July 5, 2008
The Best of Antiques
and Collecting
What are you looking for?
The Trimline, like the Princess phone, was one of the Bell System's best marketing innovations. First introduced in 1965, the idea was to create a stylish, easier to use telephone. A huge success, the Trimline was copied by most other major telephone manufacturers. The Trimline's dial was located in the handset itself with the ringer and electronics inside the telephone's base (both wall and desk versions).
People started collecting phones shortly after Alexander Graham Bell patented them in 1876. Key varieties include early wood wall phones, candlesticks, and rotary dial ‘desk sets’ made of bakelite, metal, and plastic (e.g. 202, 302, 500, Trimline and Princess). Key U.S. manufacturers include Western Electric, Automatic Electric, Kellogg, and Stromberg Carlson. Payphones and signs are also popular.
If you're into old phones, check out this 600-page repository of images and historical information. Includes an ext… [more]
Richard Rose's tribute to the Ericofon, a colorful, stylish concept phone introduced in Europe in the 1950's and th… [more]
Mike Neale's fantastic collection of scanned PDFs showcasing the history and products of the Kellogg Switchboard an… [more]
Got a site to suggest? Let us know.
Western Electric Push Button Trimline, Wall Phone White$12.99 Ends Wednesday 1 bid
Gold Western Electric Trimline Push Button Desk Phone$10.49 Ends Sunday 2 bids
Vintage Trimline Telephone ~ At&t Desk Phone ~ Blue$9.99 Ends in 23 hours 1 bid
Vintage, Western Electric, Trimline, Rotary, Desk Phone$9.99 Ends Monday 1 bid
Vintage Telephone Orange Trimline Wall Phone Clean!$9.99 Ends Sunday 1 bid
Aqua Blue Vintage 70's Trimline Push Button Phone$9.99 Ends Sunday 1 bid
Green Working Western Electric Trim Line Dial Phone$5.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid
Vintage New In The Box White Trimline Phone Base$1.99 Ends in 1 hour 1 bid
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