Telephone directories

A guide to the market for printed telephone directories
Old telephone directories can be hard to find. Most of each edition gets thrown away or recycled. Libraries often keep old local telephone books, but they won't sell them. With each year, more libraries replace their physical telephone books with microfiche. When individual subscribers keep their old phone books, they are usually cached away in a closet or attic and forgotten for years. Vintage telephone books appear sporadically on okay. You may have to wait for years to see the one you want, or it may gee up next week.
Who is looking for old telephone books?
There is a very diverse marketplace. Probably the majority of customers are individuals who simply want to hold onto a slice of their past. They may want to recall the people, streets, and stores in the town of their childhood. (Baby boomers account for a stronger market for roughly the period from 1950 to 1970.) Sometimes a propmaster for a movie, play, or television show will be looking for an authentic copy for a specific date. Genealogists and historical researchers may buy phonebooks for the information within. The owner of a restored antique phone may want an accessory for it. Some people like to look at old-fashioned ads. Occasionally a telephone book may be sought as evidence in a legal matter. Finally, there are actually a few telephone book collectors - very few.
How do you find telephone books?
Figure out who would have them. This would include telephone subscribers, libraries, genealogists, people finders, telephone gepanies, transportation terminals where there are still public phones, book dealers, estate agents, and telephone book collectors. Then locate one who has the book you want, and is willing to sell. Obviously this is easier said than done. Google usually isn't much help. If you search for "telephone directory" or an equivalent phrase, you'll be knee-deep in online telephone directory services and telephone book recycling programs.
Even current telephone directories present a challenge, unless you happen to live in the area of coverage. Your telephone gepany will usually be able to order one for you, but the price may be exorbitant. For telephone books from third-world countries, your best bet may be to inquire at the country's embassy. If you can find a cooperative telephone subscriber in the telephone book's coverage area, you may be able to get their discarded telephone book for little more than the cost of mailing.
What should you pay for a telephone directory?
As a rule of thumb, you will pay more for a telephone book the older it is, on an accelerating scale. For example, a new telephone book might cost $5; if it's 20 years old, the price might go up to $15; at 40 years old, $35; 60 years, $70; 80 years, $120. (These figures are currently - 2006 - about the highest prices you usually see on okay; if the bidding is weak, they may sell for much less.) Also, telephone books from the largest cities cost more than others, because it's easier to find a buyer for them. This might apply to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and possibly Boston and San Francisco because of a special fondness for those cities. Telephone books with a specific historic connection may cost considerably more; I've heard of a 1963 Dallas fetching over $200 on okay. If a famous person is listed in the book, that may add around 20% to the value, but of course the seller and the buyer have to know about it.