I took apart my brand new antique to see how it works
Found it under-priced at an antique store in Vermont. For those into telephones (if any), it is a Model 302 set made by Western Electric for the Bell System. The 302's were made from 1937 to 1955, when they were superseded by the Model 500 sets, still around today.
The parts for this one were made in November and December 1953. The white plastic case is unusual, but they were made in about eight other colors besides black. On these phones, the numbers, right under the finger holes, are usually worn. These weren't, which is what attracted me to this phone, and adds to the value. On the more modern 500 sets, they moved the numbers outside the dial. I also wondered about the clear plastic dial. Turns out, the black models used black metal dials, while the colored phones used clear plastic. At some point in the manufacturing life of the 500 sets, the phone company moved to all clear plastic dials, even for black sets.
The low price was possibly because someone later modified it to use a modular plug, which may have confused the seller into thinking it was a reproduction. Curiously, the original case plastic has held up well, while the modular plug plastic crumbled when I took it apart. Luckily, I can still get modular plugs. I believe it was an individual who made the mod (probably subtracts value, but makes the phone still usable), since it looks like the hole was hand sawn. The phone company did refurbish their phones, but I'm not aware that they took 302 sets and added modular plugs, as the two were about a generation apart.
When I lived in Los Angeles I collected telephones, but thought I'd grown out of it. Guess not! I own two other (black) Model 302 era phones, although they were made by other companies for the independent phone companies, and so aren't technically Model 302's.
So what do I do with these phones? We don't even have a land line anymore. I should probably donate them to a museum somewhere, or sell them on e-bay. I might even make enough profit to afford the gas for our trip back to New Mexico this Fall!
Tom
by MickinOz » Tue Jul 12, 2022 2:57 am 
