Vintage 1960s Dial Desk Telephone Bell System

Vintage 1960s Red Rotary Phone Dial Desk Telephone Bell System made by Western Electric.

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 Western Electric 500-type telephone replaced the 300-type which had been produced since 1936. The model 500 line was designed by the firm of industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss, the product of several years of research and testing in collaboration with Bell Laboratories and Western Electric.