Ericsson (British Ericsson)
History
Ericsson is a Swedish telecommunications company, originally founded in 1876 as a telegraph equipment repair shop, by Lars Magnus Ericsson. Ericsson had worked as an instrument maker in his youth, later transferring his skills to telegraph equipment. In 1878 Ericsson began manufacturing and selling his own telephonic equipment. Ericsson did not face any patent issues at this time, as no patent on the telephone had been taken out in Sweden.
By the 1890s Ericsson looked towards expanding his company overseas, establishing factories in both Britain and Russia. In Britain the National Telephone Company became a major customer of Ericsson phones. Despite their success in Europe, Ericsson failed to make significant sales in the USA, as the Bell Group had already established a commanding market share.
The commercial progress of Ericsson continues to this day, as it remains (as SonyEricsson) one of the largest manufacturers old mobile telephone handsets in the world.
Ericsson phones
Ericsson’s earliest phones from the 1880s have become hugely desirable for collectors, mainly due to the artisanal skills that Lars Magnus Ericsson brought from his previous experience as an instrument maker. His early works have a highly ornate and decorative design that makes them true objets d’art, and highly valuable collectors items.
By the 1920s and 30s Ericsson expanded its manufacture of telephone sets from factories in the UK, supplying them to both Britain itself, and British colonies such as Australia and South Africa. However, the onset of the Great Depression put a serious dent into the profitability of this enterprise, following which Ericsson shifted its focus more towards switching equipment, and away from telephones. During this period the distinctive Ericsson design soon became subsumed by advances in moulded thermoplastic phones.
Before long Ericsson had a rejoinder to these developments in the telephone marketplace, introducing the seminal Ericofon in 1954, and achieving an instant design hit that is still celebrated and sought after.
