Remember the Speaking Clock
This post was originally published on this siteA speaking clock or talking clock is a live or recorded human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, […]
communication
Jeanne Bauer Walking With a DynaTAC on 6th Avenue in New York City, 1973
This post was originally published on this siteIn 1973, Jeanne Bauer was photographed walking along 6th Avenue in New York, holding the revolutionary DynaTAC mobile […]
Candid Photographs Taken Between 1998 and 2002 of People Using Mobile Phones
This post was originally published on this siteThese candid photographs are from “The Phone Book” (2002) by British photographer Martin Parr. A project undertaken in […]
Who Remembers Someone Who Had This? Radio Shack’s Ads for One of the First Mobile Phones in the Late 1980s
This post was originally published on this siteIn the early days of mobile phones, advertisements stressed their usefulness in business and staying connected. Mobile phones […]
Giant Videophone, 1964
This post was originally published on this siteThis phone-viewing system gave you a picture of any caller similarly equipped. It could be used on ordinary […]
Notificator, the Public Robot Messenger Board From the 1930s
This post was originally published on this siteTo aid persons who wish to make or cancel appointments or inform friends of their whereabouts, a robot […]
First Telephone Used to Help Escaping Slaves, 1933
This post was originally published on this siteAmerica’s oldest telephone, pictured here, was used before the Civil War by abolitionists who helped negroes escape. It […]
Holding a Transmitter in One Hand, the Player Describes the Game as He Plays, 1939
This post was originally published on this siteA PLAY-BY-PLAY account of a basketball game, broadcast by one of the actual players during the contest, went […]
This 1919 Cartoon Depicting the Use of a ‘Pocket Telephone’
This post was originally published on this siteIn March 1919, the Daily Mirror newspaper published a cartoon by the English cartoonist and caricaturist, William Kerridge […]
Spring-Arm Phone Holder Leaving Both Hands Free, 1948
This post was originally published on this siteHolding the telephone ready for use, a “third hand” of flexible steel leaves both the operator’s hands free […]
“You’ll Be Able To Carry Phone In Pocket In Future” – 1963 Newspaper Article Predicted the Invention of Cell Phones
This post was originally published on this siteAn article from the April 18, 1963 edition of the Massfield News-Journal promised “You’ll be able to carry […]
Aquatic Telephones Let Skin Divers Talk Under Water, 1957
This post was originally published on this siteThis swimmie-talkie uses water as a medium for sending high-frequency sound waves, on the principle of the hydrophone […]
Window Washers Talk in Broadcast, 1937
This post was originally published on this sitePerched on ledges high above the street, two window washers, one in New York and the other in […]
Telephones on Wheels, 1960
This post was originally published on this siteThe mobile telephone center has been put into service in Chicago in 1960. It is designed to assist […]
Plastic Shell Equips Phone For Two-Way Listening, 1953
This post was originally published on this siteTwo persons can share the same telephone with a device patented by Roger Heap of Lyme, Connecticut in […]
The Voice With a Smile: Vintage Bell Telephone System Ads Featuring Operators From Between the 1930s and 1950s
This post was originally published on this siteFor much of the 20th century, women played an important role in telecommunications system of the United States. […]
“A Huge Brick”: The Evolution Of Mobile Phones From the 1970s to 1990s
This post was originally published on this siteThe history of proto mobile phones goes back to 1908 when a US Patent was issued in Kentucky […]
Telephone Holder Is Curved to Fit Contour of Shoulder, 1948
This post was originally published on this siteLeaving both hands free, a telephone holder designed to fit the contour of the shoulder balances the instrument […]
1956 Bell Telephone System Ad
This post was originally published on this siteOriginally published in Life Magazine on May 14, 1956, this Bell Telephone System advertisement utilizes the ideas of […]
A Newspaper Article From 1963 Predicted a Phone That You’d One Day Be Able to Put in Your Pocket
This post was originally published on this siteThe concept of a cellphone existed long before you held one in your hand. In 1963, a newspaper […]
Eye of Tomorrow: French Film From 1947 Predicted Our Addiction to Smartphones in the 21st Century
This post was originally published on this siteTélévision: Oeil de Demain (“Television: Eye of Tomorrow”) predicted that some day in the future everyone would be […]
The Pocket Telephone: Century-Old Comic Predicting the Horrors of the Mobile Phone
This post was originally published on this siteEarly 1900s comic predicts the mobile phone. Calls the prospect a “modern horror.” This cartoon by W.K.Hasleden was […]
Ashtrays and Coin-Operated “Tel-a-Chairs” in the Los Angeles Greyhound Bus Terminal, 1969
This post was originally published on this sitePassengers watching coin-operated TV’s in the LA Greyhound terminal in 1969. Also, take note of those space age […]
“There’ll Be No Escape From Telephones” – This 1953 Prediction for Cellphone Actually Comes True!
This post was originally published on this siteIn an April 1953 newspaper article in the Tacoma News Tribune, Mark Sullivan, who was the president of […]
Amateur Radio Installed in car, 1919
This post was originally published on this siteAn amateur radio set installed in a car by Alfred H. Grebe, a radio manufacturer of New York […]