IEEE History Center: Commonwealth Ericsson Wall Telephone

The IEEE History Center received an email last August from a gentleman out in California asking if we could help him find an appropriate museum or archive for this artifact.  We always first ask for the dimensions, as space is very limited in the IEEE Archives.  When we found out it was only 28.5" high and 10 inches wide/deep, we ask him to ship it to us.

It took him a while to get us the dimensions, stating "it meant opening a case stored at the bottom of a pile in a limited space in order to measure the instrument."

It finally arrived here on Monday, 3 December 2007.  Archivist Mary Ann Hoffman asked for help from our Fall intern, David Halik, and Graduate Assistant, Meagan Schenkelberg.  You can just imagine the excitement here at the Center when we opened the box and discovered this beautiful telephone.  Mary Ann immediately knew that it had to be put on display at the Operations Center and was hoping that it would fit in that display case in the IEEE Main Lobby.  By placing it in our display case hundreds of volunteers and staff will now be able to appreciate this beautiful instrument.

Here are some of the general details of the telephone:

• Manufactured at the turn of the century, late 1800s, early 1900s by Ericsson.
• Made in Stockholm, Sweden.
• Used in Australia by the Postmaster General’s Department.
• Dimensions: height 28.5 inches, width 13.4 inches, depth 9.75 inches.
• Wood was mostly walnut, but some were made of oak.
• The black cover concealed two batteries to operate the circuit and ringers.
• It was fitted with a 3 ft., 4 way cord.
• Later models were made specifically for Australia weather conditions, specifically lightning strikes.
• An instruction booklet was issued to subscribers to show them how to carry out minor maintenance such as changing batteries and repairing breaks in the telephone line.
• Between 1885 and 1892 they refined the handset from a bulky receiver to a more compact design.