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Thinking about telegrams made me remember that I have one. It appears in Ted Berrigan’s “C” magazine, vol. 1, no. 10 (1965), pasted inside a telegram-sized outline with the words “When the mercenaries ran away ...” typed along one side. I wonder what made it onto other copies of this mimeographed page.
The telegram, from Galeria Bonino, a Manhattan gallery, was sent to the artist and writer Joe Brainard. From Brazilian Bulletin, January 1, 1964:
Those who are acquainted with the Galeria Bonino in Rio de Janeiro will be pleased to know that Alfredo Bonino and Emilio del Junco have opened a new art gallery in New York City, at 7 West 57th Street. Other Bonino galleries are in Buenos Aires, Rome and Toronto.Did Joe Brainard ever have a show at Galeria Bonino? There’s nothing listed in the exhibition history in Joe Brainard: A Retrospective (2001).
Pop quiz: Why would a Manhattan gallery be sending a telegram to a Manhattan resident?
Related reading
All OCA Joe Brainard posts : telegram posts (Pinboard)
comments: 4
Why??? Because the recipient didn’t have a phone maybe???
—FRESCA
Exactly. We forget (or I do) how not that long ago not having a phone was not so unusual. That'd esp. be the case for a relatively poor young adult in NYC.
i had to go find my telegram. the message is pasted on a sheet that has happy birthday on top along with a cake. it was sent to me for my 10th birthday and in great condition. the senders of the telegram were close friends of my parents. she had also given my mother several dresses for me and as my mother put it later to me: obviously she didn't have kids as a mother wouldn't buy a dress with attached petticoat when you considered all of the ironing.
i remember or read in books that people would send telegrams as it was the quickest way to get a hold of someone as many people didn't have phones or were on party lines.
kirsten
Thanks for sharing that memory, Kirsten.
I guess telegrams were something like the original text messages (along with messages sent through pneumatic tubes).
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