NEW ENGLAND TELEPHONE And TELEGRAPH Co. Official Directory. July 1902.
Boston: New England Telephone and Telegraph Company, 1902. 1st edition thus. 968 pp. The textblock is divided into two section: "I. Boston Division. II. Outside of the Boston Division." Illustrated with 8 maps. 8vo. 8-5/8" x 6-5/8". Original publisher's printed buff paper wrappers, stapled. Cord hole to text block in upper left. The inside front cover displays various types of telephone apparatus. Wear, soiling & chipping to wrappers. Faint stain to upper half of 1st leaf ["Important Notice"]. Age-toning to paper. An Abt VG copy. Item #52347
The New England Telephone and Telegraph Company "was organized in 1883, by the consolidation of several local companies which had constructed exchanges in many of the more important cities and towns..." [Boston Electrical Handbook. 1904].
NB. The "Important Notice" on p. 1 alerted subscribers to the introduction of the dial tone, i.e., "that [when] the desired line is busy [it] will be gradually replaced by a distinctive tone or hum. ... it is thought that subscribers will quickly learn to recognize this special tone and hang up the telephone without waiting to be informed by the operator that the line is busy."
At the time of cataloguing, no copy found on OCLC.
Considering the practice was to annually discard these books, it's somewhat a surprise that this wonderful, and rare, artifact survived from the early history of telephony, and is now able to contribute more than a small dollop to research efforts into the period.
Price: $235.00