General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Smooth black moulded synthetic telephone casing [thermoplastic] and handset; metal dial painted black set over white porcelain face bearing black and red text; black synthetic covering on coiled metal cord; grey synthetic covering on metal connection cord terminates in clear synthetic jack connector; brown synthetic pads on underside of casing.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

24.0 cm

Width

19.0 cm

Height

15.5 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Communications

Category

Telephony

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Northern Electric

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

This example used c. late 1940s-early 1950s- c. 1980.

Canada

Unknown

Function

Used to send and receive audio messages.

Technical

The 302 [made by Western Electric] was the first telephone produced for Bell System customers to have the ringer and the internal electronic components enclosed in one solitary case. This model was manufactured c. 1935- mid 1950s. It was initially made with zinc alloy metal, but wartime restrictions forced manufacturers to investigate other, synthetic materials. Both Western Electric and Northern Electric introduced thermoplastic shells for their telephones c. 1945. Thermoplastic was chosen because it was lighter and more durable than Bakelite. This material also allowed the telephone to be painted, a practice which allowed the emergence of coloured phone, now symbolic of 1950s Art Deco style. [Ref.1]

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Telephone dial bears numerals 1 through 9, and 0; text A through P, R through Z, and "OPERATOR". "Northern Electric/ COMPANY LIMITED/ PATENTED 1922, 1923, RG 1935/ FI/ MADE IN CANADA". cast in raised print on handset. "10-25-49" stamped in yellow paint inside lower edge of casing front.

Missing

None visible.

Finish

Smooth black moulded synthetic telephone casing [thermoplastic] and handset; metal dial painted black set over white porcelain face bearing black and red text; black synthetic covering on coiled metal cord; grey synthetic covering on metal connection cord terminates in clear synthetic jack connector; brown synthetic pads on underside of casing.

Decoration

N/A