I moved into Germany only 3 years ago. Not sure what was popular here in 1970-1980, but I assume many TV series from the US were in top charts here as well.

I personally know 1A2 business telephones from 1970s TV series like “Columbo”. Where rich residences around LA and the offices were full of multiline sets, Call Directors and all the shiny lamps.

Europe was way back in my view in terms of overall design of telephones (both technically, but also in terms of industrial design of the sets). No European country had the size and resources as the Bell System monopoly in the US. And as R&D dollars are coming from revenues, the difference can be easily explained. Dreyfuss’s 500 design from 1949 looks decent even today, if you look on majority of European phones from that time and later they will pretty much look like from pre-war times. Not saying it is bad, just not what I’m specifically interested in. I don’t think anything decent appeared in Europe before ISDN came into play. But that was already the time of cheap plastic items lasting for a few years before they disappear.

I’m pretty sure 1A2 is not so popular in Europe, because in Germany I know only 2 people other than me, who have something to do with these phones. Out of 80 million it is a negligible percent.

For me it is more about the impressions I have from those childhood times watching movies with these fantastic phones. Plus their unmatched quality and restorability along with the fact that I can do everything with these gadgets, unlike newer ones where no documentation, spare parts or software are available.

P.S. 1A2 is my beloved system to admire visually. To produce dial tones, I have an electronic PBX system from Switzerland designed around 1987-1989. That was decent as well, but mainly in the utilitarian way. But that company is gone as well.

Last edited by RedBul; 05/29/18 12:54 PM.