In 1951, the Bell Telephone System introduced a guide titled “The Telephone and How to Use It” designed to help elementary school students and other students understand the operation of the classic rotary dial telephone. The guide explained in detail everything from basic phone usage to emergency situation response and polite phone manners.
h/t: rarehistoricalphotos
The journey to the invention of the rotary dial telephone began in 1836 with various proposals for a dial for sending telegraph signals. The first commercial telephone exchange in 1878 created the need for an automated, user-controlled method of direct calling. Overcoming existing technological limitations, Almon Brown Strowger invented the telephone dial in 1891. Unlike what we know today, early rotary dials used projections on finger plates and interrupted two independent circuits for control of the exchange switches.
Two main dial mechanisms appeared in the United States. One by the Western Electric Company for a bell system featuring spur gears, and the other by the Automated Electric Company featuring a governor with worm gearing. Both utilized a wrap spring clutch to drive the governor, a common feature of early 20th century turntables.