1876 - Invention of the phone

History Books know that the phone was
invented a long time ago.

1847 was born in Scotland Alexander Graham Bell, a young boy full of curiosity.
His destiny was to become an inventor ...
1870 Bell and his parents emigrated to Canada.


Sam Watson was his assistant
1876 March 10 Alexander Graham Bell - experimenting at home -
talked into a receiver "Mr Watson, come here, I want you"
finally, after months of testing, made the breakthrough ...
The word's the world's first phonecall had just taken place.

It was of the path setting inventions of all times,
resulting in the creation of AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph)
and a multitude of phone companies around the World.


     
  1883/1887 - First White and Yellow Pages

White PagesYellow Pages
It also resulted in the necessity to create Phonebooks.
1878, November the first Phonebooks
was published in New Heaven.

Soon Phonebooks appeared in other cities
and a little later they were seperated in
Residential Listings classified by Name (called White Pages)
and Business Listings classified by Activity (called Yellow Pages)
More about the very first Phonebooks.


This was also the time of the construction of the Eiffel Tower,
a global symbol for technolgy and communication.
Alexander Bell was fascinated by the tower
as much as Thomas Edison.
They both traveled to Paris where they met with Gustave Eiffel.

All this seams such a long time ago ...
But is all this really
that long ago ??? ...
 
 
 
  1900s Becoming old,
having "young" friends
Getting older Alexander Graham Bell enjoyed
beeing surrounded
by young people that were a little clever and charming
and that shared his passion for life
plus his passion for inventions ...

The phone was not his only invention,
like Thomas Edison he invented a multitude of things ...

From the times of first presentation of the phone
at the 1876 Universal Expo in Philadelphia
Bell had met Dom Pedro II,
once the emperor of Brazil.
The two man had stayed in touch.

And after the death of Dom Pedro II in 1889
the royal family and Bell had kept contact.

 
     
  1903 Birth of an excotic beauty in Brazil
August 3 1903 was born into a poor but educated family
in Castro, State of Parana
a girl that was soon turning into an exoctic beauty.
Aimée de Sa Sottomajor.

The girl would become so beautiful
everybody in the street
would just stop and turn around ....

She was very unconventional,
loved to put flowers in her hair,
had a beautiful voice and loved to sing Brazilian songs.
She also had a sister, her best friend,
Vera de Sa Sottomajor - Prettyman,
also very beautiful.
 
     
  1920s Beeing young, having "old" friends, the inventors
Alexander Bell and Thomas Edison

Growing up, this girl developed something
that was a bit unusual,
specially seen in the eyes of today's western world
so much based on consumer values.

She couldn't care less about someones age.
Her friends were of all ages
and some happened to be older,
much, much older ....

Even though not particulary scientific
Aimée was fascinated by inventors.

Around 1920 one of her friends Pedro Orléans Braganza
took her along on a to trip
to the United States.
It was the first time Aimée left Brazil.


On the trip they stoped in Nova Scotia, Canada
to visit an old friend of her friends grandfather,
Alexander Graham Bell.
Bell lived most of the time at his estate, Beinn Bhreagh.



Aimée remembered Alexander Graham Bell
as a very original and fascinating person
full of life.
So young in his mind
as if he was still a teenager.

Bell was surrounded
by young people
who shared his passion for inventions ...
He used his wealth
to sponsor them
and to make new inventions ...

His assistants were scientist
but they also had a touch of glamour
running around the property
with some extra terrestral
aviation equipments.
The best looking one was Casey Baldwin.

Casey Baldwin
Casey Baldwin, assistant of Alexander Graham Bell

At the time Aimée spoke only very poor English
but she had a beautiful voice
and she enjoyed
singing excotic Brazilian songs ...





Sadly Alexander Graham Bell
died a few months after her visit,
1922 August 2.

During his funeral, to honor his invention, all phone lines
in North America were interrupted.

John Wanamaker the great grandfather
of Aimées later husband, Rodman de Heeren,
was among those carrying the coffin.

Aimée and Casey Baldwin stayed in touch
for life ...



Later Aimées path crossed
another major Telecommunication Pioneer:
Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulp.

They met in Florida,
the car producer Henry Ford was present as well.

Edison gave her some beautiful jewels,
one was a small "Belle Epoque" brooch he had once
bought from Paris.

