Boudoir scene with a young woman telephoning.
Oil on canvas, 36 x 24 cm.
Signed Paul Fischer. 

Post & Tele Museum is presently trying to trace how our maternal ancestors used the phone. Until further we concentrate on the period 1880-1920 and we are searching in memoirs and fiction, the daily and weekly press, revue songs, plays, advertisements, and pictorial art.

A Misunderstanding

The piquant painting by Paul Fischer (1680-1932) is an entertaining example. On the back somebody - maybe the artist himself - has copied a poem from the humour periodical "Tik-Tak" [Tick-Tock] of 1914 which is illustrated by Fischer's painting.

A Misunderstanding
I beg your pardon. Where are you ...
And what do you say I asked you to do...
What do you want? If you can come up ...
No, Mr. Madsen, now you must stop.

Yes, I may have been one evening
in a café, but you see ...
Really, Mr. Madsen, you have got
a totally wrong idea about me!

What? Are you visiting Lassen ...
I did not know, I'm sorry ...
Oh, you are the Mr. Madsen.
Tthat is quite a different story!

Picture Telephony 1910

One may only feel sorry for the misunderstood Mr. Madsen who was unable to see the scene that Fischer shows us. However, some women actually thought that it was possible to see through the telephone as it appears from the following anecdote from Illustreret Tidende [Illustrated News] of 3rd March 1910:

One morning a young Stockholm gentleman wants to phone an attractive young married lady in order to thank her for an invitation. Unfortunately, a crossing takes place so that he gets into the lady's conversation with a friend. He is only listening for an instant before he hangs up, but he cannot help overhearing the following sentence on the phone:

"I have to ring off now. I am still in my nightgown and my legs are terribly cold..."
Shortly afterwards he calls again and the young lady answers: "Hello!"
He thanks her for the invitation and says:
"... By the way I won't keep you any longer, madam, as I see you are in undress ..."

A scream over the phone and the sound of the receiver being dropped was the result.