Los Angeles Telephone Co: Los Angeles Exchange

Los Angeles: April 15th (13th?), 1882. The first telephone directory for Los Angeles. Single sheet folded (9 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches; 240 x 148 mm). [3], [1, blank] pp. The front printed with a vignette of a telephone. This lists 90 subscribers, with their numbers, businesses and locations. Also with instructions for calling the Central Office "Ring two bells." Front cover also notes "Uniformed Messengers Always on hand. Charges 25 cts. per hour." Original printed cardstock. Slight darkening to front cover. Housed in an early plastic sleeve. With binder holes punched at top and bottom of the spine. A metal brad at bottom, holding plastic on. Toning from holes in plastic sleeve. Some chipping to head of spine, near hole punch. Overall a very good copy. "The Los Angeles Telephone Company published the Los Angeles Exchange, the city's first telephone directory, containing 90 telephone numbers of residents and businesses. Who had the first telephone number: 1? The offices of the Southern Pacific Railroad." (Looking at Art: The Art of Advertising in Vintage California Business Directories. Maya Peterpaul). "On April 3, 1882, the city passed an ordinance granting the Los Angeles Telephone Company the right to erect poles and lines within city limits. The first telephone office was located at the old River Rail Station, with phones being installed in Los Angeles that same year." Newark 53. Other numbers of note are for University of Southern California (58) and the Evergreen Cemetery (69). HBS 69598. $7,500.…