Safnat Milano - Analogue telephone - Bakelite - Safnat Control Unit Milan

A powerful, elegant telephone exchange unit from Safnat of Milan, dating to the 1940s/1950s. With a still-glossy housing, two top main keys and a numeric dial that returns to its original position smoothly, it has wires without a plug because they ended in an electric switchboard. An important note: there is a crack/damage (not repaired because the pieces are not detached) on the rear right side, documented by photo. A dent not visible from many viewing angles where the handset will be placed. The keys at the base of this bakelite device (usually configured as an intercom model or a small corporate exchange) were used to manage internal calls and route the external line without the need for a large separate operator switchboard. Specifically, the keypad served to perform the following functions:
• Internal line selection (white/gold keys at the bottom): Each key was connected to a specific telephone located inside the same building (for example, the director’s office, the secretary, or the storage). Pressing the corresponding key would directly ring the desired internal unit to communicate via intercom.
• External line management (color keys at the top): The two top buttons (usually one red and one white or green) were respectively used to seize the urban external line to make a call outside the office or to hold (or drop) the conversation to pass the line to one of the internals.
• Central switching button: Used to release previously pressed keys or to swap the audio channel between the external and internal conversations.
This system allowed small offices, workshops, or large homes of the 1940s and 1950s to have an autonomous telephone network and to communicate internally at zero cost, using the same handset for both local and inter-company calls.
Because we could not test it, we wrote non-functional, but in fact it is untested and appears complete with all its components.
Beautiful for collectors, vintage and industrial spaces. To add a lived-in touch to public venues (perhaps in a display case).
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