The AT&T Archives Post-SBC Merger?

mrfantasy writes "An article in the Newark, NJ Star-Ledge discusses the possible fate of the AT&T Archives, which is a huge, irreplaceable historical repository of most of the advancements of late 19th and 20th century communications. Corporate archives are often casualties of companies when they are subsumed by a parent organization. The archives include such things as long-distance telephone directories from the mid-1890s, containing every long distance subscriber in the country, including Alexander Graham Bell himself; and a microphone from Warren Harding's 1921 inauguration, the first heard by the crowd thanks to AT&T amplification equipment."

Comments

Dumpster?

[Chuck Chunder]

It's the 21st century.
We have eBay now.

From an 1890

[racecarj]

Alexander Graham Bell's Phone Number: 1

Re:From an 1890

[Anonymous Coward]

It wasn't till 909 more people signed up that the police got involved.

That's the speed of Law Enforcement, eh?

Re:From an 1890

[TurtleTower]

Wow, Bell's phone number? That's like having Al Gore's IP!

Re:From an 1890

[unitron]

" Speaking of him, didn't the Italians bitch that one of their citizens invented the telephone first..."

You kids today don't know anything that happened before last week. The Italian who invented the telephone was Don Ameche.

Telemarketers?

[EmbeddedJanitor]

I'd love for those fsckers to go try sell health insurance to a bunch of dead people.

family guy quote

[Anonymous Coward]

Scene: 19th century, A Telephone rings

[Voice on phone]: "Hi, is this 7?"

[Guy]: "No, this is 3!"

Re:family guy quote

[Anonymous Coward]

Guy: Who are you?
Phone: The new number 2. You are number 6
Guy: I'm not a number i'm a free man!
Phone: hahahahahahahah

Re:Great Case for a Museum

[ahbi]

Hey, here is an idea.

Why don't we create a national museum or series of museums to house and display things relating to our national history or just cool things in general.

You know we could put the museum(s) in a central location. Like the nation's capit[a|o]l.

Maybe we could get some really wealthy person to donate money for the museum(s). We could be nice and name the museum(s) after that person.
Hell, I beat the guy could even be a British scientist. Congress could be a big help here.

And since it is a government sponsored museum, entry could be free, or a nominal charge.

Someday the museum(s) could grow to be the largest museum complex in the world. They could function as "an establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge."

Yeah, that would be great.

Great Case for a [presidential] Museum

[Anonymous Coward]

"Someday the museum(s) could grow to be the largest museum complex in the world. They could function as "an establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge.""

So why do all the presidents have their own museum?

NoNoNo

[jspoon]

You misunderstand. Reread the summary. They actually have a catalog containing the corpses of all the long distance subscribers. As such, all the rules involving cemeteries should apply here. Who needs TFA when I have Slashdot to boil it down to the basic ideas?

Re:They can't...

[PornMaster]

It's kind of like life... changing your parents' diapers when they get old.

A little rabble rousing to stir up the proletariat

[Anonymous Coward]

"Corporate archives are often casualties of companies when they are subsumed by a parent organization."

What? Is the submitter suggesting that SBC intends on setting fire to the historical archives of AT&T(presumably before killing the family members of the AT&T CEO lest they challenge SBC for the throne in the future)? Come on! These aren't the Vandals invading the Roman Empire.

Re:Corrections

[Apreche]

not AT&aT

Their armor is too strong for blasters. Use your harpoons and tow cables!