|
This page is sponsored by Liam Byrne - Safety Services. Telephone Directories |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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. Brief Background. 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 we have dates from 1920 and we are aware of another for 1921. 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. 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.
We would welcome any additions for the collection. Follow this link to see our Public Directories Wants List.
|
More Inside |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
