Trimphone with green leather cover, Tele SR 1016A S.T.C 79/1, made by Standard Telephones and Cables, British, 1979-1985

Trimphone with green leather cover, made by Standard Telephones and Cables, British, 1979-1985.

The Trimphone, first introduced in 1965, was a successful attempt to create a new style of telephone utilising new technology and materials, though remaining compatible with existing designs. It incorporated electronic tone ringing, and dial numbers illuminated from behind by radioactive tritium gas. The name was derived from these two features – Tone-Ringing-Illuminated-Model. Later examples had press-button keypads. This model shows the dubious result of obscuring a distinctive design with a leather cover in briefly-fashionable dark olive green. This model is a Deltaphone Deluxe, made in 1980. It was part of the 'Special Range' of British Telecom telephones, which had not been developed by the Post Office, and in 1982 cost a one-off payment of £65, plus an additional quarterly rent of £2.25. The Deltaphone Deluxe came in red or green leather cladding, as opposed to the Deltaphone which was only available in brown.