What kind of museum is the Telephone Museum?
Well, if we have to describe it in a modern word in the museum world,
then the Telephone Museum is actually easily not a museum.
Then it's a study collection.
Because museums today are someone who disseminates knowledge
to a very wide range of people, both in all age groups and so on.
And the Telephone Museum doesn't do it that way.
Well, the Telephone Museum spans over a very narrow spectrum,
where we on the other hand have the opportunity to go in depth,
in pretty much the smallest details on the devices.
And that's also why that you will experience out here,
that here is not used any space for signs and for
descriptions of how the the devices have worked.
Because the people who are here and open, they know these kinds of things
and can customize their information to the the audience that they're dealing with.
Whether it's a kindergarten class or a highly educated scientist.
How did the idea come about to make Such a kind of study collection then?
The idea is very old because I was more or less born with an interest in telephony.
And already from childhood, I actually collected telephones.
I didn’t preserve them in a significant way at that time.
But in the late 1960s, the Technical Museum moved to Helsingør.
Previously, it had been located here in Hellerup.
The Technical Museum was the only place where one could see old telephones.
And there was something in me that thought,
"Damn, why does it have to be in Helsingør?"
That meant you had to go all the way to Helsingør if you wanted to study the subject.
So I thought to myself, "You can make your own museum."
"You actually have a lot of telephones, right?"
In 1971, I moved into a large old villa in Charlottenlund,
where there was a dry basement that we didn’t use for anything.
And I thought, "Now you're going to build your own museum."
At that time, I already had quite a few telephones.
So I started shortly after we bought the house.
I covered the walls with wood, laid carpets, and so on.
And then I exhibited my telephones.
Not for just anyone to come and see,
but if someone was interested, they could come and look at them.
Then I had an acquaintance who had a decoration company
and did window displays for various stores.
At some point, he came to me and asked, "Can I borrow some of your telephones?"
"I need some for a display in a
men’s clothing store on Købmagergade, I think it was."
And I agreed.
Shortly after, my now longtime colleague and friend
was walking past that store on Købmagergade.
He stopped and thought, "Wow, look at those beautiful old telephones."
Because he was also a big telephone collector.
We just didn’t know each other yet.
So he went into the store and asked where the telephones had come from.
He was told that a decorator had brought them,
but he could get the decorator’s phone number and ask where they came from.
That’s how we got in touch.
It turned out that we lived less than five minutes apart in Charlottenlund.
This naturally led to a great collaboration.
I think this happened in the early 1970s.
We had separate collections at first—
mine was in my basement, and his was in his apartment.
But we worked together, each bringing our own strengths.
He had certain skills, like restoring, painting, and gilding,
while I focused more on the technical details of the telephones.
So we complemented each other well.
The telephone was invented by Graham Bell.
This is what his first model looked like.
It’s hard to recognize it as a telephone, but that’s what it was.
The version that customers were introduced to looked like this.
The first customers to get new telephones were in Denmark.
On January 15, 1881, the first telephone exchange opened,
right here in Copenhagen, on Lille Kongens Gade.
This is how it was set up.
The microphone was placed there.
It was installed at the house owner’s mouth level, because he was responsible for the technology and managing this newfangled telephone.
The telephone changed over time.
A couple of years later, it looked like this. A few years after that, it looked like this. The development happened incredibly fast.
We continued expanding the museum at my home,
and with joint efforts, we developed it so that it became quite extensive.
The funny thing was that we got KTAS as a "customer" in quotation marks.
In the sense that newly hired employees at KTAS,
who wanted a historical overview of the company's roots,
were sent out to us.
We had large groups of classes visiting,
there could be 20-25 people squeezed into this dry basement,
and absolutely no more than that.
They came to visit us, and through this, we got a good relationship with KTAS,
especially with the new employees, because they had all been to see us.
Eventually, KTAS management also heard
that there was something out in Charlottenlund that people were using.
We started getting invited to various events,
for example, when telephone exchanges were being shut down.
We tried to supplement our collection with equipment from KTAS,
but it was quite difficult at that time,
because KTAS was a very old-fashioned and centralized company,
and they did not collaborate with private collectors like us.
Eventually, we managed to establish some good
contacts at Jysk Telefon, at their management,
and we were able to supplement our collection well with equipment from there.
But they told us that if we wanted access to KTAS,
there was only one way – from the top down,
and not the other way around, which we had been trying for years.
