1970 Bell System Rotary Dial Telephone

Few pieces of technology are as instantly recognizable by touch and sound as a rotary telephone. The Bell System 500DM made dialing a number a physical sequence: finger in the opening, rotate the dial to the stop, release it, and wait for it to click its way back before entering the next digit.

That deliberate interaction is almost completely absent from today's phones. Here, the dial, handset and internal hardware preserve the mechanical character that made the 500-series telephone such a distinctive object, while the exposed construction reveals what normally sat unnoticed inside it.

• Original Piece: 1970's Bell System Rotary Dial Telephone
• Era: Aug. 1970
• Manufacturer: Bell System
• Model: 500DM
• Original Function: Rotary Dial Telephone
• Frame Size: 16 x 18 in.
• Finished Dimensions: 16 x 18 x 9 3/4 in.
• Weight: 7.7 lbs
• Colors: Electric Blue, Blue, Terminal Black
• Frame Color: Black
• Backer Color: White
• Materials: Wood / Original Materials
• Functional: No
• One of One: This is an original, one-of-a-kind Electronic Afterlife piece.