Fantastic Plastic Phones

[jpegghost]

I had been lusting for a rotary phone for a long time; one with a doily beneath it, and, I don't know. A notebook beside it? Shit, what did people in the 1960s use to decorate their gossip benches with? A cocaine mirror?

Since landlines are prohibitively expensive these days and I'd rather just press a button on my phone to call someone, it'd be nice to have it as a decoration beside my couch, as currently my tripodal side table has been housing absolutely zilch and it's killing me. I wanted to pick up a crappy old one to easily spraypaint wine red with gold numbers beneath the dial, but many were cracked with decaying cords so it was hard to find -- Alex was able to snag one on eBay or something, he texted me yesterday that he received it and I yelled a lot because I was across the city and had to read about cremation standards instead of visiting him.

It's circa 1960s and absolutely beautiful. I love the color! (Ignore the clutter, we dumped our stuff on the table as soon as we got to his place).



Despite how much I like the original teal color and almost prefer it, there was some noticeable yellowing and discoloration and I still wanted a deep red phone. Alex was just excited for another quarantine 'couples project'. Here it is after a much needed bath that got rid of rust and 50+ year old grime.



Alex really enjoyed taking this thing apart, he said it activated the reptilian part of his brain. That's not suspicious at all. Anyways, we just sprayed it down a few times with some white primer, once every hour, then later we will be spraying it with deep red spray paint. I'm thinking of leaving the main circle ... part white, then adding gold stickers beneath the holes in the plastic dial, which I don't plan on bothering since I think it looks great as is.



I'm extremely excited, and can't wait to see what it looks like later.

Also, Alex is making me a sidecar drink tonight and I have no idea what the hell that is, but I'm drinking it anyways! If it's especially cool looking I'll take a picture, because obviously you guys care about the liquor I consume.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

Taking apart phones is so much fun, omg. I had the opportunity to dissect the old phone when our area was switching to tone instead of pulse and Dad brought home a new-fangled touch-tone unit. I drew many pictures of the inside. I wonder if Mama still has any.

I wish you many years of glee with your new prize.

[dark_phoenix54]

That is too cool. I remember that color! (we didn't have that; our phone was always black. Just like my soul)

[8hyenas]

Yours looks so cool, I'm excited to see your final version. I love rotary phones! I stole one from the junk room at a place I worked years ago, it's a mustard yellow and quite nice. Practically, it's the only phone I have that will work when the power is out, so ha, not even just a pretty face.

[jpegghost]

You should take a picture if you find it! It was a lot of fun dissecting it, and thankfully it's a pretty straightforward design that doesn't have too many bells and whistles so it should be easy to reassemble. I'm looking forward to the finished product.

[jpegghost]

Oh that's cool, you had one?! Were they obscenely loud? I was playing with the bells inside of it and for how small they were they were particularly shrill. Looking at it right now, it's a Western Electric, but I don't have the exact year. I don't wanna flip it around too much while the paint is still drying lol

[jpegghost]

Oh man, yours has style AND substance! And mustard yellow, at that -- Plastic yellowing be damned! I do like how weighty the phone is, and how it feels to move the dial. I can't imagine the sound quality is amazing, though, but that probably adds to the ~experience~

[dark_phoenix54]

They are totally obscenely loud! There should be a thing on the bottom for turning it louder or softer. The one I grew up with would have been a 1960 or older model, but they were pretty much the same for decades. You could hear them out in the yard, no problem.

[jpegghost]

Oh I messed with that dial! They're a lot of fun to play with, but I feel like getting woken up in the middle of the night by that screaming phone -- nahhhh

[dark_phoenix54]

Yeah, that thing going off at 2 a.m. will make you levitate like you're possessed by Pazuzu.