106

(1900-1930)

Bell Telephone Archive & Tiffany Medal [Edison]

A group of presentation medals, photographs, and related material belonging to Union Noble Bethell (1859-1933), a pioneer in the advancement of telephone technology and Vice President and Operating Head of American Telephone & Telegraph Company from 1910 until his retirement in 1919.

Comprising two photographs of Bethell and one of a telephone office; a rare biography of Bethell limited to twenty-five copies, 1930; four medals, including a Theodore Newton Vail medal by Tiffany & Co., presented to Bethell in recognition of forty years of service to the Bell Telephone system; two American Telephone & Telegraph medals, dated 1916, struck from metallic copper recovered from the first telephone lines between New York and Boston, housed in their original cases; and a 1909 Thomas Alva Edison bronze medal awarded by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, house in its original case. Also included is a large leather bi-fold from the Contract Department of the New York Telephone Company, containing a 1925 State of New Jersey official appointment to the commission to investigate the relationship between the Port Authority.

Union Noble Bethell was a leading figure in the expansion and consolidation of the Bell/AT&T system in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Rising through the ranks of New York Telephone to become vice president of AT&T, he was noted for his expertise in telephone policy and administration. During World War I, he served as chairman of the Operating Board of the United States Telephone Administration. Bethell was present at the completion of the 1898 transatlantic cable between Orleans, Massachusetts, and Brest, France, and was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in 1909.

  • Condition: Printed biography with significant edgewear at bottom of cover.

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April 25, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Portsmouth, NH, US

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