I just stumbled onto this today and thought what a great overlooked treasure:
The ones that seem to sell well are from the 1960’s and before and are listed in the Genealogy category. I guess people looking into their family tree find them handy for looking up their relatives.
Now, I bet if you go to yard sales and ask, “do you have any old phone directories from the 60’s or before that you want to get rid of” you may come across some. That’s not something that most people would think would be worth anything but I’m sure there are people who save every one from year to year. You won’t run across them veru often but if you happen to find a “pack rat” you may just stumble up a treasure trove in their attic.
Happy treasure hunting!
Scott
Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post | TrackBack URI for this post
32 Responses to 'Old Telephone Directories'
Leave a Reply
- May 2008 (1)
- April 2008 (4)
- February 2008 (5)
- January 2008 (4)
- December 2007 (4)
- November 2007 (2)
I wish I had the old ones that were my GM. I do have some of her old power bills…they were only $3.00 for one month. Maybe they will be worth something some day.
Nancy
Scott,
These aren’t actually phone directories, but rather city directories - there’s a big difference. With one general exception, phone directories will need to be a lot older than the 1960s to bring anywhere the kind of money city directories do.
But you are right, there is a definate market for them among the genealogy crowd and they are worth picking up when you come across them.
One hint for those who go to a lot of garage sales/yard sales, a one or two year old city directory can be a valuable resource for increasing how much you can buy when used properly.
What a coincidence….I just sold a 1956 Louisville, Ky directory for much more than expected. Until a bidder emailed me, I had not realized that Muhammed Ali (at that time Cassius Clay), was listed in the directory. I thought it was junk because the condition was not that great, but I put it out there anyway and I’m glad I did!
Wow! This is a niche area that I have never thought of.
Thanks for the great information.
J.R. Jackson
http://www.JRJackson.com
Another great find, this should be a T.V. show. The e-bay version of the antique roadshow. Thanks again
Micheal Kocis
http://www.wildwoodcarvings.com
P.S. Just remember who gave you that idea when your rich & famous
Thanks Scott,
Looks like I’d better take another look through my Mom’s attic. She’s got old magazines and newspapers and a bunch of other printed stuff she’s saving “until she has time to read it all”.
Probably got a phone book (or 12!) tucked away in there.
John R. Cumbow
http://www.MisspelledBargains.com
Find the misspelled eBay auction
bargains that other bidders miss!
As a former archivist, I can tell you city directories are like gold. They are chock full of information such as street names, the names of local businesses and telephone numbers. I’ve seen them used not only by genealogists, but developers, real estate agents and those who do historic restorations. I’ve used them to identify the time frame when certain businesses existed, especially when dating photographs. I will definitely include these in my eBay repertoire. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that for myself!
Scott, Scott, Scott…my mother would never have gotten away with making this pack rat clean out her rooms if your publications had been around. I rehab houses sometimes and it’s always neat to see what folks leave behind. When I move into a house, I always dream of a treasure or two left hidden by the former owners.
City directories were very expensive when new (about $500 in the 1960s) and published in small quantities. Businesses used them to collect debts and identify prospects.
City directories were hardly ever sold to individuals, so they aren’t something you’d find in a typical household, unless the family owned a business at one time.
Back in the late 1990s I found a guy who was looking for outdated phone directories on CD-ROM. I think he was in the collections business. I sold him one from about 1990 for $100 ( I had gotten it for free from work when we got the more recent version).
Thank you Scott for another great idea. I’m printing this and keeping it in my notebook as a reminder.
Keep the ideas coming.
Linda
Another great idea !It will be interesting to see What transpires from this information in the next few weeks.scott always has great ideas and tips.as usual,well worth the read!
Interesting finds… I wished that I knew this years ago, when my grandparent pass away. I don’t remember everything there was left behind, perhaps a ton of treasure I imagine. Thanks again for the great info. By the way, since Gary brought it up, now can someone tell me what’s the difference between a CITY DIRECTORY and a PHONE DIRECTORY ?
It is so amazing what will sell, huh?
Scott, I have automaticaly deleted so may so-called eBay insider emails. I am so glad I opened yours. The information has not only been useful, but quite informative and entertaining as well. Thanks so much for sharing so much of your hard-earned knowledeg and insight.
