Rotary and Touch Tone

701, 702, 1702, 2702, 2703 and variations

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WE701B, Keychains in original 5 colors, E1C external ringer, Mini "sample" set

ON THIS PAGE: Rotary TouchTone 10-button TouchTone 12-button Base Pads
701 702 1702 2702 2703

RELATED PAGES ON THIS SITE: Colors Handsets Table Key Development Timeline Touch_Tone_Development WE 500-Series WE 1500-Series WE 2500-Series

Princess sets were announced in 1959 in five colors and evolved into the models shown here over the years. They were made by Western Electric until divestiture in 1984, then by AT&T.
Numerous similar designs by competitors demonstrate the popularity of the design.

This page is intended to be a quick summary of the Princess models produced and major functions.
Western catalogs and technical documentation only show the models that were in production or service at the publication date. To understand the full scope of models produced we must compile data from many years of documents.

Each model had suffix letters that defined variations.
Details can be found in the Bell System technical documentation (e.g. BSPs - Bell System Practices).

W	Without Bell System markings -- marked "Western Electric" For sets sold outside the Bell System
G	Polarity Guard
M	Modular set
CS	Customer-owned (including internal components), e.g. CS2702BMG. Note that many Princess CS sets deleted the night light feature. Buttons were white, not translucent and there was no hole in the bottom for the bulb holder. Available beginning in mid-1982.

More details on set coding are found on the 500-series page. Many also apply to Princess sets.

Most info in the chart is from manufacturer catalogs and ads plus discussions on the ATCA and TCI listservs. No claim is made regarding accuracy or completeness.

If you're enjoying looking at this level of detail and haven't joined one of the phone clubs yet, see the links page.

If you're identifying a phone, you still need to check the internal components as many phones were refurbed and had internal components changed or removed. If done in a Bell System refurb facility, the code on the bottom was usually repainted, remarked or covered with a sticker. Many independent shops or field mods were not remarked with the accurate model number.

Note that 701-type sets had "mouse hole" cutouts for the handset and mounting cords, but the later 702-type sets initially had none (seen in the thumbnail photos below). The ringer in the 702 caused the housing to be mounted a bit taller over louvers to let the sound out, so the cords could exit below the housing's lower edge. The designers preferred the 702 housing's clean straight lower edge.

Unfortunately the housings were relatively fragile and often cracked on the ends when the sets were dropped. Replacement housings were later made with cutouts to handle several cord configurations including the 701, so only one type had to be made and stocked. Housings with either two or three "mouse hole" cutouts have been found. The designers were probably upset, but the MBAs loved it.

For background on cord location and Princess 701 lead weight variations, see the article "The Princess and the Mounting Cord" in the August 2014 issue of TCI's Singing Wires.

WE 1702
and 1712 "Imperial" sets

1702 and 1712 "Imperial" sets with metallic gold bases.

For color information, see: Phones in color!

This page is a work in progress. Please send comments, additions and corrections.

Last update: 27 Feb 2022.

ROTARY PRINCESS SETS

Model	Major Functions (all are desk sets.)	BSP
701B	Early single line model with dial light/night light but no internal ringer. Available starting in 1959. Replaced by the 702B in 1963. Optional lead weight added to improve dialing (D-179924) in April, 1962.	C38.670 502-701-100 502-710-100 502-710-200 502-710-300 502-710-400
701D	Early single line model with dial light/night light and message waiting lamp but no internal ringer. Replaced by the 702D in 1963. Optional lead weight added to improve dialing (D-179924) in April, 1962.	C38.670 502-701-103 502-710-100 502-710-200 502-710-300 502-710-401
702B	Single line model with dial light/night light and internal ringer. The 702's case is a bit higher than the 701's due to the ringer, so there's no notch for the handset cord. Available starting in 1963.	C38.670 502-701-100 502-710-100 502-710-200 502-710-300 502-710-403 502-710-405 502-721-402
702D	Single line with flush-mounted neon message waiting lamp.	C38.670 502-710-100 502-710-200 502-710-300 502-727-402
711B	2-line with slide switch line selection, signaling, extension set exclusion, no hold. No internal ringer. Used with 1A home interphone, 2A farm interphone, 3A speakerphone or 1A1/1A2 KTS.	C38.670 502-701-103 502-710-100 502-710-200 502-710-300 502-710-410
712B	2-line with turn switch line selection and signaling and hold (raise the left plunger). No internal ringer. Used with 2A farm interphone, 3A speakerphone or 1A1/1A2 KTS. (See 1712B turnkey below.) The hold feature can be wired to work on either line (not both) or the left plunger can be used to activate an exclusion switch. See the BSPs for wiring options.	502-701-101 502-710-100 502-710-200 502-710-300 502-710-415
712BC	With turn switch key for Secretarial service and signaling. No internal ringer. See WE Secretarial Sets	502-701-101 (Issue 1, Fig 4)
713B	2-line with turn switch line selection and signaling and hold (raise the left plunger). No internal ringer. Available starting in 1966.	501-701-103 502-710-101 502-715-413 502-727-404

