PreservedUpdated 5/22/2026

Strowger Telephone Switch Component
Made by Automatic Electric Company1924Illinois, United States
A ten-line selector from a Strowger automatic telephone exchange — the electromechanical machinery that first connected calls without a human operator. The stepping switch's clatter was the sound of the automated twentieth century arriving.
Provenance
1924
Manufactured by Automatic Electric, Chicago
documented
1968
Removed during exchange modernization
attributed
1988
Acquired by Lindqvist Workshop Archive
documented
2026
Digitally preserved in Relic
confirmed
Current Custodian
Northern Europe
Access Matrix
- Digital viewingpublic
- Additional photographsby request
- Remote video inspectionavailable
- Research visitowner approval
- Temporary research loancase by_case
- Museum exhibition loanavailable
- Scientific samplingnot permitted
- Commercial licensingcontact owner
Record Metadata
CategoryIndustrial History
MaterialsBrass, steel, copper contacts, phenolic insulation
Dimensions30 × 12 × 10 cm
ConditionGood; mechanism operates freely
Digital Record
24 high-res images (8,192 × 6,144)
3D Mesh / Photogrammetry
Precise digital measurements
Doc. Score: 60/100Scanned 8/30/2026
Cite this object
Relic Archive. (1924). Strowger Telephone Switch Component [Object record]. Relic Object RL-1924-000045.