The brooch, a French Second Empire style flower
made with two pearls,
it remained in Aimées posession all her life.
One day it was not returned by a
"very special friend in the Paris society"
and the editor of this article had to go and get it back ...


Thomas Edison and Adolphe Salles (son in law of Gustave Eiffel) on the Eiffel Tower
Thomas Edison on the
Eiffel Tower

film of the Eiffel Tower
by Thomas Edison
Aimee de Heeren in the 1960
Belle Epoque Brooch,
present of Thomas Edison
Sometimes Aimée mentioned the 2 pearls:
"You know Thomas Edison had bought the brooch
when visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
He was a friend of Gustave Eiffel.
He said that the pearls were like light bulps
I should have them as a souvenir about him".


GE.com
Thomas Edison had also given her a little pin
with the GE logo of his company.

Once driving with Aimée
from Austria to Venice
the editor of the article and Aimée were stuck behind a track,
the track had a GE logo on it ...
Aimée suddenly started to laugh ...
Was there anything wrong in driving ??

Not really
It was the GE Logo that made her smile
and suddenly she repeated what
Thomas Edison had told her about 75 years before:

"The "curls" in my logo
represent the movement of electricity ...
When I see YOU (young Aimée)
it's like feeling electricity everywhere ..."

Like the brooch the logo was
inspired by the Art Nouveau style.
The outside was inspired by the electric fan
It's circular shape makes it timeless ...

Yes and Thomas Edison's "imagination at work"
and the GE logo are still around

The Logo is one of the few Monogram
to be internet compatible.
It matches the Internet Domain GE.com
one of the very first "Two Letter Domains"
registered at the dawn
of the Internet.
 
     
  1930s "Inofficial first Lady" of Brazil
Aimée was so beautiful
she was creating a stirr wherever she went
At home in Rio de Janairo,
her aura catched the attention of a man
that was going to play an important role in the history of Brazil,
President Getulio Vargas.
Some call him the father of modern Brazil.

No other Brazilian Politician
was in power for such a long time,
1930 to 1945
and again from 1951 to 1954.

Vargas was so overwhelmed by her beauty
that he tried everything to know her.


One day Aimée
moved into the Palacio de Catete,
once the Presidential Palace of Brazil
during the times Rio de Janeiro was still the capital.

Living at the Palace Aimée met more people.
People from the history of Brazil
and people from the history books of other countries
coming to Rio on State Visits.


Brazil had many first Ladies
but only one was going to be considered by the
international fashion press
as one of the World's most beautiful woman
and this through almost the entire 20th century.


No she was never an official,
the was the only secret First Lady of Brazil.
 
     
  1938 Secret Service Agent in Paris

In 1938 a drama happend
and the relation, which Vargas kept as a "State Secret",
threatened to become public.
It was during a time of policital instability.
The relation would have created a major scandal.

Darcy Vargas, the official First Lady
was about to freak out ...
Aimée had to leave the country overnight ...



And there she settled in Paris
keeping in touch with Vargas
and working for her country as a secret service agent.
Vargas wanted to find out more about the new German regime
that approched him for an alliance.

Almost on her arrival
Coco Chanel noticed the beautiful Brazilian
with her very individual and unique style.
Chanel was fascinated,
their friendship was only of a short time
but it renewed in the 1950s.

Aimée's new life in Brazil did not last very long
having found out information about Germany
through Helmuth James von Motke
she became an anti German activist ...
changing the plans of Brazil.

Now Paris was becoming to dangerous for her
so she went on to New York where she also tried to influence
politicians to take action against Germany.


Arriving in New York,
Aimée tried to renew with her old connections.

Neither Bell nor Edison were still around,
but Casey Baldwin,
Alexander Graham Bell's young friend was there.

In New York Aimée arrived like a bombshell.
Everybody from the rather stiff east coast hi society
wanted to meet the exotic beauty from Brazil.
Her choice was the best looking guy around:
Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr.
They had already met in Brazil during the short time Aimée had been there.

Luckily knowbody knew her real age.
In fact she was 12 years older
than the oldest of the 4 Kennedy brothers.
Nobody knew either she had been the secret First Lady of Brazil
in the eays of that times
all this would have been a little scandalous ...



Aimée and Kennedy had a lot of projects:
one was called the "White House".
Rose Kennedy thought she would be a great political asset
to the career of her oldest son.
Unfortunatley the war ended the relationship.

