TELEPHONE TECHNOLOGY

On January 25, 1915, a big celebration took place after the following conversation:

Alexander Graham Bell (sitting in New York, speaking into a telephone):  

"Mr Watson, come here.  I want you." 

Mr. Watson (Bell's assistant, listening in on a telephone in San Francisco): 

"It will take me five days to get there now!"

Prior to this history-making call, a trial phone call had already taken place in July, 1914, when Theodore Vail, the president of AT&T, spoke coast to coast with his voice being boosted in Pittsburgh, Omaha, and Salt Lake City. The company had been wanting to link the two coasts via phone, and finally found a device to make that possible - Lee DeForest's "audions," the first vacuum tubes. (pbs.org, "A Transcontinental Telephone Line")

If you have an interest in the technology that made this event possible, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and spend some time with these century-plus old books:

The History of the Telephone

by Herbert Newton Casson

published in Chicago by A. C. McClurg, 1911

and

The Telephone: An Account of the Phenomena of

Electricity, Magnetism, and Sound, as Involved in its Action.

With Directions for Making a Speaking Telephone

by A. E. Dolbear

published in Boston by Lee & Shepard, 1877

Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone changed his life, and its modern equivalent has become such a part of our lives, we wonder how we would function without it. So "thank you," Mr. Bell. Many, many thanks.

HONORING REVEREND MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

An article on abcnews.com today lists "5 Ways to Honor the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr." They are:

Give something

Learn something

Teach something

Commit to something

Dream something

And so to honor Rev. King, some of us Bullis Room volunteers are focusing on the second item in this list and suggesting that all of us take a look at this 168-year-old Bullis book:

First lessons in civil government, 

including a comprehensive view of the government of the state of New York, and an abstract of the laws, showing the rights, duties, and responsibilities of citizens in the civil and domestic relations, with an outline of the government of the United States : adapted to the capacities of children and youth, and designed for the use of schools,

Published in New York by M. H. Newman, 1847,

12th edition, revised and adapted to the new constitution

Knowing what "rights, duties and responsibilities of citizens..." were taught to our ancestors two centuries past, we can have a better appreciation and understanding of Rev. King's civil rights legacy.

This week, you're invited to stop by the Bullis Room and learn something new from this rare book.

ANOTHER CENTURY-OLD BULLIS BOOK

Actually, this one is turning 108 this year since it was published in 1907.  This week we are focusing on:

  Practical Mechanical Engineering; 

A Comrehensive Treatise on Steam Machinery and Apparatus, Compressed Air, 

Refrigerating Machinery, Hydraulic Elevators, Gas and Oil Engines, Turbines, etc.

Author: Carl S. Dow

Published: Philadelphia, The American Text-Boo Company, 1907

According to a recent newspaper article, practical household refrigerators were introduced in 1915. If you're curious about the technology used to produce this basic and indispensable household appliance, consider stopping by and taking a look at this book in the Bullis Room shelves.

Author Dow's book will give all of us a greater appreciation of the technology that produced the modern appliance that we occasionally enjoy raiding around midnight.  (Raiding a cabinet just wouldn't be the same.)

So ... please stop by.

LOOKING BACK 100 YEARS

Looking at the Bullis books that were published in 1915 gives us an idea of what the family was "into" way back then. In scanning the list, we found two books that would have been of particular interest to Charlie Bullis:

Field Book of American Trees and Shrubs

Author: F. Mathews

Published: New York, 1915

and

Bulbs

Author: C. L. Allen

Published: New York, 1915

In 1915 Charlie Bullis would have been 24 years old, serving his country in World War I.  After the war,  he returned home and devoted himself to projects conducted on the family's Canandaigua Road property.  Horticulture was one of his areas of expertise, and there is a significant number of books on this subject in the collection. 

If you, too, have a green thumb (or aspire to that status), we suggest you stop by the Bullis Room and look at some of the horticulture books in the collection. The two we've listed above would be a good place to start.

Hope to see you soon. 

Postscript: If you'd like to read more about Charlie Bullis, here's a link to our April 2, 2009 post: http://bullisbookchronicles.blogspot.com/2009/04/charles-rogers-bullis.html