Replicas of Alexander Graham Bell's 1879 'Patent Office' telephone, 1959
Replica of Bell's 'Patent-office' telephone of 1876, made by Science Museum Workshops, South Kensington, London, England, 1959.
These telephones are based on drawings submitted with Alexander Graham Bell's (1847-1922) telegraph patent on 14 February 1876. At the time, the US Patent Office still required patent applications to be accompanied by a model as well as a drawing, but in Bell's case the model requirement was waived, despite it being completely new technology. Only a drawing was submitted with Bell's patent application, upon which these model telephones are based.
Details
- Category:
- Telecommunications
- Object Number:
- 1959-8/2
- Materials:
- wood (unidentified), copper (alloy), metal (unknown), skin (untanned), plastic (unidentified) and textile
- Measurements:
-
overall: 85 mm x 115 mm x 85 mm, .06 kg
- type:
- telephone
- credit:
- Made in museum