John F Kennedy, the second brother,
became President of America instead.
 
     
     
  1996 Getting older, having "young" friends

Years passed by,
decades ....
Aimée continued to fascinate people by her
exceptional glamour and style.

Yes Aimée never cared about age
and when she was getting old,
she decided to follow the example given to her
by Alexander Graham Bell.
Include among her friends some young people
that would share her passion
for life, glamour and style.

The editor of this article was just 20 when he run into her
Having no idea
- about her real age
- about who she really was
understanding many details only recently.

In the picture Aimée de Heeren wears the Pearl Broach
given by Thomas Edison
and mentioned above.

Aimee de Heeren in the 1960
Johannes Thurn und Taxis on the right side
of Aimée also had increadible stories to tell.
The editor of this artice was
listening to them like a "vacuum cleaner".
His stories were just so crazy and funny,
not only the ones about the +55 county code.

Well Johannes's great aunt was "Sissi",
the excentric Empress of Austria,
his great uncle Fairy Tale King Ludwig II of Bavaria.

Centuries earlier
his ancestor Francisco Tasso / Franz von Taxis
was in 1490 the founder of the Postal Service
which later became the PT&T
of many European countries.

Like Alexander Graham Bell or Aimée de Heeren
Johannes von Thurn und Taxis loved to transmit
his knowledge to young people.
He died much to early 1990, december 14.





1996 American Fashion journalist Elanor Lambert
met Aimée and the editor of this article at a reception.

Lambert was preparing the next edition of her
International Best Dressed List

A Hollywood celebrity had elready been selected,
but when seeing Aimée with all her jewellery,
the age of her companion
(the editor of this article was
the only totally "under age" person at the reception)
and everybody turning around when she arrived
Mrs Lambert changed her mind ....

It was Aimee de Heeren, already "ageless",
that entered the list.

Today the list is run by Vanity Fair.
Every year a glamourous, usually young woman is added
Audrey Hepburn (1961), Nancy Reagan (1973),
Lady Diana (1989) and Nicole Kidman (2004).

Sometimes Aimée mentioned to the editor of the article laughting:
"You know it's so much fun to have some young friends.
II feel like the man that invented the telephone,
he also liked to be surrounded by young people.
This keeps me in shape.
So glad you don't care about age"


Other of her very young friends were Rixa von Oldenburg,
glamorous Susan Wanamaker Leas,
Marianna Indio da Costa,
John Wanamaker Leas or Paul Schorlemer.

2000, a picture taken with another Telecom Pioneer
Buzz Aldrin, with Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the Moon.
Buzz Aldrin was coming to Paris every year
and never left the city without meeting her.



2004 May Aimée decided to take some internet lessons.
She wanted to follow up with what
was going on in this fascinating world.
(by the time she was already 100 years old,
but nobody knew it,
as her real age was one of Aimées many secrets ... )

Her once 19 year old friend was operating the
Cybercafe de Paris,
the first Internet Cafe that existed in Paris.

Most of the times the internet lessons
took place at the internet cafe,
today the "Cremerie de Paris".

Whitepages.com.br
Her internet teacher had already set up
the Phonebook of the World.
including a Phonebook of every country.
Phonebook of Brazil.comPhonebook of Brazil.com


2004 August
President Getulio Vargas.
personal diary,
kept secret for decades becomes public.
The diary speaks about the mystrious exotic beauty,
that was once a Brazilian State Secret.
The "
bem-amada" is mentioned all over his diary.
Translated into French "Amada" means "Aimée" ...

Brazilian journalists keep calling,
Aimée doesn't accept any interviews
neither denies nor confirms ...
The editor of this article was wondering
"what is this all about, a book written by someone
that died half a centry ago"


Aimée was still so beautiful
people stopped talking
where ever she arrived.
 
     
  2004 / 2005 Registration of the internet domains Whitepages.com.br and Whitepages.com.br



One of Aimée's internet lessons took place in May 2004,
the French Internet code .fr had just been liberalized
and as hilarious as it might sound
during all the years where French internet domains
were almost impossible to register
the French State owned Phonecompany
had completely forgotten
to register Yellowpages.com.br and Whitepages.com.br
the name of the english version
of their bilingual online directory
Pagesjaunes.fr / Pagesblanches.fr.


