Life with the telephone: 25 archival photos that will spark nostalgia (24 photos)

There are places in this world, with one special telephone, around which life always seethes—destinies are decided, lives are shattered, important matters are resolved. A place of anticipation, longing, indignation, disappointment. And that place is the telephone. Yes, today such a device is present in almost every ear, and the magic of that fateful point is gone forever...







The first telephone booths began to be installed in Moscow in 1903, and by the end of 1915, there were 93. True, after 1917, only 10 remained, but in 1918, they began installing them again.





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TO In 1941, there were 2,775 payphones in Moscow.







By 1962, the number of payphones in Moscow reached 10,000 units, more than doubling in 10 years.









IN In 1973, new AMT-69 payphones appeared, allowing calls to be paid with either a two-kopeck coin or two one-kopeck coins.



At the beginning of 1991, there were 33,992 payphones in Moscow. This was the absolute maximum; the number of payphones only decreased from there.



Payphones that accepted 1- and 2-kopeck coins (before the 1961 reform, 15 kopecks, previously 10 kopecks) were traditional in the USSR. In the suburbs, there were payphones that accepted 5-kopeck coins.







For those who don't remember or didn't know, this was a public telephone booth in the USSR. You'd get a telegram/notice that you were being called in for talks, and you'd go to the call booth, where you'd wait until the teller called out, "Ivanov, booth #5." And off you went. And he spoke, sitting in a cramped nook...







Did you know that in In 1937, the first "talking clock" was installed at the Moscow Central Telephone Exchange, each with its own number, making it possible to check the time by telephone.





And those who had a home telephone were considered Lucky ones





And to avoid being suddenly sued, one African American must be present. Just kidding.