Old US

28 Amazing Vintage Photographs That Capture Telephone Switchboard Operators at Work from the Past

Following the invention of the telephone in 1876, the first telephones were rented in pairs which were limited to conversation between the parties operating those two instruments. The use of a central exchange was soon found to be even more advantageous than in telegraphy. In January 1878 the Boston Telephone Dispatch company had started hiring boys as telephone operators. Boys had been very successful as telegraphy operators, but their attitude, lack of patience, and behavior was unacceptable for live telephone contact, so the company began hiring women operators instead.

These operators were almost always women until the early 1970s, when men were once again hired. In many cases, customers came to know their operator by name.
As telephone exchanges converted to automatic (dial) service, switchboards continued to serve specialized purposes. Before the advent of direct-dialed long distance calls, a subscriber would need to contact the long-distance operator in order to place a toll call.

Check out these 28 amazing vintage photos below which showing women who worked as telephone switchboard operators from the past.

A typical telephone exchange switchboard, 1943
Army WAC phone operator, ca. 1940s
Bell System telephone operators, 1950
Canadian Women’s Army Corps operating the telephone switchboard at Canadian Military Headquarters, London, 1945
Chesapeake and Potomac telephone operators, Washington D.C, 1919
Early switchboard operator, ca. 1880s
Operator at a switchboard, ca.1900
Southwestern Bell Telephone switchboard operators, ca. 1960s
Switchboard operator, 1948
Switchboard operator, Amsterdam, ca. 1940s
Switchboard operators at the Bell Telephone head office, 1912
Switchboard operators at the sole Milwaukee telephone exchange, 1883
Switchboard operators at the Sydney GPO Switchboard, 1913
Switchboard operators, 1922
Telephone operator, 1898
Telephone operator, 1929
Telephone operator, 1969
Telephone operator, ca. 1900s
Telephone operators in Seattle, Washington, 1952
Telephone operators, ca. 1910s
Telephone operators, ca. 1950s
Telephone switchboard operator on Washington Island, 1915
Telephone switchboard operators in the 1960s
Telephone switchboard operators, ca. 1900s
Telephone twitchboard operators, 1914
The early switchboard operator, ca. 1880s
WAC telephone operators operate the Victory switchboard during the Potsdam Conference in their headquarters in Babelsburg, Germany, 17 July 1945
Women operators in Richmond, Virginia, 1884

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