Bell Telephone System’s Preeminent Role in the Growth of Industrial Design

"This extensively illustrated, meticulously researched history of the telephone chronicles the rise of industrial design in the twentieth century. Meyer and Flinchum reveal the people and ideas behind the changing form and function of modernity's most ubiquitous, intimate, and iconic object." —Ellen Lupton, designer, author, and Curator Emerita, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

"In this profound and well-documented text on the history of the telephone, narrated through the evolution of Bell Telephone Company, the crucial role of industrial design is compellingly argued. This story helps readers understand how this field has influenced the technological, economic, and cultural development of countries. The descriptive journeys through the transitions of form and the fascinating evolution of typologies, connected with various actors and technological advancements in materials and processes, create a captivating sequence." —Ignacio Urbina Polo, professor and chair, Industrial Design Department, Pratt Institute

"Reading this exquisitely detailed account of Bell Telephone Company and their undeniable spawning of my profession, industrial design, left me delighted and sparked a greater interest to learn more. As I turned each page, realizing the historical significance of industrial design, my mind wanted to reconcile the processes by which design contributed to the success of products then and how it is today. I can easily see this book being included in all future industrial design academic programs." —Jason P. Belaire, industrial designer and Chair Emeritus, Industrial Designers Society of America

"Ralph Meyer and Russell Flinchum provide a carefully researched history of the telephone and its design trajectory from cumbersome box to ergonomic handset and base. In their detailed discussion, the authors evoke sensory memories of holding a Trimline phone to your ear or twisting a cord around your finger while chatting with a friend. Their work explains how designers tweaked and retweaked sketches and models to produce some of the most iconic industrial designs of the twentieth century. This is essential reading for any telephone scholar or enthusiast, and an invaluable resource for historians of industrial design." —Catharine Dann Roeber, director of Academic Affairs and associate professor, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, and executive editor, Winterthur Portfolio