30. Telex messages from Vozérier-Amancy, 1971-1974. [Inv. No. 6]

In 1969 Van Schooneveld received a telex machine, paid for by Mouton, for his use in Bloomington. In 1971 a telex was installed in the summer house that he bought in 1970 in Vozérier-Amancy. A letter of December 16,1969 from Mouton employee Van der Wilk to Van Schooneveld details the high costs connected with this, and he suggests the following: ‘Ik geloof, dat wij, d.m.v. een door ons zelf te ontwerpen afkortingensysteem, reeds tot een belangrijke kostenbesparing kunnen komen. [..] Ik heb de door ons gemaakte kosten eens laten kontroleren en hieruit is gebleken, dat de meeste telexberichten aan jou neerkomen op + ƒ 10,20 per bericht. Er zijn echter uitschieters van ƒ 50.- en ƒ 60.-, welke bij nader inzien beslist goedkoper hadden kunnen worden geseind’ [‘I believe that we could cut cost significantly if we develop an abbreviation system of our own. [..] I have had the costs that we have incurred checked out and it turned out that most telex messages to you cost about ƒ 10.20 per message. There are, however, whoppers of ƒ 50.- and ƒ 60.-, which upon closer inspection could have been wired decidedly cheaper’] [Inv. No. 7], Shown are the telex messages sent from France, among others one at installation time and one that in the summer of 1974 sealed the end of telex traffic (‘tomorrow last exchange of messages’). A telex starting with ‘Goedenmiddag, zoudt u de heer Coutinho aan de telex willen roepen?’ (‘Good afternoon, could you call Mr. Coutinho to the telex?’) demonstrates that the telex also functioned as a disguised telephone connection.