WE 500 (And Color Variants)
Western ElectricWestern ElectricWestern Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, and purchasing agent for all telephone equipment for the Bell System from 1881 until 1984, when the Bell System was dismantled.Read more on Wikipedia → · Model 500 · Produced: 1949–1986
About This Phone
The 500 is the rotary dial version.
About The Model 500
The 500 was the Bell System's mainstay phone for decades, first as a rotary dial and then push-button, in many colors. Like its predecessor, the WE 302, it was designed by industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss. As an improvement over the 302, the dial markings were placed outside of the fingerwheel holes for improved legibility. The slightly larger base provided room inside the 500 for an adjustable bell ringer and enhanced electronics. The more angular G1 handset design replaced the curves of the 1930s-looking F1.
Wikipedia
The Western Electric model 500 telephone series was the standard domestic desk telephone set issued by the Bell System in North America from 1950 through the 1984 Bell System divestiture. The successor to the model 302 telephone, the model 500's modular construction compared to previous types simplified manufacture and repair and facilitated a large number of variants with added features. Touch-tone service was introduced to residential customers in 1963 with the model 1500 telephone, which had a push-button pad for the ten digits. The model 2500 telephone, introduced in 1968, added the * (star) and # keys.
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