Map Showing the Lines of the Bell Telephone Companies in the United States and Canada
$775.00
Scarce map of America’s first nationwide long-distance network.
1 in stock
Description
This fascinating map of the United States highlights the nationwide system of telephone lines during the first few years of the 20th century. The long-distance lines of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (better known today as AT&T) are shown in light green, while the local lines of the Bell System are depicted in red.
Scores of tiny communities are labeled throughout the image, reflecting the company’s widespread coverage. While every state and territory is served in some capacity, there is a clear paucity of communications infrastructure in the Great Plains and the Southwestern U.S. The first truly transcontinental call wouldn’t occur until 1915!
The map is signed W.H.C. in the lower right and was printed by the Heliotype Company of Boston, Massachusetts. Copyrighted and published in 1904 by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company. AT&T became the parent of the Bell System in 1899, allowing the company to develop a virtual monopoly over telephone communications in the United States until its antitrust breakup in 1983.
Map Details
Publication Date: 1904
Author: American Telephone & Telegraph Company
Sheet Width (in): 42.00
Sheet Height (in): 27.00
Condition: B+
Condition Description: Color printed map on a thin sheet of paper, formerly folded but now flattened. Soft creasing and moderate wear along folds, including small holes at the fold joints and minor image loss in a few areas (see central Nevada). Color has somewhat faded. Good condition overall.
$775.00
1 in stock