PRESSRELEASE

THE “COBRA” AND OTHER CLASSIC
TELEPHONES IN NEW DESIGN EXHIBITION

“Beloved Telephone – a Design Story” opens on 22 October at the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology. Unique items from the museum collections will be on display together with new acquisitions, shown in Sweden for the first time. This exhibition is first in a series of exhibitions on communications included in the Swedish Year of Design.

Design has always been an important factor in the production of telephones, and this is even more relevant today. Starting with mobile phones, you will find out the way materials, technology, production processes and ergonomics have influenced telephone design throughout the ages.

Thanks to Ericsson, Sweden has been at the forefront when it comes to telephone design. The “Cobra”, from 1953, is probably the most famous example. In 1972, the Museum of Modern Art in New York placed it among the most important design products of the 20th century. It is also the symbol of this exhibition.

“We chose the Cobra because it is a strong design product. Telephones used to be developed by engineers, carpenters and architects. Now the industrial designers have appeared on the scene,” says Anita Kempe.

The telephones are displayed thematically. Among them are 19th century skeleton phones, wall-mounted phones resembling cuckoo-clocks, the telegraph service phone, bakelite phones from the thirties, loud-speaking phones from the fifties and modern mobile phones with many special functions.

INFORMATION
Curator Anita Kempe, + 46 8 450 56 24, anita.kempe@tekniskamuseet.se
Marketing Assistant Anna Ahlstrand, + 46 8 450 57 02, anna.ahlstrand@tekniskamuseet.se