The Library recently bought a rare and interesting booklet which was published in 1900. It is one of the earliest examples of a telephone directory, which in this case, covers the area of north Wales and Chester. The list of names and numbers only fills twelve pages, which shows that telephones were still emerging as a way for people to interact with each other. As we live through a period of rapid technological advancement, it’s interesting to look back at how emerging appliances were used more than 125 years ago.
Most of the names listed are business people who used the devices to ensure that customers and retailers could contact them easily and vice versa. The cost for private residents to own telephones was still prohibitive, though it appears from looking through the directory that some wealthy individuals and families did possess them.
Most phone calls at the time were made by a telephone switchboard. By lifting the handset, the caller would be automatically connected to a switchboard operator (usually female) who would ask the caller for a number. If the number was not on the operator’s switchboard, they would connect the call by plugging the ringing cable into a relevant jack. If the number was not on the operator’s switchboard, they would transfer the call to the required exchange, where another operator would be able to connect the call.
An interesting advert appears on the back page of the directory for “auxiliary lines”. This is evidence that the businesses relied heavily on the telephone as a means for communication. Switchboard operations were labour intensive, and there were considerable delays in busy periods. Auxiliary lines were essential to connect multiple phones to each other. It enabled simultaneous calls to the same number, so possessing such switchboards would have been an attractive way for small businesses to increase the number of clients who could contact them.
Today, many of us walk around with a supercomputer in our pockets in the form of a smartphone, and we take such technology for granted. Looking through this directory makes us appreciate how telecommunication greatly expands our inter-connection and its importance in today’s world.
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