Sculptura
1977

As the era of novelty telephones took hold in the 1970s, third-party phones of all shapes and gimmicks began finding their way into homes. Most telephone companies were still discouraging the practice of customers connecting third-party phones to their lines, but interestingly-shaped phones caught on regardless. AT&T responded to demand with the Western Electric “Design Line” series, a set of eclectic telephones which pushed the boundaries of telephone design.

The loop-shaped Sculptura stands as perhaps the most eclectic telephone in the Design Line. Available in brown, white, and yellow, the Sculptura remains a distinctly late-1970s take on appliance design and a prime example of disco-era retrofuturism.