The Roscommon Telephone Directory

The Telephone Directory as an historic document.

A brief history of the Telephone Directory and a catalogue of the Directories that were

in use in the Co. Roscommon area.

Liam Byrne

Roscommon Collectibles.

Occasional Series.

Booklet No. 2

Brief Background.

Public, Business and Local telephone directories are a useful source for local and family

history, for social history & demographics and for the history of technology in the region.

Because they are usually discarded when a new issue is received, telephone directories are

one of the rarest forms of ephemera.

Telephone directories have been around for well over 100 years. The first directory was

produced in New Haven, Connecticut, USA in 1878 and the first London directory was

produced in 1880.

The earliest Irish Telephone Directory dates from about 1905 and 1907. The Irish classified

directory - the Golden Pages, was first produced in 1968. It went regional in 1984/85, later

became part of the regional public directory (07/09 for the West of Ireland) and in 2001 was

once again issued as a stand alone, regional 07/09 business directory.

Trade directories in Roscommon have a long pedigree. The first Roscommon business

directory dates from the 1920’s. Local directories are a more modern phenomenon, often

produced by local schools as part of Transition Year activities.

In this database a Trade Directory contains all or most of the business numbers in an area

(including unsolicited numbers) and a Trade Guide contains only advertised (i.e. solicited)

contact numbers. A Local Directory is one produced locally, usually for a town or parish.

A Public Directory is one produced for the State telephone company (Dept. of Posts &

Telegraphs / An Post / Telecom Éireann / Eircom), initially for use by switchboard operators

and later for general release. Annual directories for public issue have been produced by

Golden Pages Ltd. since 1968. Public Directories are listed in a separate listing after the

Trade and Local Directories.

The information in this booklet was originally posted online at

www.roscommonhistory.ie.

A Brief History of the Telephone Directory.

Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for his telephone in 1876. He demonstrated it to

visitors at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition the same year. In early 1878 he installed

the first telephone exchange in New Haven, Connecticut.

The first telephone directory - a single 14 x 21 cm. sheet - was

issued in New Haven on 21st. February that year. Closer to the

end of the same year a telephone book was issued containing

numerous pages and advertisements. This was the first telephone

directory with more than one sheet of paper. San Francisco also

issued a directory during 1878.

1878. Single sheet telephone subscribers list. The first

telephone directory.

Alexander Graham Bell's patent on the telephone gave Bell

Telephone a monopoly from 1876 to 1893. During that period

the company opened exchanges in most of the largest cities of

the United States. It also organized a number of regional operating companies. In 1899

American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) became the parent company.

1900. Telephone directory for Alaska Telephone Co.

Telephone numbers were introduced in Lowell, Massachusetts

in late 1879. Party lines were popular, because of their lower

cost, in the first half of the 20th century. Telephones on a party

line were electrically connected, so that they would ring

simultaneously, and transmit the same sounds. A specific

pattern of rings was used to identify each phone on the same

party line. The telephone book listing usually gave a phone

number, a hyphen, and a code to identify the pattern of rings.

The number of digits in a phone number was variable, since the

numbers were only used as identifiers.

In rural areas, they might range from one to three digits. In

larger cities, a telephone number would consist of an exchange

name and a five-digit number.

1906. Telephone directory from the time of the San

Francisco earthquake.

Individual city directories predate the telephone by many years.

Obviously, the early city directories had no telephone numbers.

Most city directories are hardbound. Reuben H. Donnelley

published a Chicago telephone directory in 1886, for the

Chicago Telephone Company; this is generally acknowledged as

the first of what today we call The Yellow Pages. Donnelley expanded to other large cities in

1906. The first telephone directory featuring classified business advertising on actual yellow

paper was issued by the Michigan State Telephone Co. in 1906, for Detroit.

1908 Zenith Telephone Co. directory.

In many parts of the country, especially the suburbs of large

cities, there are privately published telephone directories,

supported by advertising, usually covering a smaller area than

the official telephone book. These "proprietary" phone books

go back well before World War II. In the United States, the

official telephone book will usually clearly identify the

telephone company that published it. Sometimes it is hard to

tell which is the official telephone book and which is the

proprietary one for any given city.

