Antique Telephones

British Bakelite Antique Telephones

The term Antique Telephones in the UK tends to be used to describe old telephones made before 1960. These begin with the British Candlestick telephones known as Tele 150's introduced in 1924. This was the PO's first standard table phone.

Then later the first elegantly curved pyramid shaped Bakelite telephones called the 200 series telephones , were introduced in 1929 and continued in production until 1957. Although these were the first bakelite telephones to appear in the UK they did not contain internal bells. They used seperate bakelite bell sets.

The last and often regarded as the most iconic model of antique telephones were called the 300 series telephones and were again made out of Bakelite. The classic 300 series bakelite telephones were produced between 1937 and 1959 and these are what most people think of as Antique Telephones. These were also the first Btitish Telephones to contain an internal bell.

300 Series Telephones

The Most popular and well recognised Antique British Bakelite telephones are known as the 300 series telephones. They first appeared in 1937 and became the standard home telephone until they were replaced by the first "Modern" Plastic telephones (706 telephones) in 1959.

The Bakelite telephone you can see to the right was a model 312, known as a "shared service" telephone or "party line" phone. If you look closely you can see the separate "call exchange" chrome button just above the call exchange badge.

The standard 300 series model was a 332. It was basically the same as the telephone to the right however it did not have any extra buttons or a badge and worked on a normal DEL (Direct Exchange Line).
The 300 series Bakelite Telephones were provided on a rental basis and came as standard in Black. In this era the coloured antique telephones were very rare. If you are lucky you may see one of these telephones in "Ivory"

The Ivory Antique telephone to the right is the standard 332 model and they are very hard to find in good condition.
In terms of rarity although the ivory antique telephones were rare it was even rarer to see a red vintage telephone of this era. See the red 312 telephone to the right. If you have one of these old telephones in good condition keep it safe and out of direct sunlight, as the red can fade over time to a salmon pink.
Antique Telephones
Bakelite Telephones
Antique Telephones For Sale
Bakelite Telephones For Sale
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Retro Telephones
Antique Telephones
Retro Telephones
Vintage Telephones
200 Series Telephones
The rarest antique telephone of the 300 series phones is the "Jade Green" version. Very few were ever made, and although the colour is not to everyone’s taste they are VERY rare. As such they are very sought after by telephone collectors.

The green antique 332 telephone to the right is in fantastic condition and was made in 1954.