I accidentally ran across free archives of many Callbooks ranging from about 1920 up to maybe the last 20 years. They are located at this site: https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A"callbook"&page=1 Ken
Yes, that's an extremely useful resource. I have links to a few others on my website: http://w0is.com/oldcallsigns/oldcalls.html The nice thing about the archive.org ones is that they seem to be picked up by Google. So it's usually possible to search them by name when the invariable question of "what was Grandpa's old call sign" comes up. Usually a search similar to the following will work: NAME callbook site:archive.org That works if they have an unusual last name. If it's a common last name, you might need to try variations of their full name: "John Q Smith" callbook site:archive.org Most, but not all names, are in that format, so that often works. Another option is to search by their address: "1234 Main" callbook site:archive.org
If anyone cares to contribute; 1934, 1935, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1985, 1992, 1996 Please get a hold of me.
Doesn't seem to be a searchable index. I reviewed 1969 Callbook (picked at random) and found W4OEY assigned to Roland Hill in New Bern, NC. When did you get that call?
I know this thread is a bit old but not nearly as old as the research I was doing. I had no documentation of my Novice or General call signs from the late 60's (after being away for 45+ years) but these references are great. Thanks so much for posting this! I also was able to locate my two elmers (both SK now). Great stuff!
You are welcome. I was hoping by now a few other folks would have joined in and scanned what they have. Specifically more foreign books.