Scott,
Thanks for the tip. Spring is coming and the yard sales will be popping up all over here in my neck of the woods. Who would have thought!
Best,
Shirley
I find it fasitating that people still have old phone books from the 1800’s Pack rats is a understatment. I hate to see what kind of mess their basement or attic is in. (don’t light a match)… Where do you find these wierd things people are selling… I enjoy this a lot…
thanks…
Chow…
Reg B.
http://www.ryansstuffandthings.com
Old phone books—I would have never thought of that one! Thanks for the unusual “niche” recommendation once again…
Scott;
Thanks again for these great ideas that no one ever thinks of. This is another one that I will “file”
Scott,
geez, as if you didn’t have me combing the city enough already… now old phone books. But this one is great because I know where I can get my paws on a few of them quite easily.
Thanks again for another one of those overlooked treasures.
Great info.
Thanks
Robert
Wow, another item nobody would have thought of. Thanx Scott for keeping us SO informed. You da man!
LarryB’s Blog
Scott M Y,
A phone directory is simply the phone book as we all know it.
City Directories, as Carol pointed out above, are sold almost exclusively to business which use them for a variety of purposes. They are updated yearly, and are made up of three main sections.
The first is an alphabetical listing of businesses and individuals (not always complete) within a city. Each listing usually contains the persons name, address, phone number, and type/place of employment if known. Depending upon the extent of data available it may also show spouse’s and children’s names, dual income families, additional adults in the household, and more.
The second is a numerical listing of all listed phone number in the city along with the name and address of who the number belongs to.
The third is a alpha/numerical street guide by house number. This section includes pretty much the same as the fist one - who lives there, their phone number, etc. It also includes all the names of tenants if the address is an apartment house, businesses if it’s an office building, etc.
There will probably also be a section devoted just to businesses, although they are included in the first three, and another with some pretty detailed street maps.
They are usually good sized hard cover books.
If someone regularly buys eBay inventory at yard/garage sales, a recent city directory is often helpful for getting into some of them a day or two early ahead of everyone else.
My gosh - another treasure I’ve stumbled upon here in Florida and never purchased :-(!!!! We have soooo many retiree’s here in my area, and a lot are packrats. Another great profitable item to keep in mind in my travels. Thanks Scott!
I used to spend hours in the Library of Congress - they have hundreds of old phone directories. Not just for genealogy, but lawyers use them and historians. I would think there’s actually a real niche market for them.
Wow! I’m I ever glad I found out about this. I have an 1850 Boston telephone directory signed by Alexander Graham Bell. The inscription says in part “…. who knows, hold unto this thing and if this crazy telephone idea of mine ever catches on this directory may be worth something. Maybe people will even buy and sell things over the telephone lines some day.”
I’m going to list this on eBay right away. Please do a search on “1850 Boston Telephone Directory, signed by Bell” on eBay to see how much I get for it.
Scott, I have sold several old phone directories for very good returns on eBay. The best one was a 1925 directory from a small town in Michigan that actually had some single digit phone numbers in it and some great old advertising in it. It was about the size of a TV Guide and was only about 35 pages long. I picked it up at a garage sale for 10 cents and it went on eBay for over $125 (one of my best ever flips) ! I never pass these up when I see them. Along the same lines are old Sears catalogs (especially the special holiday catalogs and specialty catalogs like tool catalogs and farm supplies that Sears used to put out from time to time).
I would not have thought of this one at all. This is a great tip
Thanks for all your tips and guidance
Mom oh Mom can I root around the attic a bit
Thanks for yet another great tip.
Rhonda
I used to “collect” phone books back in the late 60’s and early 70’s when my family went on summer vacations. I didn’t collect very many, but I remember that I had one from Salt Lake City. There is a slim chance that that book never got thrown out at my mom’s house back in Nebraska. I guess I will have to make a phone call back home.:)
Sounds like a great idea. For me though this will be something I will have to put on the back burner.
I always threw them out, used them for wrapping items and etc. So everyone got a little piece of the action.
Barbara
Sorry, I checked all of that a long time ago. No good. Found nothing.
However that is a good place to check.
Bill