W48 (telephone)

Telephone W48 of the Deutsche Bundespost

W48 telephone

The W48 (from German: Wählfernsprecher 1948) was a desktop telephone developed in 1948 in West Germany. It was produced under license for the public Deutsche Bundespost in very large quantities by various manufacturers until the 1970s, when it was replaced with the FeTAp 611.

Due to its former ubiquity, robustness and its elegant industrial design it is regarded in Germany as the classic telephone. It is still produced today in small quantities using the original moulds.

Predecessors

The W48 is the successor of the pre-war Modell 36 and the W38 phone, with only a few modifications. Design and construction dates back to the "classic" W28, the first widely distributed desktop telephone developed by the Siemens & Halske company and built in license for the German Reichspost from 1928 by several manufacturers. In the mid 1930s, Siemens & Halske developed the Modell 36 successor, presented at the 1936 Leipzig Trade Fair.

Sources

  1. http://www.siemens.com/press/en/presspicture/?press=/en/pp_cc/2007/10_oct/sosep200729_19_1465462.htm
  2. http://www.britishtelephones.com/siemens/w48.htm
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