By the late 50's 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. The pink body and handset have been given new life with a fresh caot of Polane. This is the smae product used by the original manufacturers to restore their phones. We ahve completed this phone by adding new matching pink handset and line cords.
