1938 Western Electric 302
See base comparisons of early models versus late models
One of the most identifiable and stereotypical phones of the modern era, this phone was introduced in 1937 and continued production into the 1950's with only a few changes. During the early 1940s the phone was produced with a black thermoplastic body and in 1950 the phone was introduced with colored thermoplastic bodies and receivers. Those models are very rare. In the summer of 2005 I was fortunate enough to find an ivory model for $20 at a flea market in Midland, Michigan.
The design of the Western Electric 302 won several awards for modern art. It was the first phone to have all of its components for operation inside it and was thus modular and could be easily moved from room to room. The set shown here is cast zinc and very heavy. The receiver is bakelite. The telephone book shown to the left was likely purchased at a drug store in the 1940s and did not come with the phone itself.
Photos of colored 302 and other sets: Old Phone Man’s website
|
|
||
|
|
||
