Secraphone Secure Phone
1937
Föderl-System Signal Transmitter Telephone
1915
Strowger 'Tele-Chec' seating control phone system
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Automatic ElectricAutomatic ElectricAutomatic Electric Company was an American telephone equipment supplier primarily for independent telephone companies in North America, but also had a worldwide presence. With its line of automatic telephone exchanges, it was also a long-term supplier of switching equipment to the Bell System, starting in 1919.
The company was the largest manufacturing unit of the Automatic Electric Group. In 1955, the company was acquired by General Telephone and Electronics (GT&E). After numerous reorganization within GTE, the company's assets came under the umbrella of Lucent in the 1990s, and subsequently part of Nokia.Read more on Wikipedia → · data phones, American
About This Phone
Tele-Chec was a specialized "theatre seating control" system manufactured by Automatic Electric in the late 1920s and early 1930s. While the physical device looked like a standard telephone, it was actually a data entry and signaling tool used to manage theater attendance in real-time. As patrons were seated or left, an usher would go to a Tele-Chec station and "dial" a code. Instead of making a voice call, the pulses from the rotary dial sent an electrical signal to a central counting machine (the "Strowger" switchboard) located in the theater office or ticket booth. This system updated a signal board or a series of light indicators for the lobby captain or ticket seller. It was essentially a "smart" remote for ushers, so that the theatre managers could know in real time how many seats where already full, or still available.
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