Blast from the past: Chunky phone books

By Helen McGurk
Published 14th Feb 2023, 15:08 BST
The telephone directory and Yellow Pages were two weighty tomesThe telephone directory and Yellow Pages were two weighty tomes
The telephone directory and Yellow Pages were two weighty tomes
Some of us might still have a phone book in our homes, either the iconic Yellow Pages or BT’s directory.

Both were hefty beasts that would thud on the doorstep.

More than just a tool for finding people or businesses, they served as doorstops, booster seats and steps.

Ripping the fat books in half used to be a classic trial for a strongman.

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But in environmental terms having such large books of paper was incredibly wasteful. Also, with the rise of the internet, their use became redundant.

The Yellow Pages stopped printing in January 2019 after more than five decades, as it’s owner Yell took the decision to fully digitise the business.

BT’s telephone directory (or white pages) was printed in a thinned down version, covering a smaller geographic, around 2010. This meant it could fit through letterboxes. Numbers are now available online and BT provides a copy of the Phone book covering local areas every 12 months. Non-BT customers can buy a copy.

I remember both the Yellow Pages and the phone directory. They were housed in a cupboard in the telephone seat (remember those?) in the hallway.

As a teenager, many happy an hour was spent flicking ​​​​​​through the pages, looking for a love interest’s phone number, finding their family name and then being too rung out to ring!

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