When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Up for sale is a cool vintage ad for what was then a new and very cool electronic product. According to the ad: \"The Telephone Answering Machine is not a novelty. It is the new thing in sophisticated office or home equipment. Try a Pioneer AF-61 and see how easily it solves communications problems.\"
The ad is from Pioneer (Pioneer Electronic Corporation; Tokyo, Japan) and is for the Model AF-61 Telephone Answering Machine. It is a single page, printed on both sides. The front side has a photo of the answering machine, including a phone placed in the allotted space on top of the machine. The answering machine used a tape cartridge used to record the incoming messages. It allowed for incoming messages of up to 55-70 seconds and could accommodate a maximum of 20 minutes of recorded incoming messages (i.e. about 20 full length incoming messages).
This machine employed 20 transistors, 3 relays and 3 motors. It was an imposing device, measuring about 11.5 inches wide, about 12.5 inches deep, and more than 4 inches tall, and weighing a hefty 9 kilograms (almost 20 lbs)!
This paper ad measures just under 11 inches tall by about 8.5 inches wide. It is printed in color on the front and in black and white on the back. The back includes a narrative discussion of the features of the machine, a small photo of the machine with all parts and controls labeled, and a table with the specifications of the AF-61.
Provenance: I obtained this ad from an estate. The former owner had carefully preserved many publications about electronic products he had purchased while in the armed forces and stationed at Tachikawa AFB in Japan. I believe he completed his transactions at Japanese stores near the AFB and had the new products shipped back to the States. Most of the sales receipts and other dated materials I found are from 1970 (give or take a year). I assume that the Pioneer Model AF-61 was a new product at that time.
An interesting feature of this ad is that the telephone in the photo (not a Pioneer product) is a rotary, not a pushbutton phone. My understanding is that, by the late 1960\'s, pushbutton phones were already rapidly replacing rotary phones. On the other hand, the rotary phone in the photo has only numbers (no letters) on the dial, suggesting that the phone dates to some time after the elimination of two character alpha(betical) telephone exchanges (i.e. after the switch to all numeric seven digit phone numbers).
I have tried to look up more about the Pioneer Model AF-61, or any related Pioneer models, without success. I suspect that Pioneer\'s telephone answering machines were not a commercial success, as this product category was not truly aligned with the company\'s stated primary mission as a \"World-Famous Brand in Hi-Fi Reproduction\".
Please see above for full description of condition and for photos. The ad was previously fold but now lies perfectly flat.PLEASE NOTE: I am selling a print advertisement for a Pioneer telephone answering machine, NOT THE ACTUAL MACHINE. Sold as is.
Attention US Buyers: I will ship by USPS Ground Advantage, or by USPS Priority Mail, your choice.
Attention International Buyers: I am exclusively using e-Bay International Shipping. If you win this sale, I will ship it to an e-Bay facility in the United States. e-Bay will be responsible for sending it to your international address. Please familiarize yourself with e-Bay International Shipping before offerding. Thank you.