1914. Pittsburgh telephone directory.

To prepare the way for nationwide dialling, in 1947 AT&T and

Bell Laboratories developed the North American Numbering

Plan, creating three-digit area codes that would divide all of

North America. Within each area code, every seven-digit

phone number would be unique. When long-distance dialling

was first implemented, it could

only be used by operators placing

calls for customers. Customer

dialling was phased in as each

central office invested in the

necessary equipment. Generally,

area codes were first announced in telephone books in the late

1950s.

1924. Milwaukee telephone directory.

All-number calling was introduced in 1961. Some listings

immediately changed to seven digits, although exchange names

continued to appear alongside them until late in the decade.

Telephone directories have been in use in England since the end

of the nineteenth century. The telephone service was introduced

in 1879 and the first London directory was produced in 1880. The

National Telephone Company issued its first known directory on

January 15th. which contained details of over 250 subscribers

connected to three London exchanges. Post Office

Telecommunications and numerous private companies soon

followed. In 1896 the first phonebook for the whole country was

published in a single volume. It containing 1350 pages and 81,000

entries. City and county directories have been in continuous production ever since. During

the war directories were pulped because of the shortage of paper. Directories from 1884 to

1984 have been scanned and are available on genealogical websites. The BT Archive

contains an almost complete collection of directories for the UK (and Ireland, up to 1921).

1963 Sheffield telephone directory.

The first telephone used in Ireland was in 1876, the same year that

Bell invented the device. The first telephone directory may be the

one produced by The National Telephone Company dated 1904 -

05. Another Irish directory dates from 1907, but is incomplete. Up

until the 1960's directories were mainly produced for the local

Department of Posts & Telegraphs switchboard. These are usually

plain typed lists. Every exchange in the country would have had

such a list, but surviving examples are rare.

1921 Telephone Directory, Dublin & Cork Districts.

The Irish classified directory - the Yellow Pages, was first produced

in 1968. It went regional in 1984/85, later became part of the

regional public directory and in 2001 was once again issued as a

stand alone, regional business directory.

1961 Irish telephone directory.

Today telephone directories are used

for many purposes, other than those

intended. Old telephone directories are scanned and reissued on

compact disk, for family history and genealogical research. They

can also be used for demographic research, local history, the

history of technology and various other purposes.

Two examples of telephone directories as genealogical tools, one

from New Zealand and one from England are shown below. Irish

telephone directories, though not as old as those from other countries, can be used for much

the same purpose.

Most of these images are from recent sales of

telephone directories on eBay. The sale of

telephone directories is big business, especially in

the US, although there is a growing interest in UK

directories which has become evident in the recent

past. Irish directories rarely feature. The

information on US directories above is based on

a detailed history by Gwillim Law which can be

accessed at http://www.oldtelephonebooks.com.

The following catalogue of local telephone directories is incomplete but indicates the

extent of my collection as of September 2012. Additions always welcome.

Catalogue of Public, Private, Trade & Local Telephone Directories for the Roscommon Area.

Part 1: Trade (Business) & Local Directories.

Category. Year Title Remarks Image

Private

Directory. 1994 Co. Roscommon Sports & Recreation Directory.

Produced by Roscommon Regional

Youth Services. 40 page directory of

Roscommon Sporting bodies.

Local Directory. 2008 Ballymoe / Ballintubber Local Telephone

Directory.

Produced by Ballymoe Development

Group. November 2008. 090 & 094 area

code listings. Also mobile numbers for

local business.

Trade Directory. 2004 The Roscommon Trade Directory 2004. Free. 1

st edition. Local Directories of

Dundalk. 64 pp. 07 & 09 area.

Trade Directory. 2004 Roscommon Business Directory 2004. Compact disc. E. Business Digital

Directories Ltd. ROS2004

Trade Directory. No date Enterprising Roscommon. A Directory of Micro

Businesses in County Roscommon.

Roscommon Partnership Company. 14

pp. 07, 09 & mobile numbers.

