History After eight years, 2500 sketches, measurements of 2000 faces, and the preparation of endless clay models and lacquered plastic castings, the famed industrial designed, Henry Dreyfuss finally arrived at the form of the new "universal" set, the Model "500" in 1949. The Model 500 and it's sister wall phone, the 554, were the most popular telephone set ever designed, and they remained in production for 35 years without essential change. Colored sets became available in 1953, and through the years the colours were changed to reflect present trends and styles. The 500/554 series telephones also sported the "G" series handset, the first handset that could comfortably be rested on your shoulder. These phones also had a user adjustable ringer that allowed the telephone subscriber to adjust the ringing level to the environment where the phone was located. In the early 1960s the design was adapted to the new "touch-tone" technology with the introduction of the 2500 desk phone and the 2554 wall phone. Manufacturing licenses of the "2500/2554" designs were granted to a number of other companies as well, so it is not uncommon to see similar models under non-Western Electric branding. The Restoration Process Touch Pad - This is a brand new modern touch pad Cords – The phone has been outfitted with brand new vinyl cords. Depending on availability they may be either hardwired to the phone, or connected to the phone via a modular plug. the line cord has a modular plug on the end to facilitate the connection to your wall jack. Shell – The plastic shell has been painstakingly put through a multi-step restoration process which includes sanding with 400, 800, 1000, 2000 grit. This ensures that there are no scratches, dents or dings. The shell is them carefully buffed on our two step buffing wheels. This takes out the fine abrasions left by sanding and leaves the plastic with a smooth factory fresh finish. Finally we apply a three step plastic restoration compound. This leaves the plastic with a beautiful high gloss finish. More than 3 hours have been spend carefully bringing this shell back to its original luster Handset – The handset has been ultrasonically cleaned to get all embedded debris. It is then sanded with the same process as the shell and buffed back to its beautiful original shine.
