Alexander Graham Bell, an Edinburgh-born Scot living in Salem, Massachusetts, filed the first patent for ‘an apparatus for transmitting vocal sounds’ on the 14th February 1846. The first UK demonstration was not until 1877 at a Glasgow scientific meeting.
Development and promotion of telephones in the early days in the UK was wholly commercial, mainly between Bell and Edison’s rival companies. In 1880 Parliament became involved.
The telephone was deemed to be a form of telegraph, and telephone conversations were a telegram. Commercial companies were required to obtain a 31-year licence from the Postmaster-General, the Post Office taking 10% of the gross income. Post Office policy was to issue licences to existing telephone companies only and their operation was strictly limited. In 1880, the Post Office undertook development of the UK telephone system and technology itself.
The first telephones installed by the Post Office were wall-mounted, wooden boxed equipment, as shown. These were less than satisfactory. They were soon superseded by the Gower-Bell model; it was larger and heavier so speaking tubes were used to listen. This model was the Post Office choice, though developed and refined, for some years, certainly into the 1890s.
Technological developments continued during this period. These produced the first free-standing ‘portable’ telephone, the Bell-Blake.
In 1884, with improved components, Swedish company, Ericson, developed the first one-piece handset, although this was not sufficiently refined for practical use until about 1900. The one-piece handset proved very popular and remained the standard arrangement.
Post Office telephone development increased greatly from the turn of the 20th century, both in service provision and technical development. From this time Post Office telephone models were numbered and subscribers were given the choice of wall-mounted or table models.
Post Office Number 1 was a self-contained wall-mounted unit. Number 2 was the familiar ‘Candlestick’ design, though its smaller shape required a separate bell box. There were many developments in the early years of the 20th century. Post Office telephone Number 11 went into service in 1902 .
The ‘Skeleton’ table model, Number 16, was introduced in 1916. Both Numbers 11 and 16 featured a built-in hand generator by which the subscriber called and rang off.
Whilst there was much technical development activity, the next key introduction was a built-in dial by which the subscriber self-routed the call. Several variations were tried from 1914; these had been standardised by 1924 and issued as ‘Candlestick’ Number 150 and wall-mounted Number 120.
Many of these models are now museum or collectors pieces for enthusiasts, for decorative rather than practical use.
The design of practical instruments, the types that are sold in The Design Gallery, originated in 1929 with the introduction of Telephone Number 162. It was developed by the Post Office in collaboration with a manufacturer and specifically for Post Office use.
The body casing and handset for Number 162 were made of Bakelite, the early moulded plastic; a development that remained standard for all conventional telephones until late in the 1950s. Number 162 did not have space for the bell mechanism; this had to be in a separate box. A more bulky combined unit was also introduced which contained the bell set in an extended case.
The Post Office supplied an optional mounded plastic wall bracket for the new design so a separate wall-mounted model was not necessary.
As the casing was moulded plastic it could be made in a variety of colours. Eventually varieties were available in Ivory, Jade Green, and Chinese Red, as well as standard black.
The basic structure of GPO-supplied telephones remained unchanged for some decades. This was the ‘shoulder phone’; essentially a handpiece, originally quite heavy, containing the earpiece and microphone, and the base unit housing the dialling mechanism and bells. All domestic telephones were ‘tethered’, hard wired in a fixed position.
The GPO supplied a number of variants, for example with a pull-out drawer holding a list on which subscribers could note important numbers, buttons or levers which allowed calls to be transferred to an extension.
There were numerous developments within the basic GPO telephone design and the standard offering evolved through a number of Series 100, 200, 300 and so on with their variants – the identification of which is a delight to the telephone aficionados.
Design demands changed, materials became lighter and electronics developed; in 1959 the GPO introduced the model 706, ‘The Modern Telephone’. The internal components were fairly conventional but the instrument was lighter, more streamlined and available in seven standard colours: black, light ivory, concord blue, lacquer red, topaz yellow, two-tone green and two-tone grey. The 706 also had a coiled plastic coated cable between handpiece and base instead of the previous woven thread covered cables.
Model 706 continued as GPO’s standard model but, in 1964, a breakaway from the standard ‘shoulder phone’ derivative was designed, Telephone No 712. This went into production in 1965. It was available as an alternative to the standard model 706 but at a higher rental cost. Customers had a choice of three colour combinations: grey-white, grey-green and two-tone blue.
The 712 featured a neater box-shaped base made possible by the use of a ‘tone caller’ instead of the traditional and bulkier bell. The handset was also a complete design revision, much narrower and lighter than previously; this was achieved by using more modern components mounted together within the earpiece section.
A development of the handset was to use its internal shape acting as an ‘acoustic horn’ to direct speech to the components in the earpiece. This led to embarrassing incidents where users, used to being able to cut off conversations to make ‘asides’ by covering the microphone with their hand, did the same with the 712 to no effect since the sound would also enter through the earpiece.
The 712 was called ‘The Trimphone’ indicating its much more compact footprint, although the name actually derived from the first four letters of the technical description: Tone Ringer Illuminated Model.
The original Trimphone models featured a luminescent dial, principally so it could be accessed at night in bedrooms. The glow of the dial was achieved with low radioactivity luminescent materials, about the level of a luminous watch, which led to public concern over radiation so the facility was withdrawn.
The Trimphone remained in production for several decades with periodic updates to maintain its attraction.
In 1977 = the first keypad version became available.
1980 – the Deltaphone, a renamed version of the dial Trimphone, and the Dataphone Deluxe with pushbutton dialling. Both versions had a leather cover, brown for the Deltaphone and a choice of red or green for the Deluxe
1982 – the final incarnation of the Trimphone called the ‘Phoenix phone’ appeared, though it is not clear whether this was the official name or coined colloquially through its having ‘risen from the ashes’ through reuse of old components.
Essentially, the Phoenix phone was a range of colour variants considered suitable for the time. The colour combinations were chosen by ‘leading design consultants’ which was believed to include Lord Snowdon. This gave rise to the name ‘The Snowdon Range’.
Phoenix phones were fitted with Plug and Socket cords which were new at the time and replaced hard-wired installations.
With thanks to our client Tim Edwards for this article
Very detailed information on the Trimphone and its derivatives can be found on these sites: https://britishtelephones.com/t722.htm
https://www.britishtelephones.com/stc/delta.htm
https://antiquetelephones.co.uk/
https://www.antiquegpophones.co.uk/
https://antiques-atlas.com/antiques/Vintage-Technology/GPO_General_Post_Office
https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/search?q=gpo%20telephones
https://www.1900s.org.uk/communication.htm
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=uk+telephone+handset+design+history&atb=v452-1&ia=web
The Design Gallery was launched in 2002 to specialise in progressive design movements of the 19th and 20th Century. We met whilst studying at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and discovered that we shared a passion for design, especially Art Deco, Art Nouveau and the Arts & Crafts Movement.