So, we managed to arrange a meeting with KTAS's then-director,
his name was Johannes Rosbæk, he is now retired, 89 years old.
He came to visit us and see our collection, and was actually quite impressed.
And he immediately said that KTAS
would naturally support the initiative we had started.
He wanted us to create a framework
to manage and run the museum, so we founded
an association that took care of its operations.
Once KTAS approved it, all doors were open,
and we could get whatever we needed.
This naturally meant that our collection grew and grew,
until eventually, there was simply no more space in my villa in Charlottenlund.
The telephone director became aware of this,
and in 1978, at some reception,
we met him again at an event marking the closure of the old telephone exchanges on Amager.
He knew that Hellerup Central, where we are now,
was scheduled to close within a few years,
and he pulled me aside and asked,
"What would you say if we gave you an entire exchange?"
Of course, I could only say that we would love that!
It was exciting, and I knew Hellerup Central well,
as I had been here several times.
We agreed that once the exchange was shut down,
they would essentially reserve everything inside for us.
We would more or less seal it off for preservation.
Then we could move our respective collections down there, both mine and Ole Jæger’s.
And he would appreciate it if, on January 16, 1981,
which is now 20 years ago,
we could create a museum to be inaugurated on the centenary
of the opening of the first telephone exchange in Denmark.
And also to mark KTAS’s 100th anniversary.
And we did, and that’s where we are sitting now.
But telephones didn’t continue to look like they did in the old days with curved legs.
In 1908, Copenhageners were introduced to their new telephone.
Super modern.
What did you have to do? Just lift the receiver,
and then you spoke to the exchange and got connected as needed.
This system had the disadvantage
that each call required two telephone operators.
So, after some trials here in Hellerup and elsewhere,
it was decided that subscribers should be equipped with a device like this one.
Something new had been added: a rotary dial, as we can see here.
This had to be used – a fine device.
You lifted the receiver, got a dial tone, and if you needed Hellerup,
you dialed H and E, and then Hellerup answered shortly after.
This meant that the first sorting of calls,
which operators previously did,
was now handled by mechanical systems instead.
In the provinces, in 1935, they got a nice device like this one.
It worked in the usual way.
You turned a crank handle to call the exchange.
This system continued until around 1978.
Then devices like this one started appearing with a rotary dial,
in a more modern design, as we can also see.
This happened when we transitioned to six-digit phone numbers, which had become common.
If you wanted something really stylish, it was one of these.
A fine unit – you lifted the receiver and dialed.
Many found it smart and practical.
I never liked it. That’s my personal opinion.
We traveled all over the country and even extensively in Sweden,
since many of the phones had Swedish origins.
We bought them and traded for them in all sorts of ways.
We got quite a few from Jysk Telefon and later from KTAS.
There were a lot. We’re talking thousands.
It wasn’t just telephone sets – it was
switchboards, exchanges, and libraries.
We even have an entire library upstairs, with books, technical literature,
documenting how these systems worked.
Who made the telephones, etc.
We went into great detail.
What’s so fascinating about telephones?
It’s hard to say.
After 20 years working at this museum,
I still have this strange ability...
I don’t know why, but whenever I see an old telephone...
And it may well be that I’ve seen it before,
but I can feel that the limitation is coming.
"No, it's damn beautiful."
"What about the development of telephones, mobile phones?"
We've followed that very closely, not least because
we got a deal at one point with KTAS,
where we could continuously get the available models on the market,
in order to keep the collection up to date.
And even before automatic mobile phone systems were introduced,
we actually already had mobile phones.
I think we have a display of 100 mobile phones,
ranging from around 1960 all the way up to today.
Congratulations.
Yes, what we are standing in front of here is Hellrup Old Central.
It remains as it was left in 1978, when automation took care of all the numbers here.
What was it like to be a telephone operator here at Hellrup?
We will try to demonstrate it a bit.
You had to wear headphones.
Ones like these.
Put them on.
And then you plug in the jack.
Now we're there.
Now the calls can start pouring in.
How does the call come in?
Well, there's a light here that starts flashing.
Then the operator picks it up.
At the same time, an announcing machine was heard
But that's not something she has to handle.
It says, "Helrup."
And then the subscriber says a number.
4431.
And then it's about finding 4431 as quickly as possible.
There it is.
Before we connect, we just briefly touch the jack hole.
If we hear a little beep, then the line is busy.
Then the operator says that the line is busy.
That was easier to say.
