My Favorite Things About Bell System Phones
Phone-related web sites
A Tribute to the Telephone- a great web site with technical info and resources on phones
Bell System Memorial- a tribute to Ma Bell
PhoneCo Inc.- A great source for phones and parts
Phone Trips - An interesting page with tons of sound files of phone switching systems (note: it is best not to visit this site unless you have lots of free time!)
My page on custom number tags for rotary dial centers
For nearly a hundred years, telephone service in much of the United States was provided by the Bell System (also known as "Ma Bell"). Most of the phones for the Bell System were built by Western Electric, and were leased to Bell Systems customers (in the late 1970s, customers were given the option to purchase their phones, but these phones haven't been owned by AT&T since the breakup of Ma Bell in 1984). Among the phones made by Western Electric were the candlestick phones, the 102/202 sets, the 300-series, the 500/1500/2500 series, Princess phones, Trimline phones, and the Design Line series. Unlike most consumer products, these phones were built like tanks, and made to last a very long time. In an era where quality almost always takes a backseat to quantity, these phones stick out like a sore thumb. They are quite rugged, and rarely break down. While most of them are quite utilitarian in appearance (a notable exception to this was the "Design Line" series introduced late in the life of the Bell System), they do seem to have a sense of style about them. Of course, Ma Bell wasn't truly the only phone system around back in the old days; independent telephone companies could be found in remote areas, often employing archaic dialing methods such as manual (pick up the phone, listen for the operator, and tell her which number you wanted to call) or party line (several people sharing one telephone line; often prone to snooping by the other people on the line); often, phones made by other companies such as Automatic Electric or Stromberg-Carlson were used in these systems. Around the world, different telephone systems all had their own phones, with the designs varying from country to country. My collection of vintage phones seems to have stemmed from my onetime fascination with rotary-dial phones, so many of them are rotary. All of them are working to some degree or another.
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my first vintage phone, a turquoise Trimline desk phone which was given to me by my grandfather. This phone has a 4-prong plug, and I wired it so that the dial lights when picked up. Originally, this phone had been wired so it would not ring, and therefore wouldn't be detected by Bell Systems Ringer Equivalency tests. I have since managed to reconnect its ringer successfully, and it now works like a charm.
MODEL: AD-1/220A (base/handset)
DATED: 9-68
SOUND: DIAL | RING
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my second vintage phone, a light beige 500 desk phone which I got at a yard sale for free. It was converted to modular sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Both the handset and case have "AT&T" molded in the nameplate area, which is a bit odd. Unfortunately, both of its internal modular jacks are broken, and if I cannot find a set of modular jacks for it, it may end up as a "parts set" for other 500-series phones (not like I'll ever really need to cannibalize it to repair another phone, but one never knows). Also, when plugged into the telephone line in its current state (without handset connected), it makes the line go dead.
MODEL: 500C/D
DATED: 11-58
SOUND: DIAL | RING (coming soon [I hope])
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my third vintage phone, a black 500 desk phone which I bought at a flea market for 25 cents. This is the one which got me into collecting these phones. It's an early model which has a metal fingerwheel and was originally meant to be hardwired; I have converted it to modular through an external junction box coupled to a modular plug, so the phone itself is original for the most part. When I got it, the dial center and the area between the handset cradles was covered with stickers, but I cleaned them off. I replaced what was left of the original number tag with a custom one I made. This phone is by far my favorite out of all my 500-series Bell System phones.
MODEL: 500C/D
DATED: 9-62
SOUND: DIAL | RING
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my fourth vintage phone, a black 554 wall phone which I bought on eBay for around $10. This is another early model which has a metal fingerwheel. It is a bit scuffed up, missing its number card retainer, and has been somewhat-crudely converted to 4-prong, but otherwise it appears to be in good shape. It has not been fitted with a modular backplate like my other 554, so I will need to find another way to mount it.
MODEL: 554A/B
DATED: 11-58
SOUND: DIAL | RING
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my fifth vintage phone, an ivory (used to think it was beige) 554 wall phone which I bought at a yard sale for $1. This phone has been converted to modular, and fits onto a standard wallplate. It was originally a neighbors phone, and still had their phone number on its number tag which I have replaced with a custom one.
