Deltaphone thumbnail 1
Not on display

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Deltaphone

Telephone
1965 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd (manufacturer)
Rowlands, Martyn (designer)
Place of origin
Great Britain (designed)
Great Britain (made)

Blue corded rotary dial phone with angular receiver, and its yellow cardboard box packaging

Object details

Categories
Plastic
Product Design
Design Council Award Winner
Electrical Appliances
Object type
Telephone
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Telephone
  • Packaging
Titles
  • Deltaphone (manufacturer's title)
  • Trimphone (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Plastic/ metal, cardboard
Abs
Metal
Cardboard
Brief description
Blue 'Deltaphone' with packaging, designed by Martyn Rowlands, manufactured by Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd, Great Britain, 1965
Physical description
Blue corded rotary dial phone with angular receiver, and its yellow cardboard box packaging
Dimensions
  • Width: 230mm
  • Height: 120mm
  • Depth: 120mm
Dimensions taken from the Museum of Design in Plastics website.
Production typeMass produced
Gallery label
(February 2003)
Twentieth Century Gallery label (Room 73):
TELEPHONE: DELTAPHONE WITH PACKAGING
Designed by Martyn Rowlands
Manufactured by Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd, Great Britain, 1965
ABS plastics
W.65-2002

The Deltaphone or 'Trimphone' was designed initially as a bedroom phone in response to a brief from the GPO and the Council for Industrial Design. It came in 3 colour combinations (Grey-White, Two-tone Blue and Grey Green) although later a wider range of fashion colours was introduced. Its distinctive design and ring-tone (a 'tone caller' instead of a bell) made it a popular product which remained in production into the 1980s.
Credit line
Given by Martyn Rowlands
Object history
Historical significance: Winner of the Design Centre Award in 1966.
Production
Reason For Production: Retail
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
W.65:1-2002

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Record createdMarch 28, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O79205/deltaphone-telephone-rowlands-martyn/
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