Telechronometer Company of Rochester New York records, 1909-1913
Telechronometer Company of Rochester New York records, 1909-1913
Summary Information
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1630
- Bib ID:
- 9576474 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Telechronometer Company (Rochester, N.Y.)
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 0.5 linear feet (1 fliptop box)
- Language(s):
- English .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Description
Summary
A small collection of archival material comprising correspondence, blueprints, documents, printed paper, ephemera.
Arrangement
Not organized.
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Curator of Manuscripts, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Telechronometer Company of Rochester; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2012-2013-M027: Source of acquisition--[source of acquisition]. Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--8/2/2012.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Papers processed, PTL 08/03/2012.
Revision Description
2012-08-04 File created.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Biographical / Historical
The Telechronometer Company was , it appears, the first company to patent a system and device for charging for telephone use based on actual time usage, similar to the gas and electric meters of today. This was an important step in the early growth of the telephone industry, quoting one of the firm's promotional materials it "solved the rarte question." Up until some sort of metering was in place there was no practical way to charge for each call , this device created a new revenue stream for the nascent industry. Garrison Babcock, of Rochester, and Frederick Charles Stevens (1856-1916)1, Senator and later Superintendent of Public Works for New York State, saw the potential of such a service and formed a company to develop and market the technology, which would serve as a useful and necessary accessory to the as yet undeveloped but expanding telephone industry.
Garrison Babcock filed a patent for his invention on June 14, 1909 and patent number 947781 was issued to him on February 1, 1910. This collection includes documents from 1909 through 1913 dealing with the development of this invention, the creation of the company, and its subsequent mergers. The company was not a manufacturing company its apparatus was built by General Electric, the firm licensed the Telechronometer to telephone companies throughout the country.
Interestingly an article in the June 1922 issue of Popular Mechanics (p. 833), states: "The first metered telephone service is now given in Everett, Wash., where about 6000 subscribers are paying for just the amount of talking they do." Evidently the magazine was either unaware of this invention, or it took time to reach remote areas, or did not succeed as planned.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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Folder List:
Box 1 Folder 1
Box 1 Folder 2
One indicating a telephone circuit with the Telechronometer installed, the other without, both approved by Garrison Babcock.
Box 1 Folder 3
"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
Box 1 Folder 5
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
.. . 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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.