GPO Telephones - Type 712/722 Trimphone

Type 712/722 Trimphone

The GPO introduced the Trimphone in the late 60s as an alternative to its standard telephone. Subscribers had to pay extra for the Trimphone. The original design by Martyn Rowlands dates from 1964. It won a COID Design Award in 1966. Anthony Wedgwood Benn presented the first one to a subscriber in 1965, but it was not available to everyone until 1968.

The original Trimphone was the 712 however it took a number of revisions to get right and a much improved model, the 722 came along in 1966 and was released as the 1/722 with a revised version, the 1/722 MOD, following swiftly on its heels. A further improved version, the 2/722, then became the standard issue in late 1971. With the advent of new style wiring the model numbers were prefixed with an '8' and were fitted with a 4000Ω high impedance ringer and a new style line cord fitted with a 431A plug. Push-button models were introduced in the 70s and the final version of the Trimphone was the Phoenix phone, available in a range of new colours known as The Snowdon Collection which came in out 1982.

• An original Tele 722, Trimphone, two tone green

• 1969 1/722F MOD grey & green Trimphone telephone

• 1971 1/722F grey & white Trimphone telephone - one of the last of this type

• 1971 2/722F grey & white Trimphone telephone - one of the first of this type

• 1982 8722G Snowdon Collection Trimphone telephone in black and grey