Most of them said that.
If it's not busy, we connect the call.
A ringing is registered, which lasts one and a half seconds.
The operator is finished with this call.
There's nothing more to do.
But as she connects, the line is freed up.
The next call can come through.
The automatic system will signal that she is available.
She can handle another call.
And the next call comes in.
That one is blinking.
And that’s how a telephone operator's day goes.
The next call coming through is 6872.
How do we find it?
We take our cord.
Following 68, we taste the number 8.
That means it's in the 8-panel.
That’s this whole row down here.
We find 68 here.
Now we’re set.
6801 to 20.
21 to 40.
41 to 60.
Now we’re getting close.
61 to 80.
So it’s around here.
Right here is 72.
We can see the total here.
It counts counterclockwise.
We must remember to test first.
Find out if the line is busy.
It's busy.
It wasn’t.
The cord goes into place.
The ringing for - - 1.5 seconds appears.
The call is completed.
All the numbers that were here existed here.
Between 0 - - and 9.
All the numbers.
What is the rest of the field used for?
It’s a repetition.
We can see 0 to 9 once more.
That’s how it was represented.
Seven times - - all the way down.
There could be three times seven.
That’s 21.
The exchange was even bigger.
We have gone around the corner.
When it was at its full size, we had -
- 30 women working.
For every position, you had to account for 2.5 women.
2.5 women.
What does that mean?
Well.
There had to be coverage for rush hours.
There also had to be coverage for evening shifts,
night shifts, vacations, holidays, illness, and so on.
It added up to - - 2.5 women per position.
2.5 women.
At our largest, we had 30 positions.
30 times 2.5, according to my math, is 75.
In total, 75 women were needed to operate
the exchange’s 10,500 numbers.
It ranged from number - - 01 - - all the way up to 10,500.
The number office.
10,500.
55,000.
- 56,000. - No, 55,000.
55,000.
Busy.
What kind of audience visits the museum?
Yes.
Back when we opened, it was largely -
- people who were employed or had worked in the telephone company.
Many were interested because of their profession.
Over the years, many people have visited.
I think there have been 100,000 people over the past 20 years who have visited us.
That’s not such a large number.
It's no more than what the Experimentarium gets in a year.
When you consider that the topic is so niche - - and the special knowledge and expertise we have -
- I think it’s impressive that so many people have come.
Many visitors have also been students in education.
Students from the Technical University of Denmark and high schools.
Schools working on communication and telephone-related projects.
They usually come in groups.
We have welcomed them and given special guided tours -
- where we tailor the tour to fit their needs.
- - so it matches what they require.
What do visitors think of the museum?
Most of them are very enthusiastic.
They see it as a little gem - - a museum that
cannot be recreated elsewhere - - and is truly unique.
Of course, this is also because we, as the founders -
- have been able to provide visitors with a fantastic level of - - knowledge about what they see.
That’s not something people are used to.
People are usually accustomed to museums where someone just keeps watch.
To make sure no one touches anything.
Here, we engage in direct dialogue with all our visitors.
That is something people really appreciate.
In 1930, when they decided to introduce this new system
they needed to give the telephone exchanges names.
They already had names.
But not all of them were allowed to keep their names.
When you wanted to get a connection at all - - you lifted the receiver.
You got a dial tone.
Then you dialed the first two letters of the name.
H and E.
Yes, that sounds fine.
But what about Herlev?
That also starts with H and E. That wouldn’t work.
Luckily, Herlev was on a street called Yrsavej.
So they renamed it to Yrsa.
There were no issues with that.
This was later the reason we got some
strange - - exchange names in the Copenhagen area.
Asta—what does that have to do with anything?
As they kept using up available letter combinations -
there were fewer and fewer choices, so it became more about -
whether the two available letters could even form a name.
Luna.
That’s a strange name.
But people got used to it, and it worked.
What about the future? What will it look like?
At the moment, it doesn’t look very good for the museum
- - because the Telephone Museum is set to close in 2001.
This is because a new Post and
Tele Museum –– which is located in Købmagergade.
Which is actually a successor to the old Post-
and Telegraph Museum –– which was located on Valkendorfsgade.
It was founded as a collaboration between Post Denmark and Tele Denmark.
The problem is that the tele collections in Købmagergade –
– are not very extensive, because they come from –
– as I mentioned earlier, the Post and Telegraph Museum.
Tele Denmark contributes to the museum, and therefore they –
– feel that the museum is continuously being strengthened.
