Did you know that the first telephone directory was actually a single page printed on a piece of cardboard? Published on February 21, 1878, it listed 50 individuals, businesses, and other offices in New Haven, Connecticut that had telephones. No phone numbers or addresses. Just names.

Do you remember receiving telephone books? They used to be huge, thick books with names, addresses, and phone numbers in tiny print on page after page. The White Pages book contained the residential listings and the Yellow Pages book consisted of listings and display ads for local businesses.

The Yellow Pages had this whole advertising campaign built around the tag line, “Let your fingers do the walking.” Even the logo showed two stylistic fingers walking across the Yellow Pages book.

When I was growing up, the local telephone company would deliver the residential White Pages telephone book along with the Yellow Pages business directory to each household every year. Since we lived in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area, both books were quite thick.

I was always excited when the new phone books were delivered. I’d immediately look up our name to make sure they had our address and phone number listed correctly. And then I’d spend several hours going through the White Pages directory to look up the addresses and phone numbers of all of my friends.

I’ve been reminiscing about phonebooks recently. Over the past few days, the current edition of local telephone directories were delivered to most of the homes in my neighborhood. These thin books, not even an inch and a half thick including both white and yellow pages, are a shadow of what they once were. They barely resemble the massive directories that used to be dropped off on everyone’s doorsteps.

That may be because every year, fewer and fewer people rely on printed telephone directories. Most people these days use online searches to find people and businesses.

No directory was dropped off on our doorstep because we don’t have a landline. Apparently if you don’t have a landline, you don’t exist to the phone company.

I wonder how much longer paper telephone books will be around. I am pretty sure that most go directly from the doorstep to the recycling bin. I can’t imagine that it’s cost effective to compile, print, and deliver these vestiges of a quieter, quainter past, much less profitable for the companies that print and distribute them.

Does anybody still use telephone books? Do you?