1901 - Magneto Set

The telephone set you see below is from 1901 and manufactured by Ferdinand E. Sørensens Telefonfabrik in Copenhagen after a German model.

Today we take for granted that we by pushing the buttons on the telephone we get connected right away - but earlier there could often be several hours of waiting time for a call between Copenhagen and Aarhus for example. For that reason those subscribers who needed it could at a State Telephone Service take out a special subscription that gave them faster access to long distance national and international calls.

Notice the watch receiver, that hangs on a hook by itself. At that time it was standard on sets from the State Telephone Service. Maybe because the quality of the telephone connections was not as good as we are used to today, so sometimes it could by necessary to use both ears.

Post & Tele Museum - Koebmagergade 37 - Postbox 2053 - DK 1012 Copenhagen
Tel. (+45) 33 41 09 00 - email:museum@ptt-museum.dk