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Long before smartphones, this retro phone turned heads

In the 1970s, many households rented their telephones. As part of a campaign to convince people to buy them, one phone company created the Sculptura. It's now on display in New York City.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.