MODEL: 554BMP (originally 554A/B)
DATED: 6-58 (228A backplate dated 11-77)
SOUND: DIAL | RING
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my sixth vintage phone, a moss green 500 desk phone which I bought at a flea market for $2.50. This phone has been converted to modular, like my beige 500. It had some stickers on the dial and the handset, but I cleaned them off. Unlike my other 500-series phones, this one has a plastic center spindle on the rotary dial; this makes it easier to take the dial off, but it also makes it seem a bit more flimsy than the metal-center 500s I have.
MODEL: 500DM (originally 500C/D)
DATED: 7-63
SOUND: DIAL | RING
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my seventh vintage phone, a black 302 desk phone which I bought at a flea market for $20. It was very dirty when I first acquired it, but it has cleaned up fairly nicely. This phone works well, and is in pretty good shape (apart from needing the paint on the case touched up). It has straight cloth cords on both the handset and line cords, which makes it different from my other WE phones. At first, I was unable to tell which of the line cord wires went to each terminal of my hardwired-to-modular converter due to the colors of the wires at the end of the line cord having faded and/or darkened, but studying them in a better light enabled me to tell which wire was which. So far, I haven't been able to find any model information on this phone (the bottom plate is blank for the most part).
MODEL: 302 (AFAIK)
DATED: 1-46
SOUND: DIAL | RING
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my eighth vintage phone, a beige 500 desk phone which I bought at a yard sale for $2. It appears to be in fairly good shape; it's only apparent flaw was a sticker in the center of the dial (which I was able to remove). The beige coloring of this phone is much darker than my other beige-ish phones; I've read that AT&T introduced peach phones after the breakup of Ma Bell, but why do both the handset and cover have "Bell System made by Western Electric" molded into their housings instead of "AT&T" (like my light beige 500)? Like most of my other 500s, this one has been converted to modular, although the jacks on this one are in good shape. Unlike my other 500 phones, this one has an small engraved arrow pointing to HI underneath the ringer volume control, whereas the other ones simply have a painted arrow which points to LOUD. I have been unable to determine which model this is, as the bottom plate is blank for the most part, but it appears to be a newer phone.
MODEL: unknown (appears to be a 500 C/D)
DATED: 3-74 (ringer; either third quarter 1974 or March 1974)
SOUND: DIAL | RING
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my ninth vintage phone, a Stromberg-Carlson model 1443F black desk phone. This phone looks like a cross between a 302 and a 500, having the general shape of a 500 phone, but with the rounded corners and handset style of the 302 (even the dial itself is a combination of the two, having a plastic fingerwheel, but a metal number card retainer ring). Currently, this phone works to some degree (haven't tested to see if it rings or not), but the dial doesn't work right (at first it was sluggish, but I've since oiled it, and now it mis-dials frequently). I'm hoping to send the dial off to be repaired by Steve Hilsz.
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my tenth vintage phone, a blue Western Electric model 1013 test-set telephone. Often called "butt-sets," these interesting phones were used by telephone linemen to check the condition of the phone line they were working on. As with many butt-sets, this one has seen better days; there's a large crack in the case below the mouthpiece, and the belt-clip is broken. However, it dials out fairly well, and it's problems shouldn't be hard to fix.
DIAL (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my eleventh vintage phone, a black Trimline wall phone which I bought at a yard sale for $1. This is my first vintage phone which has a touch-tone dial. Unlike my other trimline phone, this one is modular, complete with a mini 228A-style backplate. This phone works, but the ringer has been disabled.
MODEL: AC-2P/?
DATED: 5-75 (backplate)
RING (coming soon)
PHOTO COMING SOON (I HOPE)
This is my twelfth vintage phone, a brown Automatic Electric model 90 wallphone which I was sent for cost of postage alone. Unlike the standard WE 554, the AE90 has the handset hook on the side, making for something looking similar to a payphone. This phone currently has stickers on the case, and the dial acts sluggish (I will probably send it to be fixed by Steve Hilsz along with the dial for my Stromberg-Carlsen 1443F). I have yet to test this phone.