Trade Directory. 2007 Roscommon & District Guide. 3rd

edition. 190 pp. Lough Ree Publishing Co. Ltd.,

Athlone. 090 66**** numbers only.


Trade Directory. 2003 Roscommon & District Guide. 2nd

edition. 192 pp. Lough Ree Publishing Co. Ltd.,


Trade Directory. 2001 Roscommon & District Guide. 1st edition.

168 pp. Lough Ree Publishing Co. Ltd.,

Athlone. 0903 area only.

Local Directory. No date. Elphin Local Directory. Elphin Community College project. 31

pp. 071 9630/35 area only.

Trade Guide. 2007/08 The Handy Business & Services Directory 2007

/ 2008 (The Select Guide)

Free. 32 pp. Colour advertising only.

Midland counties. A JRI Publication.

Trade Guide.

2007

(July /

August)

Roscommon Guide to Local Services. Free. 11 pp. Colour advertising only.

Local Business Promotions, Ballyhaunus.

Local Directory. 2006/07 Kilbride Phone Directory 2006/07. 40 pp. Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown TY

Project. Kilbride area numbers.


Trade Directory. 1920 Roscommon Directory (Commercial &

Historical) 1920.

ca. 100 pp. Hard Back. W.H. Cartan,

Manager “Messenger” Printing Works,

Roscommon.

Trade Directory. No date. 0907 Your Directory 094. Ballyhaunus Rugby Club. 423 pp.

Includes 0907 area in Roscommon.

Local Directory. No date Boyle Residential & Business Directory

1st edition.

Úna Bhán Tourism Co-Operative, Boyle.

79 pp. Stapled.

Local Directory. 2007 Boyle Residential & Business Directory

2nd

edition.


86 pp. Stapled.


3rd

edition.


87 pp. Spiral bound.


4th

edition.


83 pp. Spiral bound.


Trade Directory. No date Ballinasloe & District Guide. 2nd

edition? 224 pp. Lough Ree Publishing Co. Ltd.,


Trade Directory. No date Ballinasloe & District Guide. 1st edition.

192 pp. Lough Ree Publishing Co. Ltd.,


Trade Directory No date Castlerea and District Business Directory. Castlerea Community School Student

publication. 0907 area.

Trade Directory 1999 Roscommon Business Directory. Roscommon County Enterprise Board

Ltd. 75 pp. Countywide.

Trade Directory. 1996 Athlone Traders Guide & Local Area Index

1996

248 pp. Desmond Egan Clef Promotions

Ltd., Athlone.

Trade Directory. 1999 Athlone & District Guide. 288 pp. Lough Ree Publishing Co. Ltd.,

Athlone. 0902 numbers only.


Trade Directory. 2003 Athlone & District Guide. New Edition. 304 pp. Lough Ree Publishing Co. Ltd.,


Trade Directory. 2007 Athlone & District Guide. 3rd

Edition. 304 pp. Lough Ree Publishing Co. Ltd.,


Trade Directory. 2002 Athlone Traders Guide & Local Area Index. 288 pp. Desmond Egan International

Designs Ire. 0902 area only.

Trade Directory. 2008/9 Athlone Business Guide & Local Area Index. 272 pp. Desmond Egan International

Designs Ire.

Trade Directory. No date. Business & Shopping Guide for Sligo /

Roscommon / Leitrim 11th

edition.

Business & Shopping Guide Ltd. Navan.

224 pp.



edition.


216 pp.




edition.


255 pp.

Trade Directory. No date. The Red Book Business & Shopping Guide for

Sligo / Roscommon / Leitrim 14th

edition.


255 pp.



edition.


320 pp.



edition.


288 pp.

Trade Directory. 2010

"Spend Time in Boyle ..." Business Directory for

Boyle Town. Shows images of business cards for

local suppliers.

Boyle Chamber of Commerce.

Local Directory. 2011 Elphin Phone Directory 2011. Transition Year Mini-Company project.

Part 2: Public Telephone Directories issued by Dept. of P & T, An Post, Telecom Éireann & Eircom.


Public Directory. 1961

Eolaí Telefóin na hÉireann - Irish

Telephone Directory. Deireadh

Fómhair - October 1961.

