Trimline (220)

The Model 220 Trimline, introduced in 1965, represented the end of an era, as it was the last rotary-dial telephone to be manufactured by Western Electric.  It was also widely manufactured as a touch-tone phone with button dialling.

Aesthetically this phone marked another departure towards current modernity. The Trimline’s dial mechanism had been reduced in size, and was located in the handset itself, with the ringer and other electronics housed in the base. The base was made with two fitting variations – for both desk and wall mounting.

Advice for collectors

The Trimline was copied buy most major manufacturers, so there are potentially a lot of phones with very slight variations in form and function to be collected by the fanatic.  Perhaps the most popular with collectors is the model with the rotary dial still (slightly incongruously for such a comparatively modern phone) housed in the handset.