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
PICTURE COMING SOON (I HOPE)
This is my thirteenth vintage phone, a beige Automatic Electric model 90 wallphone which I was sent for cost of postage alone. This phone currently has stickers on the case, and the handset hook is acting sluggish (most likely needs lubrication). I have yet to test this phone.
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my fourteenth vintage phone, a moss green Trimline desk phone which I bought at a flea market for $5. Unlike my other rotary trimline phone, this one has a built-in LED to light the dial, which means that it does not need a wall-wart transformer. Also unlike my other rotary trimline phone, this one is modular, and the plastic piece in the middle of the dial has the words "Western Electric" instead of the pre-1969 Bell System logo of the turquoise one. Interestingly, instead of a date stamp on the bottom, this phone has the number "80179" stamped below the model number. Any info on what this code may mean would be appreciated.
MODEL: AD-3/?
DATED: 80179 (June 27, 1980)
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my fifteenth vintage phone, an ivory/gold Western Electric "Celebrity" phone which I purchased at a flea market for $20. Probably the most-prolific model of the "Design Line" phone series, the Celebrity was produced from 1973 to 1984. I think mine is a later one, because it has a sticker on the bottom which bears the name American Bell, a name which AT&T used for a very short time after the breakup of the Bell System. Apart from some discoloration in the brass plating, this set is in good condition, and works perfectly.
MODEL: 940
DATED: 83179 (June 28, 1983)
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my sixteenth vintage phone, a moss green 1500 desk phone which I bought at a flea market for $5. This is my second touch-tone phone. The 1500D was one of the first touch-tone phones made available to the general public. Unlike the later (and far-more-common) 25xx series, the 15xx series has only ten buttons on it's dial, omitting the 'star' and 'pound' buttons normally found on a touch-tone phone. The 15xx series was only produced for three years (1964-1967), so these phones are fairly-rare. Unlike most later WE touch-tone phones, this one is completely hardwired (no modular components to it whatsoever). This phone works, but seems to be overly-susceptible to hum if the yellow and black wires are connected.
MODEL: 1500D
DATED: 10-66
RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my seventeenth vintage phone, a harvest gold Princess phone which I bought at a flea market for $1. This is my first Princess phone. This is a later example of the Princess phone, made around the time of the AT&T divesture; consequently, there is no dial illumination method. The top of the handset is faded, but the rest of the case is in pretty good shape, and the set works pretty good for the price paid.
MODEL: CS702BM
DATED: 83034 (February 3, 1983)
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
PICTURE COMING SOON (I HOPE)
This is my eighteenth vintage phone, a black Automatic Electric model 80 desk phone which I bought at a flea market for $4. This is Automatic Electric's equivalent to the Western Electric 500. The plunger buttons are metal, and the cradle is shaped differently (termed the "walking cradle", from the ability for the handset to fall squarely onto the cradle even while walking; I have yet to test this theory). The dial is a bit sluggish, but pulses successfully. The ringer has been disabled, apparently. There is a small rotary control on the bottom with numbers from 0-4, whose function I am not sure of yet (is currently set to 0). The ringer volume control is missing, so maybe this replaced it? The baseplate has a "Telephone Extension Corp." sticker over the original "Monophone" branding, with info on the model number, ringer equivalence, a date of 4/79 (probably when it was refurbished), and the word "GRANDFATHERED" in the space for the FCC registration number. Likely during the refurbishment, the original line cord was replaced with a modular-type flat cord with lugs attached to three of the four wires (the black wire was clipped); does anyone have a spare original-style line cord? It currently refuses to ring, despite being wired correctly. Hopefully, I can figure out the problem.
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my nineteenth vintage phone, a black Stromberg-Carlsen model 1543W desk phone which I bought at a flea market for $12. This is my second S-C phone. Unlike my 1443F, the 1543W looks much more conventional-looking; for the most part, a clone of the Western-Electric 500. The dial seems to work OK. The ringer, for some reason, doesn't work; I'll have to find a schematic to see if it's been disabled or something. These independent phones definitely don't seem quite as robust as the venerable WE 500 (flame suit on). Other than the ringer, the phone works fine. The line cord and handset cord are original, at least to my knowledge. The handset is similar to the one on my 1443F.
