Telephone switch boards : report of a conference held at the office of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, December 19, 20 and 21, 1887. [Printed, Not Published]. 4to. 255p. Modern blue boards, gray cloth spine. From the Library of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, gift of Frank F. Fowle. Library stamp on upper corner dated Jul. 19, 1913. Only one record in OCLC, never offered at auction.This conference, of various members and electricians of telephone companies under the umbrella of the Atlantic Telephont Company to unify the usage and procedures of switchboards around the country in the nascent years of the telephone system. 20 questions were posed in this conference, of the most important being the viable of single or multiple switchboards and serving the most subscribers on each board (a difference of two 5,000 sub boards or one 10,000 sub board). The Cortlandt switchboard in New York City would be the first instance of such a 10,000 subscriber board, installed shortly after this conference, in 1888.Interesting of note is the lack of reference to Tivador Puskas, who invented the first telephone exchange with Edison in late 1877, who introduced the mutilplex switchboard, which become the standard in the 1890s to the modern day.

First two pages separated, next few starting.