Old Phone Books: Social Networks of Times Past
JULY 9, 2009
Old phone books provide a window into the social networks of the past. These days when celebrities are perpetually hiding from paparazzi, one can hardly 
imagine they'd turn up anywhere so prosaic as the white pages (though some famous folk do list themselves even now, as does the mayor). A recent New York Times article highlights the pride that kept Marlene Dietrich's phone number–back when phone books listed one's occupation–in Berlin phone directories years after she left that city.
The phone book was considered a networking tool on a par with today's digital directories, and if you wanted to be found by customers or clients, you'd better have a listing. A 130-year-old phone book recently went up for auction for $30,000–the Connecticut book was allegedly one of the country's first, they've been around since 1878–a hot item for collectors as a reminder of a past where you let your fingers do the walking without benefit of a keyboard. Collectors have amassed stacks of vintage phone books; some are available for sale online. If you're in the mood to surf–er–browse, the Library of Congress has a collection of old phone directories, and more archive resources can be found here.
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