New York’s Finest, 1908
Telephone History, Vintage Photographs September 22nd. 2008, 7:56am
This 1908 photograph shows the hub of the N.Y.C. Police Department, the “Information Bureau.” Even the early years of the telephone, the invention quickly proved itself to be an indispensable tool in law enforcement.
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:35 pm
One interesting thing about this picture is the size of the officers. As our ancestors tended to be smaller than us due to their limited diet and health care, it’s kinda curious that the men in this photo are larger than the norm of their day.
Now for some rampant speculation why. Maybe working with the phone was reserved for officers at the higher end of the ladder of success, most of them are also older. The fellow standing looks more like a beat cop, perhaps there to get orders or carry messages, while the men sitting and one on the phone are older and larger and maybe senior officers who make more money and have more status. Wonder what the stripes on the sleeves mean? Typically in military and quasi-military organizations they mean more status and rank.
All speculation of course. Maybe all these guys had thyroid problems and were on medical assignment to the phone desk.