TELEPHONES, MONEY and COOL STUFF

Last Update: Feb 18, 2011

(click here for a larger view)

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It was 45 years ago when my Dad took me to a open house at the phone company. What an experience to walk into that massive Central Office and hearing all those banks of stepper switches clicking away. It was there that I was given the coolest poster: "The Telephone Story". It hung on my bedroom wall till I went to college. I still have the original poster but it's a little tattered around the edges after all these years!

After years of planning and learning how to make posters, I have finally created my own version of "The Telephone Story". This poster is an enhanced recreation of the original posters produced by Western Electric in 1965, 1967 and 1976. I've expanded the number of phones from 30 to 50, added model numbers and some additional detail (where I could fit it in). The extra phone models I included represented what I thought were significant or interesting design milestones and helped make this poster an even better tribute to the amazing company: "Western Electric".

Also see my Keyboard Trivia page discussing the design of a numeric keypads. Why are telephone keypads different from calculators?

The poster is printed using a leading edge stochastic screen process on heavy 100# Gloss Cover paper with a UV coating. The Stochastic printing process, also called frequency modulation (FM) screening, uses small (10, 20 or 25 Micron), same size dots in a random pattern and varies the density of the dot to create an image that is closer to continuous tone. I think you will be impressed with the results. -Rick-

The poster measures 16" (40.6cm) by 24" (61cm) and will be shipped in a rugged 3"x18" Kraft Mailing tube.

Order a copy for yourself or to give as a great present!

(click here to download (its big but cool - 30Meg)

This publication is from 1956. I was given it when I toured the Telephone Company in the mid 60's as a child.

(click here for a larger view)

(click here)

Wow, is this a diversification from calculators! Yes but I also enjoy art and money is art. It takes amazing skills and processes to produce modern currency. Our currency has really evolved over the past 15 years. This poster is designed to let you see the evolution and fantastic art that comprises our United States currency.

This poster (like The Telephone Story poster above) is printed using a leading edge stochastic screen process on heavy 100# Gloss Cover paper with a UV coating. The Stochastic printing process, also called frequency modulation (FM) screening, uses small (10, 20 or 25 Micron), same size dots in a random pattern and varies the density of the dot to create an image that is closer to continuous tone. I think you will be impressed with the results. -Rick-

The poster measures 14 1/4" (36.2cm) by 22" (55.9cm) and will be shipped in a rugged 3"x18" Kraft Mailing tube.

And this poster is legal, here is the Federal regulation:

REGULATIONS FOR REPRODUCING U.S. CURRENCY PART 411 — COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS OF UNITED STATES CURRENCY Authority: 18 U.S.C. 504; Treasury Directive Number 15-56, 58 FR 48539 (September 16, 1993) 411.1 Color illustrations authorized. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 25 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, authority is hereby given for the printing, publishing or importation, or the making or importation of the necessary plates or items for such printing or publication, of color illustrations of U.S. currency provided that: 1. The illustration must be of a size less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half, in linear dimension, of each part of any matter so illustrated; 2. The illustration must be one sided.

Basically it says the pictures of currency must be less than 3/4 scale or greater than 1.5 scale (This poster is scaled at ~55% of full size) and the poster must be one sided.

I've received a number of emails stating this poster serves as a great teaching aid for school children.

Order a copy for yourself or to give as a great present!

What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

(click here)

And Yes, that's a person to the left standing next to pallets of $100 bills.... 100 rows by 50 column stacked 2 pallets high, totalling 10,000,000 pallets. Each pallet is 40" x 42" x 43" tall and contains $100 million, so 10 of these pallets would contain $1 billion. And 10,000 of these pallets would contain 1 trillion dollars!

This is a great page that shows various amounts of ever increasing sums of money. And once you see this page go here and get sick as you see the National Debt when it was only 11 Trillion Dollars!

Dollar ReDe$ign Project

(click here to visit the Dollar ReDe$ign Project)

Here's a cool site where artists can contribute their concepts for new US currency.

From the site: "The Dollar ReDe$ign Project hopes to bring about change for everyone. We want to rebrand the US Dollar, rebuild financial confidence and revive our failing economy."

Want to learn more about US Currency?