I had a 1959 dial phone in my home until around 2000, although I also kept a modern phone so as to handle voicemail. The dial phone had a good sound and was ergonomically pleasant to hold.
There was a tavern we went to that had a telephone without a dialer on it, for incoming calls only. We eventually figured out that tapping the phone cradle switch once did the same thing as dialing a ‘one.’ And if you tapped fast enough, you could create any number you wanted, and dial out for free.