By the late 50s almost every telephone maker was either out of buisness or stayed alive by producing almost idendictal copies of the WE 500. Automatic Electric were the exception, they were the last independant telephone maker to stick with their original designs. Although the AE 80 was completely designed in house, AE still had to take out a licencing agreement with Western Electric since their design shared many of the priciples of the 500 design that were covered under various patents. This particular 80 has been restored to its original appearance. This black edition of particular interest due to the addition of the chrome plungers. This phone has been tested and works fine. It comes with our standard one year parts and labour warranty
