South African Payphones
South Africa developed some of the world’s most innovative payphones, reflecting the country’s strong engineering and manufacturing capabilities during its industrial peak. International sanctions and economic isolation during the apartheid era encouraged local invention, leading to sophisticated, locally designed telephones and booths that rivalled or exceeded many overseas counterparts.
| NAME | IMAGE |
| AF-01-00 LM Ericsson WALL PAYPHONE (c.1902–1910) |  |
| AF-01-02 GRAY COINBOX 1930 |  |
| AF-01-04 Gray CoinBox with NEOPHONE 1950 |  |
| AF-01-05 Dowson & Dobson Auto Wall 1965 |  |
| AF-01-06 PROTEA Table model (1968) |  |
| AF-01-09 First CHATTERBOX 1985 |  |
| AF-01-11 Prototype L&G Comet 12 |  |
| AF-01-12 Orange Cardphone 1988 |  |
| AF-01-13 CHATTERBOX PAYPHONE (1993) Table Model |  |
| AF-01-18 Telkom Tetabox 1990 |  |
| AF-01-19 Blue TSA-4 1989 |  |
| AF-01-20 TELKOR ELECTRONIC PAYPHONES (1984–2000) |  |
| AF-01-23 EASICOIN PAYPHONE (1998) |  |
| AF-01-24 Rotor payphone 1995 |  |
| AF-01-25 Plessey Midori c.1995 |  |
| AF-01-26 Ascom_eXANTO (Telecom Namibia) |  |
| AF-01-27 AMPER MPP coin payphone (c. 2003) |  |
| AF-01-28 MTN GSM PAYPHONE (c. 2000–2004) Swaziland |  |
South African phone Booths
| AF-01-B01 The Silentium (c.1902–1910) |  |
| AF-01-B02 HUME PIPE CONCRETE TELEPHONE BOOTH (1922) |  |
| AF-01-B03 STEEL AND GLASS TELEPHONE BOOTH (1950) |  |
| AF-01-B04 ALUMINIUM FRAME BOOTH (1970) |  |
| AF-01-B05 ORANGE FIBREGLASS BUBBLE BOOTH (1975) |  |
| AF-01-B06 Current booths |  |
| Links to historical literature (PDF) | |
| Kaplan- Out of South Africa- Telkor 1996 | Academic working paper written by economist David Kaplan in 1996. Written during period of great change- paper discusses how Apartheid-era isolation fostered South Africa’s advanced telecommunications industry, with Telkor emerging as an innovative exporter of payphones and digital technology. |
| Pictorial history SA TELKOM Payphones SINCE 1960 | Good introduction pictorial list of Telkom payphone history |
| Proposal DONDERBROEK COIN BOX 1960 | Early proposal for important 1960 locally designed payphone |
| South Africa- Telkom Phone Apparatus History List 2000 | Pictorial list done by Robin Louwrens he was the curator of the Telkom museum (bad scan- very good resource) |