Payphone Instruction Cards
Payphone Instruction Cards
Payphones included one or two instruction cards to provide general directions for using the payphone as well as location specific dialing instructions. Single slot payphone had both an upper and a lower card. Three slot payphones had a single card, although an optional card holder could be installed on the top of the phone for either advertisements or additional instructions.
Several examples of these cards are reproduced below.
Installing an instruction card
Installation in a panel payphone
Single Slot Instruction Cards
Below are some example instruction cards from our collection. Feel free to submit additional examples.
Upper Card
Upper instruction card from a single slot payphone. This was for a "coin first" payphone meaning that a coin had to be deposited before making any calls. These were eventually changed to "dial tone first" to allow emergency, toll free and operator-assisted calls without depositing a coin.
Lower Card
Lower instruction card from a single slot payphone. The 203 area code serves Connecticut.
Upper Card
Upper instruction card from a single slot payphone. This was for a "coin first" payphone meaning that a coin had to be deposited before making any calls. These were eventually changed to "dial tone first" to allow emergency, toll free and operator-assisted calls without depositing a coin.
Lower Card
Lower instruction card from a single slot payphone. The 203 area code serves Connecticut.