Here is a very nice, very original 1937 Western Electric telephone. It is the model 302 and it is the heavy Pre War type made of metal. It was the first Western Electric telephone to be designed with out a subset  or outside ringer. Everything is self contained.

What is very unique about this telephone is that 1937  was the first year the 302 was made. The rarities are the seamed  E handset. Only the early 1937 model had this handset.

Your 1937 302 telephone will come with the earlier raspy sounding  #4 dial.  Most sellers of this rare phone do not tell you what dial you are getting and substitue your dial for a #5 dial  whisch is incorrect  for the vented model.

Another unique thing is this 302 has the small plungers and wider cradle. No other 302 has this.

Secondly it has the vent under the finger lift. See the picture of the vent. Only the earliest 1937 telephones had the vent .

The coil, condenser, handset, transmitter element and receiver element has the 1937 date as you can see by the pictures. The base on the inside also has the 1937 date and so does the older style ringer. Another thing is that this 302 has an oak plug on the inside. 

 In 1941 due to the war and the critical need for metal, the 302 telephone went thru a major change and was then  made of thermoplastic.

Do not confuse this telephone with the later cheap plastic types that many are selling here on ebay (If you want a plastic one I have them at less than 1/3 the price).

Some call this the Dreyfus phone as Henry Dreyfus (1904-1972)  was the designer of this Art Deco telephone from the thirties. Others call this the Lucy phone as this telephone was used on the black and white television series I Love Lucy.

This was and is in my opinion. The finest telephone ever made or designed. No telephone has ever been designed that could ever compete with the 302. The best working Art deco phone... a real workhorse,  after the 302 model everything went in the way of being made cheap.

 This 1937  telephone has been painstakingly restored  just for you. The metal has been stripped and professionally powder coated black with approximately the same sheen as the original phone finish. Our finish is much more durable than the original finish or any other finish available.  Painted phones easily chip. Powder coating is chip resistant.

We use only  top quality matching  brown woven cloth cordage that was manufactured just for telephone restoration for antique telephones. The wall cord has a modular plug on the end, so all that is left for you is to just plug it in and use it. The heavy deep black bakelite  E1 handset has been highly buffed and polished. We use nothing phoney on our handsets. The 1937 302 is the only 302 with the E1 handset .

 The #4 dial has been cleaned and calibrated and lubricated. The nickle fingerstop polished. The beautiful sounding brass bells with brass striker  have been polished to bring the best sound. We have recovered the original riveted bottom feet with new leather that is exactly like the original. No other year but 1937 has the riveted feet.

 Many hours have been spent restoring this 1937  302 desk set.

 We hope that you will get great enjoyment from listening to the old ring that only an antique telephone can provide.

 This Western Electric 302 telephone works well and will give you a lifetime of use and enjoyment.

These 1937 302 desk sets very seldom come along and they are very much sought after.