Girls seemed to be trying out a telephone that was exhibited in Jakarta in 1955 by a Swedish company, Ericsson.
As a young country that has only driven out colonial powers for 5 years, Indonesia faced security and political turmoil at the beginning of its journey. This makes our image of the early years of independence always bleak and filled with life's difficulties.
That's why this photo is interesting because it shows the other side of that period where normal life continued, although maybe only for some people who can afforded it.
Landlines were clearly a luxury at the time, previously they could only be accessed via public services. I myself just enjoyed landlines in the 1990s in Jakarta. So, it is clear that the girls who were interested in the telephone in the above picture were from wealthy families.
The photograph above is colorized, below is the original one.
(Howard Sochurek/LIFE)
