As I have mentioned on this blog before I have used Google’s Picasa Photo Albums program to display some of the telephones that I have brought back to life. I thought that I would feature another phone that I worked on last fall. While viewing this album you will see a link to Dennis’s Public Gallery. Not all albums will show a progression of the work done, but will display a particular telephone. I hope that you will enjoy viewing these telephones. It reinforces the old adage—One man’s junk is another man’s treasure!

I am often asked what I do to make my Vintage Rotary Phones shine the way they do. It’s really not magic—just some good ole elbow grease and lots of Novus polish. Novus is sold in three grades, simply called Novus 1, Novus 2 and Novus 3.

I use Novus on both plastic and Bakelite. Once I have cleaned the plastic in warm soapy water I allow the plastic to dry. Then multiple coats of Novus 2 will not only polish the plastic but will also remove light scratches. Novus 2 is the work-horse of the three. If I could only have one of the three, I would buy Novus 2. It just does such a great job as is evidenced by this red model 500 I restored a few months ago. Read the rest of this post »

Western Electric manufactured a model 500 with a lighted dial. This is similar to the lighting system of the Princess telephones. The small lamp which is positioned just above the dial number ring has the appearance of a mushroom cap giving the model 500 P/U the common nick-name of the “mushroom phone”.

The telephone requires a transformer that must be plugged in to a normal 110 volt wall socket in addition to being connected to the telephone line. “Mushroom” phones are very rare. Some colors bring a handsome price willingly paid by the collector. I have seen them in several colors, such as this Black that I own. Others include Rose Pink, Aqua Blue, Moss Green and other Western Electric colors.

This black “mushroom phone” was a great addition to my Western Electric model 500 collection. I am looking forward to the time when I can get another–in color!

Thank you to Dave Margulius and Paul Fassbender for sharing their photos and information about Vintage Rotary Phones! Please take a few moments to visit their sites. The photos, information and details are endless!