Following the invention of the telephone in 1876, the first telephones were rented in pairs which were limited to conversation between the parties operating those two instruments. The use of a central exchange was soon found to be even more advantageous than in telegraphy. In January 1878 the Boston Telephone Dispatch company had started hiring boys as telephone operators. Boys had been very successful as telegraphy operators, but their attitude, lack of patience, and behavior was unacceptable for live telephone contact, so the company began hiring women operators instead. These operators were almost always women until the early 1970s, when men were once again hired. In many cases, customers came to know their operator by name. As telephone exchanges converted to automatic (dial) service, switchboards continued to serve specialized purposes. Before the advent of direct-dialed long distance calls, a subscriber would need to contact the long-distance operator in order to place a toll call. Check out these 28 amazing vintage photos below which showing women who worked as telephone switchboard operators from the past. A typical telephone exchange switchboard, 1943 Army WAC phone operator, ca. 1940s Bell System telephone operators, 1950 Canadian Women's Army Corps operating the telephone switchboard at Canadian Military Headquarters, London, 1945 Chesapeake and Potomac telephone operators, Washington D.C, 1919 Early switchboard operator, ca. 1880s Operator at a switchboard, ca.1900 Southwestern Bell Telephone switchboard operators, ca. 1960s Switchboard operator, 1948 Switchboard operator, Amsterdam, ca. 1940s Switchboard operators at the Bell Telephone head office, 1912 Switchboard operators at the sole Milwaukee telephone exchange, 1883 Switchboard operators at the Sydney GPO Switchboard, 1913 Switchboard operators, 1922 Telephone operator, 1898 Telephone operator, 1929 Telephone operator, 1969 Telephone operator, ca. 1900s Telephone operators in Seattle, Washington, 1952 Telephone operators, ca. 1910s Telephone operators, ca. 1950s Telephone switchboard operator on Washington Island, 1915 Telephone switchboard operators in the 1960s Telephone switchboard operators, ca. 1900s Telephone twitchboard operators, 1914 The early switchboard operator, ca. 1880s WAC telephone operators operate the Victory switchboard during the Potsdam Conference in their headquarters in Babelsburg, Germany, 17 July 1945 Women operators in Richmond, Virginia, 1884