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Telephone Companies
Many companies have come and gone over the years, leaving little behind them but a few phones in collections. One of the interesting parts of this hobby is tracking down the companies and their history. It is surprising just how much some of them contributed to early telephony.
The information given here may not be entirely accurate nor complete, but we have to start somewhere if we are to reconstruct their history. My thanks go to those who have contributed information. Every little bit goes to build up the picture of a company.
Each link will open in a new page.
Alfred Graham & Co, Britain - maker of a number of unusual marine telephones
Australian Post Office and PMG - Australia's battle to provide telephones against "the tyranny of distance"
Automatic Electric Company (USA) - History of the Automatic Electric Company.
Automatic Electric Company Overseas - History of the Automatic Electric Company Overseas.
Automatic Electric Company Telephones (USA) - A guide to Automatic Electric styles and model numbers.
Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company - Bell and Western Electric in Europe
Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company of Antwerp, Belgium - an unusual company.
Berliner Telephone Company - Emile Berliner's short-lived company produced two interesting transmitters
British Insulated & Helsby - Grew from small beginnings to one of the world's largest companies.
Canadian / American Machine Telephone - The Lorimer Brothers
Dictograph -- most collectors have one, but where did they come from?
Elektrisk Bureau - aka Kristiana. Norway's producer of some beautiful and elaborate telephones.
Ericsson U.S.A. - a short-lived attempt to crack the U.S. market.
Federal Telephone and Telegraph (United States)
GEC Britain - the rise and fall of one of Britain's biggest companies
Gower Bell - a brief but useful career
KTAS - Denmark's small but useful local company
National Telephone Company - The Bell company that led the way in Britain.
Peel-Conner Telephone Works Ltd
Phonopore - a successful railway telephone from the 1880s.
Siemens & Halske - One of the first, and still going strong.
Societe des Telephones Ericsson Ericssons in France
Standard Telephones & Cables (Australasia)
Sterling Telephone & Electric (Britain)
Stromberg Carlson (United States)
TMC - Britain's Telephone Manufacturing Company. Never big, but useful.
Telecom Australia - modernising a telephone system despite the huge distances involved.