The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
This film is part of Free
Modern Lines
Designed to occupy less space than a typewriter this new office telephone system from Ericssons of Beeston is a 1950s marvel in plastic.
From the collection of:
Overview
Ericsson Telephones Limited of Beeston just outside Nottingham made this somewhat stiffly acted promotional film to advertise their new modern office switchboard system around 1957. The boxy wooden styling of the old model is out (although not rubbished as it comes from the same firm) and in its place comes a modern marvel in plastic and aluminium alloy complete with the latest in PVC wiring.
By the time this promotional film was made Ericsson Telephones Ltd of Beeston had no links to their original Swedish founders apart from the name. The firm merged with Plessey in 1961 before eventually coming under the control of Siemens.
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