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It’s the first of the month. Included in your stack of mail, just delivered, is an offering from Pacific Telephone, your bill.

You take it to your little desk in the hall. It’s only fitting to partake in this monetary ritual while sitting at the table devoted to the object of the invoice’s affection. Here’s the home of your rotary phone, hardwired to the wall. You pull out a tiny drawer, which is just large enough to contain your checkbook, pen, notepad and a silver letter opener. Don’t dare open mail with just your fingers!

You insert the opener under the flap of the envelope and gently slit the top open. Then you pull out your statement, another pre-addressed envelope, and a separate, folded piece of paper. You put this last offering to the side and examine your invoice. Fill out your check, sign and date it, April 1952. Once this is completed, you return half of the invoice and your check to the pre-addressed envelope and close it up. All that is left is to write down your return address in the proper area, lick your three-cent stamp and put the bill aside, ready to hand to the postman the next day.

Only now do you turn your attention to the folded piece of paper. The one that came with your statement. You spare it one single glance then, toss it in the wastebasket—

NO!!!

Don’t throw away this piece of cultural heritage! Sure, it’s a flyer put out by the phone company just to keep you up-to-date on the happenings of the telephone world in 1952. You’re used to all of this information. It’s common news, of the type you’re exposed to every day. There’s hardly anything new and exciting within the pages of this pamphlet.

But one day this newsletter will transform itself into a historical treasure!

It’ll only take 70 years or so!

Luckily, some smart person did manage to scurry these away in a cupboard somewhere, leading to my discovery, via eBay, of this informational gold mine.

Snapshots of everyday life in an era that is now past. The flyer is thin, unfolding to reveal only a few pages. Yet, each one contains either a beautiful photograph, or information about cutting-edge telephone technology, circa mid-century!

Once a month, I will send you a vintage telephone bill. Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the actual statement. I’m guessing you still get one every 30 days (some things don’t change.) Instead, you can enjoy “News and Information about your Telephone Service,” just like it was in the 50s.

Let’s go!

Here’s the April 1952 issue of “Talk.” Full of telephone news!

How do you get your new rotary phone installed? It takes a lot of people at the phone company to make it happen. They’re all here, ready to serve you.

Operators are standing by to place your call, as long as you give them the name and address of the person you want to talk to. However, you can speed up the process, if you have their actual phone number.

Remember, you can enjoy the telephone on the radio!

Now, let’s fast forward to 1953. Or actually fall back to 1878.

This issue focuses on the history of the telephone directory!

Here’s another plea. Give the operator the actual telephone number, before she places the call!

Be sure to do the math. February of 1878, plus April of 1952 equals 74 years. We need to tack on another 69 to bring it up to date, for a grand total of a hundred 143 years! Whew!

I hope you’ve enjoyed our little “Talk” for the month of April. Remember, your home for all telephonic, not to mention, other vintage vignettes, is GVS, Glorious Vintage Stuff.