Happy Birthday, Trimline!

Happy Birthday, Trimline! ??? Guess you just missed it too? According to Events in Telephone History by AT&T, August 2 1965, was when “Michigan Bell became the first company to sell Trimline phones on a companywide basis.”

Interested in reading more about the Trimline? Check out the upcoming August 2015 issue of the Telephone Collectors International publication Singing Wires Journal. It contains an article “From Butt Set to Beauty” The Trimline is 50 Years Old by Paul Fassbender.

The JKL Museum of Telephony collection contains many antique telephones and a few not so antique. There are several telephones in the JKL Museum collection that are related to the Trimline development.
You can check them out on our site in the virtual exhibit “Pre—production models, prototype, display telephones, and related objects.”

Look for the Demitasse, Schmoo, Contour, Trimline I, a golden Trimline and others.

Demitasse SchmooContour

Trimline_IField_trail_&_Final_Trimline

You are also welcome to come and see them for yourselves at our telephone museum. Check out our homepage or use the contact option in the menu bar  to get in touch.

Also don’t forget to check out the Trimline page at Paul Fassbender’s site

Western Electric 1964, Model I, Picturephone

Last week Jerry & Chris managed to get one of our Western Electric 1964, Model I, Picturephones working. There is still work to be done but we hope to be able to put this on display at the JKL Museum.

we-picphone-1966-mod-I

 

 

 

 

 
For more information about the Western Electric Picturephones:

  • http://www.paul-f.com/wepic.html
  • http://www.beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/telephones-picturephone.html

 

17 May – ITU’s 150th Anniversary

17 May – ITU’s 150th Anniversary

17 May 2015, World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD 2015)

17 May - ITU’s 150th Anniversary

17 May marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union. This year, 2015, marks the 150th anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union
Established in 1865, ITU has reaffirmed its reputation worldwide as one of the most resilient and relevant organizations and continues its work as the specialized agency of the United Nations, and its oldest member, dealing with state-of-the-art telecommunications and information and communication technologies.

 

 

 


from the ITU 150 website: “2015 marks ITU’s 150th anniversary

On 17 May 2015 ITU will be celebrating 150 years since the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telegraph Union. For a century and a half since 1865, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has been at the center of advances in communications – from telegraphy through to the modern world of satellites, mobile phones and the Internet.

150 years is only a brief interval in the recorded history of mankind. Yet those 150 years have been extraordinarily significant in terms of human progress and discovery. One of the most remarkable advances of the past 150 years has been the incredible increase in both the speed and variety of human communications.

First we saw the telegraph and the telephone, then radio and television, followed by satellite communications and the internet – heralding a new era of ubiquitous connectivity over the past twenty years. It is difficult to imagine how we communicated in 1865 – with no phones, no email, no instant messaging or SMS. Even the telegraph wasn’t available for personal use, so the most common method of long-distance communication back then was to send letters carried on horseback or by ship. The exponential growth of science and technology over the past 150 years is fascinating – and it is part of ITU’s story.

The story of ITU is one of international cooperation, among governments, private companies and other stakeholders. The continuing mission is to achieve the best practical solutions for integrating new technologies as they develop, and to spread their benefits to all.

2015 will be a commemoration year that we wish to celebrate with all our members – including governments, private companies, and other stakeholders.”