Working History — C. 1840
Telegraph, ABC telegraph
The electric telegraph was patented by William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone in 1837. Early telegraphic instruments were developed for use on London's new railway network. Telegraph wires ran alongside the railway tracks between stations. The use of telegraphy by the railway companies prompted wider interest from other businesses and the government.
This is an early version of the alphabetic or ABC telegraph invented by Wheatstone and Cooke. Each brass rod extending from the brass disc corresponds with a letter in the alphabet. The mechanism was turned in the manner of a dial so that each letter sent out an electric pulse spelling out the message to be read by the receiver. The manufacturers, Watkins and Hill, made a number of Wheatstone's and Cooke's early instruments.
- Category:
- Working History
- Object ID:
- 2003.2/195
- Object name:
- telegraph, ABC telegraph
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- Watkins and Hill
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
Charing Cross, London [City of Westminster], City of Westminster
- Production date:
- c. 1840
- Material:
wood, brass
- Measurements/duration:
- H 165 mm, W 203 mm, D 100 mm
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
BT Connected Earth
- Copyright holder:
BT
- Image credit:
© BT Heritage
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.