Guide to the Midwest commercial architecture photograph collection, circa 1900s-1910s

Midwest commercial architecture photograph C0188

Historical note

The Central Union Telephone Company was originally based in Chicago and in 1883 took over the Midland Telephone Company, a Bell organization also based in Chicago. Many Bell patents expired in 1893 and 1894 resulting in an increase of competing telephone companies. By the early 1900s the Central Union Telephone Company was headquartered in Indiana and was organized to develop telephone service in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. Mergers in the telephone industry in the early 1900s resulted in Central Union Telephone becoming part of Indiana Bell, Illinois Bell and Ohio Bell. In 1920 Central Union Telephone Company was purchased by the Ohio Bell Telephone Company which emerged from the Cleveland Telephone Company. In the 1920s telephone service in Ohio was unified under Ohio Bell.

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Scope and Content

Thirty-two photographs, each approximately 4 x 5 inches, depicting commercial buildings in rural northwestern Ohio with recently installed telephones. The Central Union Telephone Company brought local and long distance calling to commercial buildings and advertised the new service with signage. Signs for Central Union can be seen in twenty-seven of the photographs. These photographs could have been used as a way to document their placement. There are a variety of commercial buildings present in the photographs, as well as, telephone poles, merchant's signs, displays of goods, customers, horse drawn wagons, and bicycles. Three of the photographs do not depict buildings but, instead, one is of the set up of a telephone operator, and the two others depict three men posing humorously for the camera.

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Arrangement

Organized by subject.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

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Related Material

Special Collections Research Center also holds many other photograph collections.

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Index Terms

Subjects:

Geographical Names:

Document Types:

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Administrative Information

Alternate Format Available

The entire collection is available online through the Midwest commercial architecture photograph collection. You can also access the digital items through the inventory on this finding aid.

Preferred Citation

Midwest commercial architecture photograph collection, Collection #C0188, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Collection purchased from Fine Antiquarian Books in 2010.

Processing Information

Processed by and EAD markup completed by Greta Kuriger in January 2011. Updated by Greta Kuriger Suiter in March 2013.

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Contents List