A selection of items from Hagley's extensive collection of unique archives about the history of the telephone.
New York World's Fair AT&T telephone building, 1939
The 45 million visitors to the New York World's fair could enter a drawing to make a free long-distance telephone call. These took place at the American Telephone & Telegraph Building (AT&T) in the fair’s “Communication Zone.” See a picture of the AT&T Telephone Call Application Desk at the Fair.
Images from 1939 New York World's Fair AT&T telephone exhibit photographs (Accession 2012.230)
Telstar Satellite commemorative album, 1962
On July 10, 1962, AT&T and NASA launched Telstar 1, the world's first telecommunications satellite. This album celebrates the first transcontinental call made via the satellite. The call connected Washington, D.C., and the Space Needle in Seattle during the “America’s Space Age World’s Fair.”
First Transcontinental Telephone Call via Telstar Satellite commemorative album (Accession 2023.215)
MCI Presents the Fifth Freedom comic book, 1973
This comic book celebrates the 1969 legal victory of Microwave Communications, Inc. (later MCI) over “Ma Bell” of AT&T. The win started a long fight in the legislature and in the courts to shape the American telecommunications industry. Read the entire comic book online in the Hagley Digital Archives.
Comic book from MCI Communications Corporation photographs and audiovisual materials (Accession 2000.239)
Cell phone with keyboard prototype by Robert Olodort, circa 2014
Since their first introduction in 1973, handheld cellular phones have changed design many times. Robert "Bob" Allan Olodort, whose archive is at Hagley, was an inventor, industrial designer, and entrepreneur. He designed several keyboards for cell phones like the one seen in this prototype. See more pictures of the Olodort keyboard prototype.
Image from the Robert Olodort archive (Accession 2769)