A Study Of Switch Plates

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hello all - am resurrecting this subject due to my lastest restoration job. When I started this thread I only posted images of the plates. Here I am posting images of the corresponding dashes. The question that hasn't as yet been answered is which plate came first, brass or silver. Logically the brass stamped ones came first and then to cut costs the silver screen print type was introduced. However when the silver plate came in the dash was redesigned to allow for six holes in the silver plate as opposed to four for the large brass plate. The question should also be asked, why do you need six bolts to hold a light plate.

As previously stated this is in response to my latest restoration where a brass, four hole, large plate is fixed to a six hole silver plate dash. Was the silver plate replaced at some time or was the brass plate original fitted due to the supply of the correct plates at the time of manufacture?

Come on you experts, put on your thinking caps.

Bob