, but I also collect mostly 500-type models up through the 60s.

[Weco355aman]

Don't stop until you have nowhere to set a phone. Ha Ha.
Here's a link to some phone display's.
Click on DISPAY room photo to see my display's. There two room's of phones. 1A2 and singline.
http://www.strowgercentraloffice.com/gallery2/

[Doug Rose]

Very Impressive Phil. Your display is top notch. Where is your Display room, sure looks like a separate building!...really nice and well planned....Doug

[Phonesrfun]

Its huge, and his displays are in several rooms in a couple different buildings, one of which is his cental office building with several types of switches.  He has put thousands of hours into it all.

[Dan/Panther]

Andre;

Try not to fall into the same trap that most new collectors fall into. Thinking you have to buy every phone you see before they are gone forever. Take some time to decide what is most appealing to you, research as much as you can on that particular style. Then you will end up with more keepers, rather than boxes full of phones you HAD to have. Plus it's cheaper.
If I had all the money I've spent on phones that will most likely never see the top side of a shelf, I could probably buy ANY phone now, that I really wanted. Then again, if a phone I want is for sale, I'll still find some way to buy it.
Except of course for that recent 49, 500 that went to Japan. That still bugs me.

D/P

[dsk]

  I'm not a collector, it just happends to come lots of phones here    Why I buy a phone? I would like to have it and use it, or I am curious about how it is built/working, or I  want to prove to be able to make it work.

Actually I would have the same fun/joy of making your phone working as mine, especially if you already has tried and gave up.

dsk

[Greg G.]

...
Except of course for that recent 49, 500 that went to Japan. That still bugs me.

D/P

Where and when did that happen?  On ebay?

[andre_janew]

The phone I just bought does remind me of the one my grandmother had.  Of course, hers was a bit newer and much cleaner.  I think it was a 1957 model.  She leased it and it had to be returned to the phone company when she died in 1992.

Some of you guys think I got a 1950s phone with a 1970s handset.  I'm not sure it is that new.  Didn't the phones go modular in the 1970s?  Or am I wrong about that?

[WEBellSystemChristian]

The phone I just bought does remind me of the one my grandmother had.  Of course, hers was a bit newer and much cleaner.  I think it was a 1957 model.  She leased it and it had to be returned to the phone company when she died in 1992.

Some of you guys think I got a 1950s phone with a 1970s handset.  I'm not sure it is that new.  Didn't the phones go modular in the 1970s?  Or am I wrong about that?

They went modular in the late-'70s. Even then, a lot of non-modular parts were being used up on refurbished phones into the '80s.

[poplar1]

"Bell System Property Not For Sale" on the handset indicates 1968 or later.
Tapered grommet on the H4CJ hardwired cords appeared in 1967 or 1968.
Hardwired 500s were still being produced in 1975, even though some areas (Chicago for example) began to get modular phones in 1972. It was at least mid-1976 before some Bell areas got modular phones.

Some other 500 dates are here:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=11422.msg132909#msg132909

Also on Paul F.'s site:
See "Component Evolution"
http://paul-f.com/we500typ.htm

[Weco355aman]

Very Impressive Phil. Your display is top notch. Where is your Display room, sure looks like a separate building!...really nice and well planned....Doug

Yes Doug the 2 display room's are in separate buildings. The Business phones have a room off of the Central office (do to massive amount of cables)  See  the Key system photo's and the singline phones are in the same room as some of the cordboard.s.
The singline phones will all be connected with there own telephone numbers and the Business phones will also have there phone numbers. When finished I'll have about 1800 lines of switching equipment to need phones. I'm at about 700 phones at this time.