PhoneMate 400 Answering Machine

The PhoneMate 400 (introduced in 1971) was the first commercially successful residential telephone answering machine. Housed in a 10-pound wooden cabinet, it used a mini reel-to-reel tape system to hold up to 20 incoming messages. Because it debuted before federal regulations allowed consumers to plug non-telephone company equipment directly into wall jacks, it became a revolutionary—and sometimes defiant—way to screen calls and take messages while away from home.