TOUCH TONE PRINCESS SETS: 10-BUTTON

Model	Major Functions (all are desk sets.)	BSP
1702B	Single line model with dial light/night light and internal ringer. Available starting in 1963. 10-button dials were discontinued 2/68.	502-702-100 502-702-101 502-722-401 512-620-471
1702D	Single line with flush-mounted neon message waiting lamp.	502-702-103 502-728-401
1712B	2-line with turn switch line selection and signaling and hold (raise the left plunger). No internal ringer. Used with 1A home interphone, 2A farm interphone, 3A speakerphone or 1A1/1A2 KTS. The hold feature can be wired to work on either line (not both) or the left plunger can be used to activate an exclusion switch. See the BSPs for wiring options.	502-725-401 512-510-426 512-515-418
1712BC	With turn switch key for Secretarial exclusion and signaling. No internal ringer. See WE Secretarial Sets	502-702-101 (Issue 1 Fig 9)
1713B	2-line with turn switch line selection and signaling and hold (raise the left plunger). No internal ringer. Available starting in 1966.	502-702-103 502-728-402

TOUCH TONE PRINCESS SETS: 12-BUTTON

Model	Major Functions (all are desk sets.)	BSP
2702B 2702BM	Single line model with dial light/night light and internal ringer. Available starting in 1968. Similar to 1702-type sets above with the added * and # dial keys. 2702B - hardwired handset and line cords. 2702BM - modular handset and line cords. Modular wiring was phased in starting in 1972. Many earlier sets were converted to modular when refurbished after that date. Late production CS- prefix models had non-illuminated dials (opaque white keys) and no light bulbs (White set at left is a model CS2702DMG.) Available beginning in mid-1982.	502-703-100 502-723-401 512-620-471 512-740-405
2702D 2702DM CS2702DMG - Opaque Dial	Single line with flush-mounted neon message waiting lamp.	502-703-103 502-729-401
2703BMG	AT&T Signature Princess. Electronic set with receiver volume control on front, selectable dial pulse or TouchTone, and electronic ringer with three volume settings. Components are mounted on a gray plastic base Handset elements are not compatible with earlier G-series handsets. Available from AT&T (after divestiture) starting in 1993. Marked "Assembled in the U.S.A. with U.S.A., Chinese and Korean components."	--
2712B 2712BM	2-line with turn switch line selection and signaling and hold (raise the left plunger). No internal ringer. Used with 2A farm interphone, 3A speakerphone or 1A1/1A2 KTS. The hold feature can be wired to work on either line (not both) or the left plunger can be used to activate an exclusion switch. See the BSPs for wiring options.	502-703-101 502-726-401 512-510-446 512-515-428
2712BC	With turn switch key for Secretarial exclusion and signaling. No internal ringer. See WE Secretarial Sets	702-703-101 (Issue 2, Table C)
2713B	2-line with turn switch line selection and signaling and hold (raise the left plunger). No internal ringer.	502-703-103 502-729-402
2714B	2-line with turn switch line selection and signaling and hold (raise the left plunger). No internal ringer. "Intended solely for two-line use in 1A2 Key Telephone Systems and 3B Speakerphone Systems which have been specially engineered. Not for general telephone use." Components include: 35E4A dial, G3YW handset, D14L cord, KS-19387L1 lamp and KS-19240L2 socket, 638B key, 4010D network, Polarity guard and surge protector, "and other component apparatus"	529-227-107 529-227-414 1970 Telephone Apparatus and Equipment Catalog, page 593.

PRINCESS Base Pads

Several styles of pads were used to help minimize slipping during the Princess set's lifetime. Date ranges shown below are from sets observed by collectors, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Please send additions and corrections. Like other set components, pads were often replaced during refurb. Therefore, the pad style may be later than the original date on the phone. Some phones have been found with a second pad applied -- resulting in a two-layer pad. The two pads may be of different styles. Background and more details may be found in the TCI journal, Singing Wires, January 2013.
	1959 - January 1960 Crosshatched pattern with border around edge, which goes around the lamp holder. Some pads dated 12/59 and 1/60 also have a hole to the right of the model number reserve, as on the pad below.
	February 1960 - December 1960 The edge border is gone and no longer goes around the lamp holder.
	December 1959 - December 1962 Note: overlaps the previous designs by one year. The words "Bell System" and "The Princess Phone" were changed from being printed in ink to stamped into the metal in May, 1960. "The Princess Phone" did not appear on the phones until November 1959.
	January 1963 - July 1976 Variation on the above design to accommodate the M1 ringer adjustment and flat bottom of the 702-series sets. Note the fewer dots around the edge. Other minor variations exist with slightly different cutouts to match features of specific sets such as the 711, 712 and 713.
	October 1976 - 77136 (136th day of 1977) Larger cutout for model info and stickers.
	77131 - 79100 (100th day of 1979) Even larger cutout for model info and stickers.
	79086 - 80074 Variation on the above design. Material changed to cork.
	81042 and later Layout changed to accommodate the P1 ringer's adjustment.
	The same cork design was used for the CS sets, which did not have a dial light.
	The later AT&T 2703 Signature Princess had a plastic base with 4 small feet.

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