Boys at switchboard, copy of lithograph

nitrate negative; copy negative

PHOTOGRAPHS - NITRATE NEGATIVES
Rosenfeld, Morris
1915-1916 (copy negative); before 1883 (depicted)
nitrate film
overall: 8 x 10 in.; 20.32 x 25.4 cm

8 x 10 in. nitrate negative made by Rosenfeld and Sons. Copy of a lithograph by an unidentified artist. Image taken as part of long term commissioned work and documentation for the American Telephone & Telegraph Company, ranging from 1910 through the 1940s. Lithographic image depicts several men standing at switchboards in an open room, probably circa 1875. Men have hand-held receivers with two wire connectors. Two men supervise from desks on the left. Handwritten note on original negative sleeve: "Boys at switchboard / Box 224". Rosenfeld negative number obscures artist signature SC[...?], NY. Negative taken 1915 or 1916. (By 1883 unmarried women had mostly replaced male telephone operators).

1984.187.2803

Mystic Seaport, Rosenfeld Collection