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50th Anniversary of the Curly Cord Telephone
UK landline operator, BT is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of the familiar 'curly cord' telephone in UK homes. The 700-type telephone was launched in May 1959 and was designed to "Set off the decor of any room and add a discrete note of good taste and luxury you can afford".
The Tele 706 was designed jointly by Ericsson's Telephones, The GPO Engineering Department and the Council of Industrial Design.
The new telephones – which were available in a range of colours - cost £5 and more than 33,000 were ordered in the first 8 months. That £5 is equivalent to £80 today when adjusted for inflation.
The launch of the 700 type telephone marked the demise of black as the standard telephone colour. For the first time, telephones in the UK were offered in a range of colours, they included; Topaz yellow, Lacquer red, Light ivory, Two-tone grey - French grey and elephant grey, and Two-tone green - aircraft green and forest green.
The Council of Industrial Design also suggested 'Colonial Blue' for a blue version but Ericsson's asked for the name to be changed because "it was inappropriate in a changing world". It eventually launched as Concord blue.
The distinctive curly cord was designed by the GPO engineering department, based on US style phones. It was designed not to tangle and was protected in PVC. The overall design of the phone also reflected the new design awareness which had developed in Britain in the 1950s. Previous telephones had a grey nylon covered plaited cord.
Curly cord facts:
- The curly cord was nearly binned as officials described it as "clumsy" and was a last minute addition
- New users claimed they accidentally cut off themselves with the new curly cord
- There was difficulty for some people in dialling as letters were moved from inside the dial to outside
- Colours that were rejected; silver sage, sand beige and two tone blush ivory and maroon
- There were complaints about the phone attracting more dust and instructions were issued on how to clean the phone, (with a damp cloth!)
- The phone was lighter which lead to some breakages as people lifted the phone, not being used to the lighter weight
- Some people thought the bell sound was faint
- Some people were unhappy that the new phone no longer included the drawer
The GPO was the precursor to British Telecom (BT).
Posted to the site on 18th May 2009