Manufacturer: Wallace China
User: Associated Telephone Company Ltd.
Date of plate: 1951

Lapel Pin

Santa Monica, California Headquarters built in 1937

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Notes: From Wikipedia: "The Associated Telephone Utilities Company [aka Associated Telephone Company Ltd.]  was founded in Wisconsin in 1926 by Sigurd Odegard. The company acquired the Indiana Telegraph Securities Company and its subsidiary companies in August 1929. The purchased utility operated 9,819 stations in Logansport, Indiana, and Greencastle, Indiana.

"The Associated Telephone Utilities Company increased its budget for 1930 to $7,000,000, an increase of 40%. It invested $3,047,000 of this sum in the Western United States, with $2,493,850 spent in Los Angeles and the surrounding region [including the Santa Monica headquarters shown above]. $553,500 was divided among Washington, Idaho, Nebraska, and Texas.

"A one-month sales campaign resulted in the addition of 1,040 phones in August 1931. During this period the Midwestern utility worked in unison with the Associated Telephone Utilities System in New York. For the year ending December 31, 1932, the firm realized a profit of $13,305 after taxes.

"The Associated Telephone Utilities Company went bankrupt in 1933, during the Great Depression. Prior to the Depression, the utility was a prominent player in the electrical power business in the Midwestern United States. An appeal by receivers appointed for the Associated Telephone Utilities Company was filed around April 1933, contesting the bankruptcy of the utility, and it was reorganized in 1934 as General Telephone."

White body plate with the company's circular logo in green on the top rim. The logo consists of a line drawing of a utility pole with three crossarms. The utility pole is surrounded by two circular pin lines. Within the space between these two circles are the words "Associated Telephone Company Ltd." at the top and "General Telephone System" at the bottom, all in block letters. In the center of the circle is a band with the word "Telephone" in white block letters.

Sources:
Wikipedia – history of company
Rios.com – photo of Santa Monica, California headquarters

Contributors:
Plate photos: Kathleen Perrin
Author: Ed Phillips