Following the invention of the telephone in 1876, the first telephones were rented in pairs which were limited to conversation between the parties operating those two instruments. The use of a central exchange was soon found to be even more advantageous than in telegraphy. In January 1878 the Boston Telephone Dispatch company had started hiring boys as telephone operators. Boys had been very successful as telegraphy operators, but their attitude, lack of patience, and behavior was unacceptable for live telephone contact, so the company began hiring women operators instead.
These operators were almost always women until the early 1970s, when men were once again hired. In many cases, customers came to know their operator by name.
As telephone exchanges converted to automatic (dial) service, switchboards continued to serve specialized purposes. Before the advent of direct-dialed long distance calls, a subscriber would need to contact the long-distance operator in order to place a toll call.
Check out these 28 amazing vintage photos below which showing women who worked as telephone switchboard operators from the past.
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| A typical telephone exchange switchboard, 1943 |
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| Army WAC phone operator, ca. 1940s |
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| Bell System telephone operators, 1950 |
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| Canadian Women's Army Corps operating the telephone switchboard at Canadian Military Headquarters, London, 1945 |
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| Chesapeake and Potomac telephone operators, Washington D.C, 1919 |
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| Early switchboard operator, ca. 1880s |
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| Operator at a switchboard, ca.1900 |
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| Southwestern Bell Telephone switchboard operators, ca. 1960s |
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| Switchboard operator, 1948 |
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| Switchboard operator, Amsterdam, ca. 1940s |
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| Switchboard operators at the Bell Telephone head office, 1912 |
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| Switchboard operators at the sole Milwaukee telephone exchange, 1883 |
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| Switchboard operators at the Sydney GPO Switchboard, 1913 |
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| Switchboard operators, 1922 |
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| Telephone operator, 1898 |
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| Telephone operator, 1929 |
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| Telephone operator, 1969 |
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| Telephone operator, ca. 1900s |
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| Telephone operators in Seattle, Washington, 1952 |
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| Telephone operators, ca. 1910s |
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| Telephone operators, ca. 1950s |
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| Telephone switchboard operator on Washington Island, 1915 |
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| Telephone switchboard operators in the 1960s |
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| Telephone switchboard operators, ca. 1900s |
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| Telephone twitchboard operators, 1914 |
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| The early switchboard operator, ca. 1880s |
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| WAC telephone operators operate the Victory switchboard during the Potsdam Conference in their headquarters in Babelsburg, Germany, 17 July 1945 |
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| Women operators in Richmond, Virginia, 1884 |