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my twentieth phone, a black Western Electric model 500 phone, which I bought at a flea market for $1. Like my other black 500 phone, this one still has the original hardwired cords, but has the later clear plastic fingerwheel dial instead of the black metal one. The case still sports some old stickers, but is otherwise in good shape.
MODEL: 500 C/D
DATED: 1-69
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my twenty-first vintage phone, a Western Electric/AT&T "Country Junction" phone which I picked up at a flea market for $10. Originally part of the "Design Line" in the '70s, the Country Junction was made to look similar to the single-box wall phones of the early days of telephone. Unlike the countless imitations which have come since, mine uses a true rotary dial, instead of an imitation round touchtone dial (though some later Design Line Country Junction phones apparently did use them). Unlike most phones of the era, it doesn't use a modular jackplate to mount it to the wall, instead using a set of screws. Another odd thing is that it's handset cord is straight and cloth-covered, like the one on my 302 (though it's much thinner than the 302's cords). Apart from having had a loose handset (since glued back together), it's in good shape, and works perfectly.
MODEL: 951A1-03
PICTURE COMING SOON (I HOPE)
This is my twenty-second vintage phone, a woodgrain ATC "Deco-Tel" model 158001 "Chestphone", which I bought at a flea market for $10. This phone was often sold by the Bell System in the Design Line, but this one was private-labeled for ATC's own sale. It resembles a cigar humidor with the lid closed, but opens to reveal a telephone. It uses a touch-tone dial which looks similar to those used by WE in the 2500 series. The handset cord retracts into the base using an interesting mechanism. The phone works, for the most part, but the ringer is rather weak (a symptom I've never seen before).
RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my twenty-third vintage phone, a Western Electric model D1 handset mounting, which I bought at a flea market for $35. Unlike the other phones in my collection, the D1 isn't self-contained. Like a candlestick set, the D1 phone housing contains only the wiring for the handset, a place for a dial and/or an apparatus blank, and the handset hook switch; the coupling of these to the phone line, as well as the ringer, were contained in a wall-mounted box called a 'subset'. Technically, a 102 or 202 isn't classified by the shape of the base, but the type of subset box it is connected to; mine has an oval base, which is what the 202 is commonly seen as, but I do not have a subset box to connect it to, so it is technically just a D1. Unlike most of them, my D1 is equipped with a 302-style F1 handset, rather than the earlier E1 "spit-cup" handset. Also, it is lacking a dial, which means that it was most likely used in a manual phone system (pick up the phone, wait for the operator to answer, and tell her the number you wish to dial). Due to lack of a subset, I have yet to test it.
PICTURE COMING SOON (I HOPE)
This is my twenty-fourth vintage phone, a Radio Shack "French Continental" model 43-320 desk phone, which I bought at a flea market for $25. This phone is similar to the thousands of European-style phones which were cranked out of overseas factories during the '70s and '80s. This one has a large rectangular base, with a silver rotary dial jutting out of it; the dial has the letters in the center of each fingerwheel hole, with the numbers on the inside (a common trait of older European phones). Like many phones of this type, the plastic has yellowed noticeably. The dial is a bit sluggish, so I haven't had a chance to test it yet.
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
PICTURE COMING SOON (I HOPE)
This is my twenty-fifth vintage phone, a black TeleConcepts candlestick phone, which I bought at a flea market for $10. Likely made in the '70s or '80s, it gives the look of a classic candlestick desk set, while containing modern innards (and not needing a subset box for the network and ringer). The phone itself is in near-mint shape, but someone removed the ringer assembly from it some time in the past; hopefully, I can find a suitable replacement for it.
