UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post

Pellseinydd · 8th Dec 2017, 5:16 pm

The so called reporter/telephone enthusiast who wrote the article should check up on the facts. The coloured telephones were available to anyone. You paid a single charge (in c1960) of £2 for a standard colour and £7.7.0 (seven guineas in old money) for a 'non-standard' colour. Bakelite telephones could be supplied by the GPO in 'non-standard' colours by the GPO. Plus if you had a 'non-standard colour, you had to pay the cost of restoring the telephone to its original colour. The two main colours were gold and silver. You paid no extra in rental for the telephone according to a copy of the GPO 1957/1966 'Telephone Service Instructions' - the document used for anything 'Sales Division' wanted to know (Their equivalent of the engineers 'Engineering Instructions' or the later 'Technical Instructions').
So don't believe all you read in the newspapers.

There is a gold Tele 232 on eBay at the moment which looks like one of the old gold ones.

I have a 1932 ivory Tele 162 in excellent condition and it appears to be Bakelite. It has a totally different white 'ivory' finish to a later 'slightly' yellowish ivory Tele 232 that I have. The 232 has the same finish as some 'brand new in their original boxes' ivory 300 type phones that I have. Bakelite was available in colours other than black from 1931. The mottled brown colour was known as 'Mahogany' by the GPO from what I've read.

8th Dec 2017, 5:16 pm	#3
Pellseinydd Heptode Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Flintshire, UK. Posts: 707	Re: 1934 jade green GPO model phone The so called reporter/telephone enthusiast who wrote the article should check up on the facts. The coloured telephones were available to anyone. You paid a single charge (in c1960) of £2 for a standard colour and £7.7.0 (seven guineas in old money) for a 'non-standard' colour. Bakelite telephones could be supplied by the GPO in 'non-standard' colours by the GPO. Plus if you had a 'non-standard colour, you had to pay the cost of restoring the telephone to its original colour. The two main colours were gold and silver. You paid no extra in rental for the telephone according to a copy of the GPO 1957/1966 'Telephone Service Instructions' - the document used for anything 'Sales Division' wanted to know (Their equivalent of the engineers 'Engineering Instructions' or the later 'Technical Instructions'). So don't believe all you read in the newspapers. There is a gold Tele 232 on eBay at the moment which looks like one of the old gold ones. I have a 1932 ivory Tele 162 in excellent condition and it appears to be Bakelite. It has a totally different white 'ivory' finish to a later 'slightly' yellowish ivory Tele 232 that I have. The 232 has the same finish as some 'brand new in their original boxes' ivory 300 type phones that I have. Bakelite was available in colours other than black from 1931. The mottled brown colour was known as 'Mahogany' by the GPO from what I've read.