Since Tele Denmark, after KTAS was closed, has covered our expenses –
– and there has always been free admission –– they have decided to merge the two museums.
Since we are the smaller one, we will be moved to Købmagergade.
Presumably only partially, because there is not enough space for such large collections.
When the two museum foundations, which own the museums, are merged –
– all of our exhibits will become part of the collections there.
Will all the telephones be included in the collections?
In principle, all the telephones belong to the foundation that runs this place.
When it is merged with the foundation that runs
the museum in Købmagergade –– all belongings will follow.
Nothing can be taken out.
Is there room for them?
Not all of them, but most will, for a period, end up –
– in storage or a warehouse and be inaccessible to the public.
That is quite old.
Yes, you could say that.
On the other hand, it should be secured for the future.
Both Ole and I, after 32 years of work –
– on the project we now call the Telephone Museum –
– have gotten so old that we must consider a generational shift.
An adventure cannot continue forever.
What about the large Helrup exchange?
That will remain here.
Hellerup Central is the premises where the Telephone Museum is located.
It will remain in these premises, it cannot be moved.
We do not know its future, but –
– in some way, we hope it will still be accessible.
It is difficult to hope for that.
Let’s go.
If you needed a taxi in Copenhagen -
you would take your phone and dial Central.
A lady would answer, and you would say 9001 -
and then you would be connected to the taxi center.
Then you would say that you wanted to send a car to a specific address.
The center would look at their map and say - - that the relevant taxi stand is number 14.
Then they would call taxi stand number 14.
Let’s see what it looked like.
There was a telephone, a beautiful one.
With a beautiful receiver.
If your left ear wasn’t very good, you
could be helped - - by the extra earphone.
Then you had to speak directly into it.
Then you would be told to drive to - - Østerbrogade number 16.
In advance, the center could see - - if
the relevant taxi stand - - had large or small cars.
Or if they had both small and large cars.
So that you wouldn’t call for large cars if none were available.
If it was raining, you could close this cover.
Then the beautiful technical equipment here wouldn’t get wet.
The last car that left had to remember to close it.
Why?
This was technology.
That screw sitting there - - pressed down on this contact.
Then the relevant taxi stand could be seen.
There were no more cars, they had all left.
We close it because it was the last car.
Today, museums are very focused on visitor numbers -
and they place a high priority on education -
as I said before, for all age groups.
They focus on research, publishing literature - - and many other things.
That is not something we have done here.
We haven’t had the opportunity because we’ve been very few people.
Could you imagine that perhaps more visitors would come -
to see the telephones if the museum moved?
They have a very high number of visitors in Købmagergade.
I don’t think that would make a big difference there.
Our visitor numbers here have been -
at their highest, about 5,000 people per year.
Considering that maybe 60,000
people visit per year - - this is still a small fraction.
What about you? Are you moving too?
No, we are not.
We are given a reasonable transition period here -
and we will contribute our knowledge and expertise about everything -
to the new people who will take care of it.
At the Post & Tele Museum, they actually focus on younger generations - - than I belong to.
Also to ensure a continuity that lasts a little longer.
We have a great collaboration with them, and we do everything we can -
to pass on as much knowledge and expertise as possible -
about these things, but it’s difficult.
These are young people with university degrees
but with no technical background.
But we are working on it.
How does it feel to have helped start a museum -
completely from scratch, collected everything - - and built the entire system?
I can’t deny that most of the artifacts
here - - I have a very personal connection to.
If one can even have a personal connection to objects.
Of course, it’s sad to let go of that connection -
because you could take almost any object
in the museum - - and ask, “Where did you get this from?”
And I would tell you about the time I drove up to -
Vendsyssel and knocked on the door of a station manager
and brought the artifact home.
I could also tell you about times when my wife -
waited in the car while I was inside talking with -
people in some warehouse at Jysk Telefon.
After some persistent negotiations over several hours -
I would finally walk out
with some old telephones - -
that would then become part of the collection.
What now? Are you starting a new collection at home?
No, I’m not. I’m too old for that now.
For one thing, I don’t live in the house
where the original collection was stored.
Now I live in an ordinary apartment - - and there’s simply no space for that.
Now that the phones have ended up here -
I’ve started collecting other things instead.
Now I collect cameras and similar objects.
English subtitles 2025: Sam Hallas using Subtitle edit/ Whisper/ ChatGPT