Art Deco Bakelite North Electric N-540 Desk Dial Phone Start Price USD 164.99 Current Price USD 164.99 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 169.99 Reserve Price - Start Time Monday, August 18, 2008 End Time Monday, August 25, 2008 Location Pompano Beach, Florida See more about 'Art Deco Bakelite North Electric N-540 Desk Dial Phone' Description North Electric Mod. N-540 Art Deco Rotary Dial Desk Telephone   NORTH ELECTRIC N-540 ROTARY DIAL DESK SET BLACK SOFT THERMOPLASTIC SHELL HANDSET IS SOLID BLACK BAKELITE DATES TO OCTOBER 1957. WORKS Great! Click Photo to Enlarge You are bidding on a very, very nice, hard-to-find North Electric Model No. N-540 Rotary Dial Desk Set. This telephone instrument is in excellent condition. Its base shell is made of a kind of black, soft thermoplastic rarely found in later models. The handset is solid bakelite unlike the later hollow plastic versions. This telephone is interesting in that it comes with a rare and hard-to-find original North Electric 20 cycle ringer inside. This phone works. It rings ((((LOUDLY)))), talks, listens and dials just fine. The handset cord is the original coiled cord. This phone comes with a new modular line cord tipped with a modular plug so its ready to be plugged in and used today. Click Photo to Enlarge The North 540 is in so many respects a Western Electric 500 model. Much like Kellogg's DK500D model, and Stromberg Carlson's versions of the 500, North licensed the manufacture of Western Electric's 425 network and its G1 type receiver and transmitter capsules. In addition, since North Electric manufactured parts for Western Electric, it wasn't too much of a stretch for North to produce the proprietary looking N-540. This model comes with an inset North Electric dial which is quit elegant and differs so much from standard Western Electric, Kellogg/ITT and Stromberg Carlson phones. The dial is held inside a shroud so that the fingerwheel is level with the number plate outside the fingerwheel. This was unique to North Electric's phones. However, generally these dials proved to be difficult because of shrinkage which jammed the fingerwheel. Not too many of these inset phones were made. The use of Western Electric's #6 style dials, Automatic Electric dials and of course Stromberg dials one would think was much more pragmatic. I note, however, that North Electric has always manufacured dial phones that would accept a variety of different dials for use in their phones. Each independent phone company would have its own idea of what's better for their system. I also note that the Western Electric 500 eventually overtook this North 540 model, as it did the old Kellogg DK500D's and the other manufacturers that made phones that sorta, kinda looked like a 500 but didn't, but did have 500 guts in them. The interior of the phone is exceptionally clean. It contains a Western Electric style 425B network and that special and rare, hard-to-find North Electric ringer. Most of these models did not actually come with a ringer installed. The ringers were usually added by the linemen who came out to place a phone in service. And usually consisted of an external ringer box somewhere in the house. This is because many independent phone companies used a wide range of frequency ringers and the installer would have to pull a ringer to suit the subscriber's line or use an existing external ringer box instead. The North Electric inset dial is also interesting in that it has a dust cover but it differs in comparison with other North dials which utilize a system of screws through the dustcover to connect with the contacts on the dial or they had no dust cover whatsoever. This one has the dial harness coming out underneath the plastic. Click Photo to Enlarge The interior of the base shell is in good condition. Its nice and clean inside. Click Photo to Enlarge The dial contains a reproduction North dial center card. The celluloid is the original. The number plate is in very good condition and shows few marks of its history, except upon close inspection. Otherwise its in good condition. The 425B network appears to be in a galvanized steel case. The ringer is a rare North Electric 20 cycle ringer which works well on modern telephone lines. The ringer is dated 1955 and would have been installed at a later date from the date of manufacture. Click Photo to Enlarge The soft, black thermoplastic base shell is in excellent condition. I could find no serious or visible cracks or chips. However, I must say that at one time this phone had been painted by man or telephone company and I do not know which. I spent literally hours removing as much paint off the surface of the base shell and handset as I possibly could. To me there was absolutely no reason to paint this phone as the bakelite and thermoplastic were in excellent condition underneath. However, I cannot speak for what someone else was thinking. When I noticed the paint, I removed as much as I could and you can see the result. The plastic and bakelite are very nice and shiny and there are no searious flaws other than a few small surface scratches and mars. Click Photo to Enlarge Looking at this phone from all angles you can see that the handset and base shell appear similar to, but are strikingly different from a Western Electric 500. So too is the base plate which is shaped differently. Click Photo to Enlarge The finger grab in the back of the phone is a little deeper than a Western Electric 500, and as you can see there are two, stepped deco-bands surrounding the skirt of the base of the telephone, which are clearly absent from the Western Electric 500 series. Click Photo to Enlarge The baseplate is in good condition. Its made of steel. Its quite unique with the bullet-funneled and flared handset and line cord exits. The rubber feet are functional and though intentionally made not to be soft, do not cause damage. They are similar to Northern Electric's 302 rubber feet in hardness. Click Photo to Enlarge This is a closeup of the North Electric 20 cycle ringer. Note the spiral wiring around the clapper? Click Photo to Enlarge This is the schematic for a N-540 which I have obtained from the internet. You can click on it and have a closer look. BEFORE BIDDING PLEASE READ THE "LEGAL" PRINT! (1) This (these) item(s) are sold "as is" with all faults, no refunds and no warranties of any kind whatsoever for damage caused in transit! If the telephone does not function and its my fault, I will repair it at my option within a reasonable time after you receive it, however you have to ship it to me. (2) The item(s) offered for bids are the actual item(s) in the picture connected with this listing. (3) If the terms "As New In Box" appears, it means: the item is used and comes with its original box and/or paperwork. I am not a distributor or a retailer. If the item was unused then it will also be sold as "As New In Box". If you have questions,contact me me prior to bidding. If you want more photographs, e-mail me before bidding. I won't bite and I'll answer your questions promptly so long as I have sufficient time to respond. (4) Buyer pays all shipping and handling charges in associated with this transaction, including in the event there is some issue: return shipping and handling. (5) You should purchase insurance. Buyer assumes the risk of loss once I deliver it to the shipper whether its USPS or UPS or any other intermediary shipping agent. (6) If you send check for payment it must clear before I ship. If you send a USPS or other reputable money order it ships when I receive the money order. I prefer PayPal but do not require it. (7) Payment is due within ten (10) calendar days of the end of the auction or I relist this item and will consider leaving negative or neutral feedback for the bidder. (8) I no longer accept foreign bids on my items. One non-paying bidder left me an undeserved negative feedback, and with little recourse, it left me no choice but to refuse to accept non-USA bidders. Sorry. (9) My feedback policy is simple: I leave feedback when I receive it. PRIVACY POLICY: Ebay enables you and I to share limited personal and financial information in order to complete sales transactions. You and I agree as a term of this sale, that we will allow only limited access to each other's contact, shipping and financial information in order to facilitate this sale. By purchasing this item YOU and I agree that any information that we learn about each other shall be used for: A. eBay-transaction-related purposes only and B. for the purposes of using eBay and PayPal services. 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