Video: the world's oldest telephone book

Last year, Christie's auctioned off the world's oldest telephone book. It's from 1878 and features both a residential directory and a "yellow pages." It's only 40 pages and doesn't contain a single telephone number, just the names of those who have service. IEEE Spectrum has a fun little video about the 1878 New Haven Telephone Directory.

[#1 posted by Ugly Canuck , September 9, 2008 11:53 AM]

If you ever get to Baddeck Nova Scotia go to the Alexander Graham bell Museum, it is worth a visit.
They have early telephones from the first exchange in Canada, set up near Brantford, Oontario.
The phone number was '6', displayed on the dial.

[#2 posted by Ugly Canuck , September 9, 2008 11:56 AM]

The entire exchange had 12 telephones IIRC.

[#3 posted by David Pescovitz , September 9, 2008 12:03 PM]

I wish my phone number was 6. Or at least 666.

[#4 posted by diggerdoug , September 9, 2008 12:35 PM]

Your link is bad, it's linking to the lego-simpsons.

[#5 posted by notpeter , September 9, 2008 5:02 PM]

Here's link the to video:
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/video?id=541
And no mention of the fact it sold for $170k?

[#6 posted by Roy Trumbull , September 9, 2008 5:22 PM]

City directories gave people's addresses. They go back to the 1800s. The telephone book was an outgrowth.

[#7 posted by Ugly Canuck , September 9, 2008 6:09 PM]

City directories are still around too and can be quite useful.