T&N pre-war table and wall telephone

Produced from 1935 to 1952, this telephone has a highly characteristic ‘sit up and beg’ design. Notable features of the pre-war version include the all-metal dial, curiously over-large handset and the cow-bell gongs of the ringer; Bakelite was substituted for cast aluminium in the cradle in 1938. The dial sometimes has letters as well as numerals, arranged in the German style.

The post-war model had a standard German Post Office handset and a plastic finger wheel for the dial. The equivalent wall set was made of black stove-enamelled steel, with Bakelite handset hanging at the left-hand side and two nickelled bell gongs on top of the case. Based on a German Post Office design of 1919, this telephone was supplied both before and after the war.

Colours:
Black.

Users:
PAX systems in offices and factories, also the London studios of the commercial radio station Radio Normandy. Installed by the British Home & Office Company and its subsidiaries.

Illustrations:
Brochure photographs of a table wall telephone.

Last revised: September 12, 2004

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