Graham Bell Centenary 1847 - 1947 - the story of Telephone Development by the Post Office, London, 1947 - cover graphic design by Tom Eckersley
Tom Eckersley (1914 - 1997) was one of the foremost design practitioners and teachers during the 20th century. In the 1930s he worked jointly with Eric Lombers but the partnership did not survive the outbreak of war. This cover is from a booklet issued by the GPO, then responsible for telecomminications as well as the mail, and was to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Alexander Graham Bell in Edinburgh, the man regarded as the 'father' of the telephone - although there was at the time, in 1876, and still, there is some debate as to the role played by Elisha Grey. Bell was at work in the US at the time of his work and he and his family went on to found that doyen of telephone companies, Bell, later to become AT&T. In the UK the telephone network was consolidated into the ownership of the Post Office who by 1911 had a virtual monopoly of the network - the last municipal systems to hold out being Portsmouth (that transferred in 1913) and Hull that continued to operate its "Telephone Department" until the age of privatisation. Anyhow, the booklet cover shows a profile of the bearded Bell with a contemporary handset and the inventor's first machine.
Graham Bell Centenary 1847 - 1947 - the story of Telephone Development by the Post Office, London, 1947 - cover graphic design by Tom Eckersley
Tom Eckersley (1914 - 1997) was one of the foremost design practitioners and teachers during the 20th century. In the 1930s he worked jointly with Eric Lombers but the partnership did not survive the outbreak of war. This cover is from a booklet issued by the GPO, then responsible for telecomminications as well as the mail, and was to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Alexander Graham Bell in Edinburgh, the man regarded as the 'father' of the telephone - although there was at the time, in 1876, and still, there is some debate as to the role played by Elisha Grey. Bell was at work in the US at the time of his work and he and his family went on to found that doyen of telephone companies, Bell, later to become AT&T. In the UK the telephone network was consolidated into the ownership of the Post Office who by 1911 had a virtual monopoly of the network - the last municipal systems to hold out being Portsmouth (that transferred in 1913) and Hull that continued to operate its "Telephone Department" until the age of privatisation. Anyhow, the booklet cover shows a profile of the bearded Bell with a contemporary handset and the inventor's first machine.