Have you ever used, or seen, one of these?

Yes, my mother in law had one of these for years when I first got married the first time!

Had we kept it, it would be an antique nowadays -they were simple to use -we had no electronics in those days and thought it was wonderful when at last we could make phone calls to the Easter States at home, and not have to go out to the Post Office to do this.

by Finy

LOL.....LOL.....LOL

I have a funny story about one of these!

So I once worked in a shop that had one, and my boss called me on it.

Forgetting that it was quite heavy, I rushed to pick it up and say 'hello'.

I forgot the weight of it, and with the top end of the phone, smacked myself in my left eye!

That week was hard to explain my slightly black eye to people. :(

by jonaja

LOL!

Yes. I LOVED these past versions of phones.
They were heavy enough to STAY PUT if I reached for a pencil or sat down, instead of flying off the table or shelf, hitting the floor & disconnecting.
Although the alleged slowness of the dial to return faster to its starting place frustrated some, there was a certain comfort in hearing that sound. AND my cat could NOT smack up '000' or any other phone numbers on speed dial thereby costing me $$s!
The handset was eminently more suitable to the shape of humans - it was so easy to hold the receiver under the chin or on the shoulder without later having to see Chiropractors, Physios & Oesteopaths for several months.
The slick newer phones which followed had the ability to slip off yr shoulder, requiring much more tension in the neck and extra pressure exerted by neck-shoulder muscles to hold the handset in place..
Then came the buttons replacing dials, i.e. how to break finger nails and REALLY lose yr temper if accidentally poking the wrong number.
Then mobiles - what a blasted nuisance they were and still are. I do not want to be contacted by anyone 24/7. I want to speak in a relaxed setting at an intelligent time, and not be harrassed by 'work' wanting my time after hours - for which I am not paid.
I would love all mobile phones banned - forcing humans to actually think before they speak or dial.
The costs would be So Much Lower. Civilisation would not come to an end - insterad, it may return!!
one always knows exactly where a LandLine phone is located in the home, it is always connected to the outside world & emergency numbers, it does not have to be re-charged, cannot be stolen from your bag in a shopping centre or left on the train. AND everyone knew how to answer a real phone - not a confusion of 'which button do I have to push' because all mobile phones are different.
For Christmas, I may scout a market or Op Shop and buy myself an 'old' phone for home. They were so user frendly, and they stay in one place.

by delbr

grow up using these

by filli

Yes, we used to have a phone that looked like this when I was a child. Our phone was a cream colour. We got a phone with buttons when I was maybe 8ish

by AJ

We had this type of phone the entire time I was growing up. It was only after a problem with our phone provider that the phone went permanently dead and we had to get a button press phone.

by Bryony Harrison

My grandpa had one of these phones. The only reason he got a new one was because of his eyesight. He could no longer see the numbers.

by Bryony Harrison

Yep. We had one when I was a kid.

by Jennifer Muirhead

We thought it was great when we got one of these and could dial the number ourselves. Previously we had a phone with a little handle which you would wind when you wanted to talk to the telephonist at the exchange. He or she would say, 'Number please' and we would say the town and number.

by Marie Vonow

Had one of these growing-up in the '50's.

Out next door neighbour had the previous type which had a handle on the side, where 'earpiece' was held. I'd draw it for you if I could!

Help, jonaj, do you have a photo of that really older type, which was attached to a wall?

by donjo

Yes. Grew up with one of these phones. When I married I purchased an antique style in cream and beige and had to have Telstra hard wire it into the bedroom. I loved it. I also had a changeover switch which I could flick over to answer in the bedroom so no one could hear the conversation if the main phone was picked up in the hallway.

by helga

Oh yes! Going back thirty five plus years or so!

by Tasneem

As if I would admit to using an old phone like that.
P.S. They are very heavy so I am told.

by kstew

I remember an aunt of mine had one of these in her parent's house. It was very elaborate and gold in colour. I always thought it should've been in a castle somewhere.

by Vee

Veeeeee where have you been!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for your enthusiasm, jonaj. It's nice to know I was missed. :)

yes

by Jen dodd

Oh Yes!!! It was not truly ALL that long ago,if I am able to remember it!!These phones were super.I still miss the actual DIALLING of numbers,which not even the public phones have any more.
There is something very REAL about dragging the dial of a phone around with just one finger!! And you knew that you had dialled the correct ones by how long it took to go back to the starting point between digits!!! We had one of these phones till I was about 6 then we had one of the newer rotary phones which everyone thought was SO modern!!! They were so much lighter in weight than the old black ones,and of course you could pick and choose from a few colours too!! These were still used way into the 80's and I had one for most of my son's younger years until the push-button phones came in!

by Jules

I also believe that you can still use them at least some of them

by filli

Wow. Blast from the past. We had a more modern one but I remember using these . . .ah, the smell of Bakelite. *sigh*

by Rice

I have never seen or used a phone like that in the picture. My parents did have a dial phone until about 15 years ago when they got a wireless phone, so I had this type of phone all throughout my life. The main phone was in the kitchen but we had another line in the study. I remember when my friends would ring asking me about my dates and my family would be sitting at the kitchen table. I would have to go the other room if I wanted privacy.

by Lluxi

YES, really good

by bhamp

Yes, I have a working 1958 model, black produced by the PMG (Post Master General) made in England by GEC, it lives next to my bed, it is a cow to dial, miss a number & I have to start all over again, so I dial out using my digital phone, but the sound is clearer than the digital phone & the volume of the bell ringing cannot be ignored, plus it's retro look is great. They are not worth much, they can be picked up for $20 to $60 on average at antique/retro fairs and you need a 'land line' for them to work, Bruce

by bruce

Yes, and can still recall being on a party line when we had the phone.
It is a million years ago compared with the latest Mobile phones.

Farley

by farle

I spoke on a telephone just like the black one in the photograph as part of my very first job as a young teenager. I remember the hand piece as heavy and cumbersome but it was all that we had back then (heck I sound old!)

by wotsy

Yep we had one - I reckon older than this model.
Remember the movie Dial M for Murder and in the old movies people would constantly press the buttons on the receiver cradle to indicate that the phone line was cut.

by fran.

Oh my god! my grandparents used to have one, wow what a blast from the past, I feel nostalgis, and yes I have used one.

by Diana Nairn