Red telephone

Red telephones are special: suggesting spy thrillers or hot lines. There was the red telephone line between Moscow and Washington in the 60s and Spymaster 'M' from the James Bond films always had a red phone on his desk.

Red telephones have been available in Britain since the thirties, but they came into their own in the swinging sixties and have been a fashion statement ever since. When Lord Snowdon was asked to revamp the trimphone range from its original colour schemes, a two tone red phone was part of his new range.

The first UK red telephone was a variant on the Art Deco style pyramid phone, the 162 telephone or Neophone. The later 332 telephone was also available in red. However, as with all colours other than black, it was extremely rare.

The swinging sixties brought what the GPO proudly called the 'modern telephone', pictured right and above. The GPO called this colour 'lacquer red'. The 706 phone was complete with a lettered dial for old fashioned lettered telephone exchanges. It is this phone that you see on M's desk in the James Bond films.

There was no extra charge for coloured phones in the 60s, although most people chose ivory as it went with almost any decor.  The phone was seen as a luxury, so much so that the GPO had to tell people in its literature that having a telephone was no longer an extravagant statement.

In 70s, the basic GPO telephone had a revamp. There was a clear dial and the old fashioned lettered dial disappeared in favour of the what the GPO bizarrely called 'all figure numbering'. Red was still an option for people to chose for a telephone for the home.

Privatisation of British Telecom in the 80s led to more choices for phone colours and styles. Lord Snowdon revamped the trimphone range in 1982 and two tone red was part of the new trendy range of colours. The two tone red phone is often mistaken for a phone from the 70s. One was seen on the retro 70s' police drama, 'Life on Mars'.

For more on the 'Snowdon Collection' Trimphones see Phoenix Phone

As BT moved further away from its GPO roots, it offered a whole new range of cutting edge phones. Remember 'Get in with the In Phone'? Red was part of this new range from the mid 80s. This red BT Genie Phone, right, was part of the 'In Phone' range.

Moving bang up to date, we are much more conscious of using colour and style in our homes and a telephone does not have to be a once in a lifetime acquisition.

This new red trimphone from 'Wild and Wolf', left, is the business. It looks and feels just like the originals from the 70s and 80s, but has modern functions and a push button dial, which is cleverly crafted into the original trimphone dial. You get modern reliability, but in a well made reproduction that is very close to the original design.

Buy a red Trimphone