Up for auction/sale is a vintage glass tray featuring artwork from Southwestern Bell's "Call Collect Before Digging Near Our Cables" customer information program. I can't date this piece specifically, but the 2 letter/5 digit phone system ended in the 1950s, so I suspect this dates to the 1950s.
The graphic shows an individual operating a Ditch Witch in rural America and they've sliced through a bundle of cabling, and what looks like an irate worker pointing to the damage.
While researching this tray, I found the same artwork on a tape measure and a Scripto Vu Lighter (which first came out in 1955), showing there were a number of early SWB items released to get their "Before Digging" message out to their customers (see For Reference Only image).The glass tray is in excellent condition, with no chips, cracks, or damage but there are a couple minor flea bites along the edge, and other than a couple of dark or light wear spots to the yellow message background, the brightly colored graphic is also in great condition. The tray measures roughly 6 7/8" wide and is 5" tall.
I have described this tray as best I can, but to augment my description I have provided several high-resolution images from varying angles to allow for a detailed review of quality, condition, and desirability.
This rarely found item will be packaged with care to best ensure the glass tray arrives as pictured and described.
If you have any questions, additions, corrections, or concern, feel free to message me.