AT&T’s ‘Long Distance!’ (1941)
The Prelinger Archives is a vast and wonderful collection of “ephemeral” films: documentaries, educational films, advertisements, and industrial footage, all in the public domain. Rick Prelinger, founder of the Archives, shares one of his favorites, a promotional film for AT&T, made in 1941. Although the first lasting transatlantic cable was laid in 1866, it’s not hard to feel a thrill as the film’s narrator compares the expansion of AT&T’s network to the explorers who made their way to the American west.
Rick Prelinger: Long Distance! is a hymn to the combined efforts of communication engineers and the “alert young women” who provide the “watchful feminine presence at the switchboard.”
This video is both fascinating and a riot. Read more at The Atlantic.
Reblogged from theatlantic|17 notes |#