The History of Bell's Telephone

What it is

This is a book written by journalist Kate Field and published in 1878, just two years after Bell patented the telephone. Its cover title was "Bell's Telephone," and it was published in New York and London.

Why it matters

Written while the telephone was still a novelty, this book shows how quickly the invention captured public attention and how contemporaries like Field tried to explain and record its history almost as it happened. It is a close-up view of how Bell's breakthrough was understood by the public in his own time.

Look closer

• Why might a journalist in 1878 want to write a history of such a new invention?
• What might be different about an account written so soon after an event compared to one written decades later?
• What questions would you want to ask Kate Field about her sources?