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Western Electric 500
Type: Desk Phone
Manufacture : BTL (Bell Telephone Laboratories)
Production Date : Manufactured in 1950
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. Millions of model 500-series phones were produced and were present in most homes in North America. Many are still in use today because of their durability and ample availability. Its modular construction compared to previous types simplified manufacture and repair, and facilitated a large number of variants with added features.
The model 500 telephone was designed by American industrial designer, Henry Dreyfuss who was among the first generation of American industrial design professionals. His career spanned nearly five decades and his designs ranged from the Big Ben alarm clock and Hoover vacuum cleaners to locomotives and airline interiors.
As demand for telephone service increased after World War II, BTL (Bell Telephone Laboratories) determined the need for a new design that would be comfortable, unobtrusive, attractive to a broad range of customers, more durable, and easier to service. After years of research and testing, the model 500 telephone made its debut in 1949. Dreyfuss’s care in designing a user-based object is evident in the changes he made to several features. He modified the angular body into a softer sculptural form in a lighter, more durable plastic. Unlike the 302’s numbers and letters, which were on the porcelain-coated dial directly under the finger holes, the model 500 placed the numbers and letters in a ring outside the finger wheel; this increased legibility and led to fewer misdials. The new handset, known as the model G, was flatter than its predecessor, making it more comfortable to hold and allowing it to be cradled against the user’s shoulder, freeing the hands. This handset design is still used on pay phones as of 2009.
In 1953, BTL and Dreyfuss updated the model 500, producing it in several colors and replacing the black metal finger wheel with a lighter, clear plastic version that could complement a phone of any color.
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