Connections: An Exhibit of Classic Telephones

'Conversations with the Collector' scheduled for November 13th

In collaboration with UW-Stout student Kenton Newman, the Rassbach Museum is excited to share an exhibit all about telephones!

In the cell phone era, it’s difficult to imagine how revolutionary telephone technology was in the late 19th century. Landline telephones convert a caller’s voice into electrical signals that travel through wires to another telephone, which then converts the signals back into sound waves. Early phones ranged from large wooden wall models to candlestick desk sets. The rotary dial telephone, which allowed users to make calls without the aid of an operator, became a fixture in American homes by the 1930s. 

This short-term exhibit features classic telephones on loan from local collector Kenton Newman, with a few additions from our own collection, including a variety of rotary and touchtone models, specialty and work phones, novelty phones, and early cell phones. 

Join us on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the museum for "Conversations with the Collector" to meet Kenton and see the exhibit. He will be available to answer questions and share his vast knowledge! 

Kenton is a collector that has been featured in the museum's annual Collectors Day - and has such a wide a varied collection, we asked if we could make it a larger display. A few phones from the Society's collection have been added to the exhibit, bringing in our Dunn County story. 

The exhibit is up and on display through November 22nd.