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Copenhagen Town and House Telegraph

By Lars Heide

The first Danish telephone system was established in Copenhagen in 1877. The company was called Copenhagen Town and House Telegraph and used the telephone as a telegraph. The telephone was easier to use than the dot-dash telegraph. You did not have to learn the Morse code. Copenhagen Town and House Telegraph erected a number of "call stations", i.e. telephones, around the city. You could hand in a telegram at a station and it was then sent via the telephone to the telephone closest to the recipient. The telegram was then transcribed and delivered. Private persons could also be connected to the company’s network.

From 1880 the company even ran a private postal system in Copenhagen in competition with the Postal Service. The private company issued urban postage stamps. In 1882 the company merged with the Copenhagen Telephone Company but it kept running the alternative postal system until 1889.




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