Map Showing Lines of the Bell Telephone Companies in the United States and Canada

American Telephone and Telegraph Company

Published by American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Boston, 1906

About this Item

this is a stunning depiction of the status of American connectivity by telephone.The West Coast is only connected through the Washington state network. Nowhere in Southern California can you find a connection directly east to the East coast. The midwest density and Eastern seaboard densities of connections dominate the telephone communications network. This does not compare with the technology of Western Union connections at the time. A conversation is a question of cost. Reaching the coast by voice was not as easy as by telegram. The map design overall is pleasing to the eye. The compiler chose the lines of connection to be thin ad in red. This highlights the sophistication of voice transmission. The viewer of the map must understand the relative development of technology. The auto industry was just penetrating the available market on the eve of the introduction to mass production for the Model T. The road system was a shambles with the national perspective just being conceptualized. Horatio Jackson and other pathfinders had been nosing around the West and moving in a transcontinental pattern. The phone lines followed established roads and railroads. So it is easy to follow the possibilities this skeletal map portrays. This map belongs in a major collection for technology and travel. The entire map shows the technological penetration of voice transmission.

Seller Inventory # 613

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Map Showing Lines of the Bell Telephone Companies in the United States and Canada
• Publisher: American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Boston
• Publication Date: 1906
• Binding: 39 1/4 x 25 1/2 inches
• Condition: Very good condition. See pics.