When Representatives moved into a new House Office Building in 1933, their furniture, including telephone tables like this one, was on the cutting edge of modernity and economy. Tables and desks blended classical style with tops of Bakelite, the first plastic made with synthetic components. It made the 763 telephone tables more durable, giving them “an acid-resisting border,” impervious to hot water, cigar burns, solvents, and acids. More than 80 years later, many are still used in Members’ offices.
