The World's First Cell Phone - 1922

World's First Cell Phone (1922). Found by a researcher in the Pathe vaults, this clip from 1922 shows that 92 years ago, mobile phone technology and music on the go was not just being thought of, but was being tested. Reported in the Daily Telegraph, May 2010. Part of the excitement for us ...

with such a colossal-sized video archive (See below), specifically one that has just been fully released to the general public, is that no one knows exactly what is inside. Not even the archivists!

The two ladies are using a small simple HF radio, probably a 'Cat's Mustache' type. For it to work it needs to be grounded, which is why it is connected to the fire hydrant. The antenna is the wire on the umbrella. The reception ends with a telephone operator who is using an HF radio and places the microphone next to the record player. For the two ladies to be listening, the operator would be pressing the Pressel switch.

In 1922, telephones were hard-wired and your voice was carried over lines that would have to go to an operator. The operator would then correct with another physical wire to the desired recipient of your call.

Below this is a photograph from the Library of Congress, dating between 1910 and 1915. The handwritten description at the bottom reads, "wireless telephone, Los Angeles."

Source: smithsonianmag.com