Pictures of Western Electric Telephones

The following are representative pictures of Western Electric Telephones from the early 1920s through approximately 1984.

Westen Electric was the manufacturing arm of the Bell System (AT&T) from its inception until the breakup of AT&T in 1984. After the breakup, AT&T absorbed Western Electric. In 1996, AT&T spun off the manufacturing arm to its own company, Lucent Technologies.

More complete versions of this list can be found at Collectorville.com, Vince's Cavalcade of Phones, Ericofon.com and Phoneco, Inc. Also see Western Electric Rotary prototypes.

Webmaster's Note: We do NOT own any of these phones. We do NOT sell any of these phones. We find pictures on the Internet and show you what we find. Please do NOT ask us where to purchase these phones (hint: try eBay!).

Western Electric Model Number	Years Made & Notes
101	1928
102	1927 to 1930
202	1930 to 1937
211	1930s to 1970s Later sets included models 212, 213, 214, 2211 & 2212, which would have different  mounts (2211 & 2212 sets are touch tone and very rare)
302	1937 to 1958 First model with network & ringer enclosed in one unit, case was made of cast zinc. Starting in 1941, thermoplastic (bakelite) The case was changed to thermoplastic in 1941, but some sets were made of cast zinc in the 1940's Starting in the late 1940's the case & handset were available in several colors made of thermoplastic.
352  or 354?	1930's to 1954
500	1954 to 1984 Very common rotary desk telephone. Early models had a metal dial, later ones were plastic.  Made in the following colors: Black, White, Beige, Pink, Aqua, Green, Orange, Red, Yellow, Brown. Western Electric licensed the 500 set, allowing Stromberg-Carlson and ITT (and others) to make phones that looked like the 500.
525	1951 "Imperial" - Used recycled parts from Model 202 set and repainted.
5302	The 5302 was the outer housing that looked like a 500 set, but the insides were a 302 set. Made because the network inside the phone couldn't handle extreme long wire distances (high inductance). The back of the phone was one inch shorter than the 500 set. Came in standard 500 set colors of the period.
554	1954 to 1984 Wall mount companion to 500 set. Available in the same colors as the 500 set.
1500	1964 to 1967 Original Touch Tone Desk Telephone. These were first used with the first #5 crossbar modifications for Touch Tone (Carneige & Greensburg, PA). Note the lack of * and # keys.
2500	1968 to 1984 Touch Tone companion to 500 set with "modern" number pad with * and # keys. Available in a variety of colors.
940	"Celebrity" - Part of the Design Line series
Exeter	Desk phone with various faceplates that can be added. Both rotary and Touch Tone varieties were made.
Sculptura	Part of the Design Line series. Both rotary and Touch Tone varieties were made.
Princess	1959 to 1984 701 - Rotary, no internal ringer 702 - Rotary with internal ringer 1702 - 10 button Touch Tone with ringer 2702 - 12 button Touch Tone with ringer Colors varied depending on model and year made, but included white, pink, beige, aqua blue, turquoise, black, moss green, yellow, gray, ivory, red, gold, and clear. Early models had a light, pwoered by a transformer. Later models were a green LED or no illumunation.
Trimline	1965 to 1986 Models 220 & 226 (rotary), 2220, 2226 (Touch Tone). Made in the following colors: Black, Ivory, Green, Red, Yellow, White, Pink, Beige, Gray, Blue, Turquoise, Brown, Gold, Mocha, Peach, Transparent Early models had a light, powered by a transformer. Later models were a green LED. Early Touch Tone models had round buttons, later models had square buttons.
Trimline Prototype	Pictures from a Trimline prototype (exterior made from wood), date code October 1960. The Trimline (along with the Princess, 302 and 500 sets) were designed by Henry Dreyfuss.