US Navy Department, telephone conference, 1916

gelatin silver print

8 x 10 gelatin silver print made from an 8 x 10 glass plate copy negative, taken by Rosenfeld and Sons. Image taken as part of long term commissioned work and documentation for the American Telephone & Telegraph Company, ranging from 1910 through the 1940s. View of the United States Navy Department taking a conference call on May 25, 1916. Eleven men in suits seen standing around a desk with ear pieces, listening in on a call. This may be a copy negative of an image taken on January 25, 1915, when the first transcontinental call was placed. Map of the United States hangs in the background, while the desk is scattered with papers, ink wells, a hat, a desktop telephone, and a lamp. Stamped on back in rectangular box: "MORRIS ROSENFELD / PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATOR / 116 NASSAU STREET, N.Y. / Phone BEekman 3-4970".

Mystic Seaport, Rosenfeld Collection