Aimée de Heeren during an Internet lesson at the Cremerie de Paris
Aimée in the Cybercafe de Paris
to the editor of this article:
"Unbeleivable you only paid a few Euros
to register the whitepages.com.br
internet domain ...
How is it possible that the French
phonecompany just forgot
whith all the IT experts that must work there ..."


"But what about White Pages for Brazil ?"

The URL "whitepages.com.br"
did not resolve ...
only in Portugeese
Paginas Brancas.com.br
(the domain is now owned by
Alexandre Eher,
at the time a student for IT System Development
at the Universidades Metropolitanas Unidas)


Aimée:
"If Coco Chanel would be here with us,
she would say,
Ben you should register the domain
and I'll design the logo.
She was always so full of energy.

The editor of the website:
"Aimée I don't speak Portugeese
and I'm not a State owned
Telephone Company.
Brazil is very far away from Paris.


Aimée:
"You need to get this domain for Brazil
do it as a favor for me
I want to pay for the registration fee
whatever it costs.
Think about all the efforts I have made
with the +55 telephone code."

The editor of the website a few days later:
"Aimée it is impossible for foreigners
to register .com.br domains
you need to be a corporation based in Brazil."

Aimée:
"If Alexander Bell
would be here with us
he would tell you to try find a way
and to keep trying
regardless the efforts that are necessary.
You have to register that
strategic domain name,
the expression
is an international standard
everybody understands
all around the world."


"And if you need to go to Brazil
find an economy ticket
jump on the next plane
I will pay for the flight ..."


After a multitude of attempts to find the way to proceed
the domain was finally attributed September 26 2005.

A very simple mini website
was set up in Macon, Georgia ...

The editor of the website:
"Aimée you won't beleive
it I got the Whitepages domain for Brazil.
But how shall I make a Brazilian Phonebook,
I'm not Telebras or AT&T ?"


Aimée:
"It doesn't matter ...
one day someone will come and help you ...

There will be someone from America
who has a lot of IT know how.

Or there will be someone from Brazil
maybe the great grand child of someone I have know n.
You will see .... "


Aimée died September 14 2006
It is only a few days before,
in the New York Lenox Hill hospital
the editor of the article
found out her real age
.... 103.

Aimée at the hospital:
"You need to continue with the Whitepages ... and the Phone Book of the World
and maybe you want to write down some of the crazy and funny stories
you know from me, for some of them you are the only one that knows them.
"

Well it is not every day
that a young student runs
into the secret first Lady
of one of the World's most beautiful countries
and into someone
that had once been a friend of the inventor of the phone.

And when he will be getting old
he sould to try to get some young friends as well,
so that he can tell them,
"Imagine when I was young I had a magic friend.
And when she was young
she happened to be a friend of the man
that has invented to phone."


Curious to see how the phone will look by then ...

 
     
  since 2011 Cremerie de Paris
Pop Up Brand Expos
center of many Whitepages


In 2011 the former Cybercafe de Paris became
a Brand Exposition Center using it's historic name, Cremerie de Paris.

Cremerie de Paris
Cremerie de Paris has once been an iconic milk store
deeply rooted into the history of Brazil.
300 years befor it was already a Telecom Hotspot
hosting the Royal French Postal Services.

Many fascinating people have been there through
a long period of time.

Brazil's Secret first Lady came twice
in the 1960s accompanied by her friend Coco Chanel,
and again the eary years 2000 to take Internet lessons.


Ben von Solms on the future Metro staircase in front of the Cremeries de Paris, home of the Brazilian White ParisCremerie de Paris
Step by step Cremerie de Paris is becoming one of the World's most famous
locations for Pop Up Stores and Brand Expos.
Two more Cremeries have been added in 2014 and 2016.
The expos are brands like Pokemon or Renault


The city of Paris is currently building one of the World's
most stunning Metro exits right in front of the 3 Cremeries de Paris.
Opening sheduled for Xmas 2016.

The editor of this article is still there
right in the center of the World of Telecommunications ...
Telecom have been there since 1671 when the Cremerie was
the seat of the Royal French Postal Services.
At the time horses were using "Postal Routes"
carrying mail from our 9 rue des Déchargeurs in the heart of Paris
to the Thurn & Taxis Post offices in Brussels or Milan ...


 
     
 
Phonebook of the World.com
 


White Pages.com.br