american vintage industrial revolving seat telephone switchboard operator stool or chair likely fabricated by the johnson chair company for western electric. the original woven rattan seat remains largely intact, with expected wear from prolonged use. the sleek bent tubular steel legs and stationary footrest or heel ring retain the original dark maroon baked enameled finish. the slightly contoured composite-based backrest is fully functional and original to the stool. the solid threaded steel spindle or post rotates up and down with ease. in the early days of telephony, companies used manual telephone switchboards and switchboard operators connected each call by inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks. each pair of plugs was part of a cord circuit with a switch associated that let the operator participate in the call. each jack had a light above it that lit when the telephone receiver was lifted (the earliest systems required a generator on the phone to be cranked by hand). lines from the central office were usually arranged along the bottom row. before the advent of operator distance dialing, switchboard operators would work with their counterparts in the distant central office to complete long distance calls. before the advent of automatic exchanges, an operator's assistance was required for anything other than calling telephones across a shared party line. callers spoke to an operator at a central office who then connected a cord to the proper circuit in order to complete the call. being in complete control of the call, the operator was in a position to listen to private conversations. automatic, or dial systems were developed in the 1920's to reduce labor costs as usage increased, and to ensure privacy to the customer. as phone systems became more sophisticated, less direct intervention by the telephone operator was necessary to complete calls. in january 1878 george willard croy became the world's first telephone operator when he started working for the boston telephone despatch company. emma nutt became the world's first female telephone operator in september 1878 when she started working for the boston telephone despatch company, because the attitude and behaviour of the teenage boys previously employed as operators was unacceptable. emma was hired by alexander graham bell, and reportedly, could remember every number in the telephone directory of the new england telephone company. seat height adjusts from approximately 27 to 32 inches.