Box 1 Folder 1
6 x 9 inch printed circular for the Telechronometer Co., undated
Box 1 Folder 2
Two blueprints measuring 12 Y, x 7 Y. inches, dated, May 29, 1909
One indicating a telephone circuit with the Telechronometer installed, the other without, both approved by Garrison Babcock.
Box 1 Folder 3
Three page carbon of a typed letter, legal folio, undated but circa 1910., undated
"A new system is now on the market which will appeal strongly to everyone in the Telephone Field: The Telechronometer. As the word implies it is a time meter which is a radical departure from existing methods of charge for services .. . " The letter describes the Telechronometer, and the reasons for adopting the system, amongst others it states that it would make the system fair and make party lines more efficient.
Box 1 Folder 4
Two receipts dated 1910 from the Strong berg-Carlson Telephone Mfg. Co., (also of Rochester) for equipment., 1910
Box 1 Folder 5
Bill from the General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass.
Works to the Telechronometer Co. for "Experimental and Developmental work in the making of 4 operative sample meters and 1 operative time switch in experimental form .. . " And one page typed letter from W. C. Fish, manager of the Lynn Works, dated June 26, 1910 which discusses contact with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company and discussing the above mentioned bill. These two documents provide a unique view into the costs and efforts of developing the initial prototypes and development of the apparatus.
Box 1 Folder 6
Six page, legal folio, carbon copy of draft text, heavily annotated and emended in pencil, for a promotional booklet to the telephone operating companies of the United States
.. . desire of this company to make the Telechronometer do in the telephone field what the Watt meter has done for the development of electric lighting and power companies ... " Included is a page of financial statistics of expenses and revenues showing telephone operating companies the profitability of deploying the devices. This text also highlights that the company is not a manufacturing concern, but a developmental and sales organization (manufacture contracted to General Electric). The text is clearly targeted at potential franchisees: telephone operating companies.
Box 1 Folder 7
Two large illustrated advertising broadsides(measuring approximately 11 x 17 inches) circa, 1910
Advertising the Telechronometer, the firm now had offices in Chicago, one targeted to subscribers asking them to contact their provider to install the meter on their premises, the other highlighting the franchise requirements related to the metering system.
Box 1 Folder 8
Nine page partially printed legal document in Russian, completed in manuscript, dated, 1915
Granting patent rights #27832 to The International Telechronometer Company. The document notes that the application date January 25, 1909 preceded the granting of the patent by over five years.
Box 1 Folder 9
A seven page carbon copy of a draft of an article or lengthy press release detailing the merger of the of the Telechronometer of Rochester and the North Electric Company of Cleveland, Ohio into the Telephone Improvement Company
This document is of interest for a number of reasons including the role being played by F. C. Stevens, who became the president of the new enterprise. Stevens also calls for regulations for the new industry in order to have strong continued growth. The article continues with an overview of the history of the industry up to that point and then in a lengthy promotional section touts the advantages of the Telechronometer systems to various potential customers. Lightly annotated in pencil.
Box 1 Folder 10
Eight pages of typed correspondence, some carbon copies, between R. W. Robbins and the North Electric Company dated 1912 including a proposal to build, supervise and move North Electric to a new facility in Galion, Ohio (80 miles southeast of Cleveland)., 1912
It includes a basic description of the proposed site, technical aspects, power, rail access, etc. Accompanied by a letter summarizing these details from Garrison Babcock, to the Ways and Means Committee, on which F. C. Stevens sat.
Box 1 Folder 11.
Two letters from the new Telephone Improvement Company, located in Chicago, dated 1913 signed by F. C. Stevens., 1913
The letters request that the recipient as a "favor" underwrite at least $50,000 of a stock offering. Stevens states that he was ill and unable to present the request in person and notes that he was sending Garrison Babcock, the inventor if the Telechronometer, to meet with them.
Box 1 Folder 12
Fifteen items, correspondence, telegrams, and ephemera, regarding the development of the company.
It consists of correspondence from and to other telephone companies. One item concerns transcripts of articles from the Ft. Wayne, Indiana Gazette, December 1910 which describe how the telephone service would be rolled out, and cites testimonials from cities such as Chicago where the meters were in place who refuse to return to the old system. A letter from a vice-president at A IT refuses to provide the company with the results of their testing of the Telechronometer, stating the examination was for the use of their own internal subscribers.