National directory. 403 pages for Dublin City & County (01

area). 16 pages of Business (pink) pages. 298 pages of

"Outside Dublin" numbers. 14 pages of "Late Entries".

Cahill & Co. Ltd., Dublin for Dept. of Posts & Telegraphs.

235mm X 180 mm.

Public Directory. 1966 Eolaí Telefóin na hÉireann - Irish

Telephone Directory. 1966.

National directory. 332 pages for Dublin City & County (01

area).19 pages of Business (pink) pages. 242 pages of "other

than 01 area" numbers. 14 pages of "late entries". Cahill &

Co. Ltd., Dublin for Dept. of Posts & Telegraphs. 290mm X

215mm.

Public Directory. 1972 Classified Telephone Directory -

Part 2.

288 pp. The Golden Pages business listing. Part 2 (outside

Dublin (01) area). Compiled by ITT World Directories

Ireland Ltd.



Telephone Directory. Part 2 -

1982.

1016 pp. National Directory for all telephone numbers

outside the greater Dublin (01) area.



Telephone Directory. Part 2 -

1983.

1119 pp. National Directory for all telephone numbers

outside the greater Dublin (01) area.

Public Directory. 1983/84 Classified Telephone Directory -

Golden Pages Part 2.

574 pp. The Golden Pages business listing. Part 2 (outside

Dublin (01) area). This was the last non-regional Golden

Pages.


Public Directory. 1984/85

Classified Telephone Directory -

Golden Pages New Regional

Directory.

176 pp. The Golden Pages business listing. The first

Regional Directory for telephone numbers in the 07/09 area.

Public Directory. 1985 Irish Telephone Directory - Part 2. 1288 pp. Public listing. Part 2. (all numbers outside Dublin

(01) area).


Irish Telephone Directory.

Including Golden Pages 07/09

area.

496 pp public & 256 pp business listing for 07/09 area. 29

pp of mobile phone (088) numbers.




area.

418 pp public & 279 pp business listing for 07/09 area. (No

mobile numbers).




area.

441 pp public & 303 pp business listing for 07/09 area.




area.






area.





area.





area.


Public Directory. 1997/98 Eolaí Telefóin na hÉireann. 608 pp public & 368 pp business listing for 07/09 area.

Public Directory. 1998/99 Eolaí Telefóin na hÉireann. 628 pp public & 409 pp business listing for 07/09 area

Public Directory. 1999 -

2000 Phone Book. 649 pp public & 467 business listing for 07/09 area.


Public Directory. 2000 - 2001 Phone Book. 700 pp public listing for 07/09 area.

Public Directory. 2000 – 2001 Golden Pages. 572 pp business listing for 07/09 area.

Public Directory. 2002 Phone Book. 685 pp public listing for 07/09 area.

Public Directory. 2002 Golden Pages. 584 pp business listing for 07/09 area.






Public Directory. 2007 / 2008 Phone Book. 694 pp public listing for 07/09 area.

Public Directory. 2007 / 2008 Golden Pages. 518 pp business listing for 07/09 area.


Public Directory. 2008 / 2009 Golden Pages. 496 pp business listing for 07/09 area. West / North West.








End.

WANTS LIST.

I am trying to put together a collection of telephone directories for the Roscommon area. I need the following editions to complete the set. If you

have any old telephone directories that you no longer need please contact me. Thank you.

I need the following Public Telephone Directories:

All pre 1960, including Roscommon local exchange, typed or handwritten.

1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967.

1968 and Golden pages.


Part 2 Public Directory: (Numbers outside greater Dublin area) for;



1972 only.








Total: 10 and 9



(1982) Golden pages only.

1984 only

(1985) Golden pages only.

Regional 07/09 Area for:

1986 (& Golden Pages?)



1989/90 (& Golden Pages?)

Total: 7 and 4 (+ 4?)

1994/95 (better quality copy required)

Total: (1)


Total: 1 and 1

Compiled, edited and published as an eBook by Liam Byrne

September 2012.

First Edition.

The Roscommon Telephone Directory

Documents

Transcript of The Roscommon Telephone Directory