Telephone

Object/Artifact

Swedish American Museum

2012.53_Side1

Name/Title

Telephone

Entry/Object ID

2012.53.1

Description

Upright desk stand "candlestick" telephone with a box. The telephone and the box were manufactured in Chicago, Il. by the Swedish American Telephone Company. The phone is predominantly brass-colored. It has the carved inscription, "Swedish-American Telephone Co. Chicago". The box is brown, made of wood with the top part having two bronze-colored metallic circular objects.

Context

Established 1899 by E. B. Overshiner and John S. Gullborg. Gullborg was Swedish-American and the company hired many Swedish-Americans over the years. The company became the lead seller of phones to rural areas with clientele such as farmers and railway workers. From 1905-1923, the company’s factory was located in Andersonville on N. Ravenswood Ave.

Acquisition

Accession

2012.53

Source or Donor

Ms. Cheri Sheridan

Acquisition Method

Gift

Made/Created

Manufacturer

Swedish American Telephone Company

Date made

circa 1900 - circa 1940

Time Period

20th Century

Lexicon

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Phones, Telephones, Wood

Search Terms

Illinois--Chicago

Dimensions

Height

15-3/8 in

Width

8-3/4 in

Depth

11-3/4 in

Material

Wood, Metal

Reproductions

Notes

Reproduction of the Museum's artifacts for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires written permission.