Telephone
Technology is advancing so quickly that our next generation may not be able to identify the technical purpose for the archaic devices in this gallery of telephones and phone booths. The radical evolution of no other single piece of essential equipment in life has ever perfectly denoted which century a story is being told about.
In the 20th century we were tethered by a coiled wire to the wall, in a place specially set aside to conduct phone conversations. In the 21st century everything we need to communicate is carried in a small device in our pocket, freeing us to speak or be s gpoken to from anywhere on the planet.
“The telephone is a good way to talk to people without having to offer them a drink.”
– Fran Lebowitz
“If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?”
– Stephen Levine
“How come wrong numbers are never busy?”
– Author Unknown
“Everyone I talked to was a recording—the bank, the elevator, your office, the school, a wrong number. You used to be able to call a wrong number and get a person.”
– Erma Bombeck
“Tell me about yourself—your struggles, your dreams, your telephone number.”
– Peter Arno