Switchboards, central office, North Bergen, NJ, 1915

glass negative

PHOTOGRAPHS - GLASS NEGATIVES
Rosenfeld and Sons
USA, NJ, North Bergen
1915-1916
overall: 8 x 10 in.; 20.32 x 25.4 cm

8 x 10 glass plate 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. Interior view of the North Bergen, NJ, central telephone office. Women switchboard operators seen at the boards with two supervisors on the floor behind them. A woman is seen posed at a desk in the center of the office with papers in hand. A small hand held receiver sits on the center desk with a desktop exchange box. Most of the women are wearing dark skirts and light blouses, with long hair tied loosely back. All the operators are wearing headsets. Handwritten on original negative sleeve: "2751 / 220--11 / Bergen Central Office / Box 220". Image taken in 1915 or 1916.

1984.187.2751

Mystic Seaport, Rosenfeld Collection