MODEL: 500 C/D
DATED: 1-69
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my twenty-sixth vintage phone, a black Western Electric model 5302G phone, which I bought at a flea market for $20. The 5302G is a bit of an oddity; on the outside, it resembles a 500 phone, but the guts are actually from a 302 phone. Western Electric produced them in the early '50s in order to meet the demand for 500 phones, while at the same time helping to get rid of the surplus 302s which were no longer in demand due to the introduction of the 500 phone. Mine (which still has the original 302-style 'F' handset instead of a 500-style 'G' handset) actually has the guts of a 304, which was originally intended for a multi-line setup. Despite rewiring it, it currently refuses to ring for some reason. Other than that, it works fine, and is in pretty good shape.
MODEL: 5302G
DATED: 3/40 (inside of 304 base; date of conversion unknown)
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
PICTURE COMING SOON (I HOPE)
This is my twenty-seventh vintage phone, a beige Western Electric model 554 which I bought at a flea market for $10. This phone is special: it is remanufactured (by a company called "Metropolitan Tele-Tronics Corp.") in the box. It was originally sold at Building 19, a Massachusetts chain of bargain stores. The shell (which has "BELL SYSTEM Made by Western Electric" stamped on it) is in mint condition, as is the handset (which has AT&T stamped on it). Unlike my other 554s, this one has a plastic handset hook. I have yet to test this phone.
MODEL: Unknown (likely 554DMG)
DATED: Unknown (228 backplate dated 12-77)
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my twenty-eighth vintage phone, a black HEEMAF model 1955 desk phone which I bought at a flea market for $35. This is my first European phone, made for Holland's PTT (Post, Telephone and Telegraph). This phone is nicknamed the "Batmobile" phone, due to it's resemblance to the Batmobile seen in the 1980s Batman movies. The design is quite sleek. Like my beige 554 above, this one was also refurbished in the box, with the old-style Archer logo on it, as a "Standard Dial Telephone" (cat. no. 279-385). Apparently, it was sold by Radio Shack, for use either as an extension phone, or as an intercom station (there are wiring diagrams in the box for either purpose). Both the box, as well as a sticker on the bottom of the phone, say "Made In Holland". Apart from a scratch on the dial label, as well as a loose strain relief on the handset cord, this phone is in near-mint condition, and works perfectly.
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my twenty-ninth vintage phone, a Western Electric model 750 panel phone which I bought at a swap meet for $5. Apparently, it was pulled from the wall of a hotel lobby. I don't know much about this phone, nor how to test/mount it; any information would be greatly appreciated.
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my thirtieth vintage phone, a black Telegrafverket model 11AB12-3 convertible desk phone which I bought at a flea market for $30. This is my second European phone. It is odd in that it has a pair of hooks on the back of the handset mounting, making it apparently usable as a wall phone as well as a desk phone. I don't know alot about it, other than it likely being from Norway. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my thirty-first vintage phone, a white Western Electric model 2500 which I bought at a flea market for $1. This is my first 2500 (12-button version of my 1500). Semi-interestingly, all the modular cords which came with it (even the matching 4-prong adapter) are all OEM WE parts.
MODEL: 2500DM
DATED: 78268 (September 25, 1978)
RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my thirty-second vintage phone, a beige Western Electric Princess phone which I bought at a yard sale for $2. Unlike my other touchtone phones, this one uses the later 72-type dial, with shorter button throw. This makes dialing it a bit odd compared to the 35-type dial of my other WE touchtone phones, but roughly equivalent to the feeling of dialing a modern phone. Also, unlike the other TT dials, the buttons on this one are white, compared with the usual gray.
MODEL: CS2702BMG
DATED: 83290 (October 17, 1983)
RING (coming soon)
(CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO)
This is my thirty-third vintage phone, a black Western Electric model 5302 which I bought at a flea market for $20. Unlike my other 5302, this one has conventional 302 guts in it; unlike my other 5302, however, it's housing has a covered-up hole for a line selector switch (likely originally belonged to a 5410). Like my other 5302, it refuses to ring normally. Hopefully, I can figure out how to un-silence these 5302s.
MODEL: Unknown (has "5314" stamped on the bottom in yellow, but this isn't a valid WE model #)
DATED: 1965 (stamped on the bottom in yellow; internal dates unknown).
DIAL (coming soon) | RING (coming soon)
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