Communications

Tools of communication have transformed American society time and again over the past two centuries. The Museum has preserved many instruments of these changes, from printing presses to personal digital assistants.

The collections include hundreds of artifacts from the printing trade and related fields, including papermaking equipment, wood and metal type collections, bookbinding tools, and typesetting machines. Benjamin Franklin is said to have used one of the printing presses in the collection in 1726.

More than 7,000 objects chart the evolution of electronic communications, including the original telegraph of Samuel Morse and Alexander Graham Bell's early telephones. Radios, televisions, tape recorders, and the tools of the computer age are part of the collections, along with wireless phones and a satellite tracking system.

Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator pushes the key’s lever down briefly to make a short signal, a dot, or holds the lever down for a moment to make a slightly longer signal, a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. This key has a switch on the side called a circuit-closer that takes the key off-line when not in use. The straight lever was used in the mid nineteenth century. This key was used in the 1870s on the Railroad Overland Telegraph Line.
date made
1869
ID Number
EM.231787
catalog number
231787
accession number
43532
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator pushes the key’s lever down briefly to make a short signal, a dot, or holds the lever down for a moment to make a slightly longer signal, a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. This key is an example of the earliest type of key used by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1843
ID Number
EM.181410
catalog number
181410
accession number
31652
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator pushes the key’s lever down briefly to make a short signal, a dot, or holds the lever down for a moment to make a slightly longer signal, a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. This is a very early strap key used by Joseph Henry in experiments made at the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
user
Henry, Joseph
maker
Chester, Partrick & Co.
ID Number
EM.181441A
catalog number
181441A
accession number
2006.0177
Telegraph keys are electrical switches used to send messages in code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The exact method of operating this automatic double-current key is unknown at this time.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical switches used to send messages in code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The exact method of operating this automatic double-current key is unknown at this time. The key may have been used in laboratory experiments at King's College in London investigating submarine telegraph signaling.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1990.0539.12
catalog number
1990.0539.12
accession number
1990.0539
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. Semi-automatic keys like this "Vibroplex" automatically produced rapid morse code dots by using a weighted pendulum to quickly make and break contact in the electrical circuit.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. Semi-automatic keys like this "Vibroplex" automatically produced rapid morse code dots by using a weighted pendulum to quickly make and break contact in the electrical circuit. The operator would make the dashes manually but could send much faster than with an ordinary key.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Vibroplex Company, Inc.
ID Number
EM.331623
accession number
294351
collector/donor number
72-12
catalog number
331623
Until recently “wireless” meant radio, and operators used keys to send radio messages via Morse code. This telegraph key was designed and built by the US Navy for sending wireless messages from ships.On label: "Auxiliary Hand Key. Volts 250 Amperes 50 Cycles 500 Type S.E.
Description (Brief)
Until recently “wireless” meant radio, and operators used keys to send radio messages via Morse code. This telegraph key was designed and built by the US Navy for sending wireless messages from ships.
On label: "Auxiliary Hand Key. Volts 250 Amperes 50 Cycles 500 Type S.E. 68A Serial No. B1049 Mfg'd by Mach'y Div. Navy Yard Boston". Stamped on base: "J [anchor logo] L". Terminals marked in pencil: "B" and "G".
Standard telegraph key with wide space keying contacts for high currents. The Boston Navy Yard was designated to handle the research and design of sending keys. W. Chadbourne was the specialist in this particular area. After World War I, these designs were manufactured by the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Co. Reference: Clark Collection, SRM 26-021.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
maker
Boston Navy Yard. Machinery Division
ID Number
EM.320851
catalog number
320851
accession number
241556
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. A semi-automatic telegraph key like this one allows an operator to send land-line and wireless (radio) telegraph messages at a much faster rate than with an ordinary key.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. A semi-automatic telegraph key like this one allows an operator to send land-line and wireless (radio) telegraph messages at a much faster rate than with an ordinary key. The key automatically produces rapid morse code dots by using a weighted pendulum or springs to quickly make and break contact in the electrical circuit. The operator still makes the dashes manually.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Western Union Corporation
ID Number
EM.331684
accession number
294351
collector/donor number
100-058
catalog number
331684
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator pushes the key’s lever down briefly to make a short signal, a dot, or holds the lever down for a moment to make a slightly longer signal, a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. This key has a switch on the side called a circuit-closer that takes the key off-line when not in use.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
J. H. Bunnell & Co.
ID Number
2013.3040.09
nonaccession number
2013.3040
catalog number
2013.3040.09
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator moved the lever on this so-called "double speed key" from side to side to make signals.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator moved the lever on this so-called "double speed key" from side to side to make signals. This key has a switch on the side called a circuit-closer that takes the key off-line when not in use.
Hand telegraph key with control knob arranged on a spring for side-ways motion. Contact points are on either side of key bar. A line switch is included on the base. Maker claims operators of this style key will not be affected by cramp. Reference: J. H. Bunnell & Co. Catalog, 1918, page 4.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
maker
J. H. Bunnell & Co.
ID Number
EM.320857
catalog number
320857
accession number
241556
Telegraph keys are electrical switches used to send coded messages that travel as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. Due to special difficulties in sending pulses through long underwater cables, so-called double-current keys were used.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical switches used to send coded messages that travel as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. Due to special difficulties in sending pulses through long underwater cables, so-called double-current keys were used. Instead of the short dots and long dashes of land-line telegraphs, submarine telegraphs sent positive pulses and negative pulses that made the receiver move right or left. The operator pressed one lever on the key to send a positive pulse and another to send a negative pulse. The code consisted of the sequence of left and right movements recorded on a paper tape. This particular key was used in testing insulation at Tufts University in the years around 1910.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ca 1903
maker
Queen and Company
ID Number
EM.328049
catalog number
328049
accession number
270107
collector/donor number
13
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. A semi-automatic telegraph key like this one allows an operator to send land-line and wireless (radio) telegraph messages at a much faster rate than with an ordinary key.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. A semi-automatic telegraph key like this one allows an operator to send land-line and wireless (radio) telegraph messages at a much faster rate than with an ordinary key. The key automatically produces rapid morse code dots by using a weighted pendulum to quickly make and break contact in the electrical circuit. The operator still makes the dashes manually.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Western Union Corporation
ID Number
EM.331690
accession number
294351
catalog number
331690
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire that activate a register or sounder at the receiving end.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire that activate a register or sounder at the receiving end. This key is mounted with a sounder, a common arrangement.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
J. H. Bunnell & Co.
ID Number
EM.330416
catalog number
330416
accession number
290301
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code and can spark when the circuit opens. Flame-proof telegraph keys, like this one made by International Radio Telegraph Company, were designed to contain the spark within a sealed chamber.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code and can spark when the circuit opens. Flame-proof telegraph keys, like this one made by International Radio Telegraph Company, were designed to contain the spark within a sealed chamber. These keys were necessary on early aircraft and in confined spaces such as aboard ships and submarines where the spark might ignite flammable gasses.
Marked on plate: "Flame-proof Key and Winker / Type CA-1213 Serial 48080 / International Radio Telegraph Co." Reference: Clark Collection: Navy Type Numbers, 1918, page 106.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
maker
International Radio Telegraph Company
ID Number
EM.320856
catalog number
320856
accession number
241556
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. A semi-automatic telegraph key like this one allows an operator to send land-line and wireless (radio) telegraph messages at a much faster rate than with an ordinary key.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. A semi-automatic telegraph key like this one allows an operator to send land-line and wireless (radio) telegraph messages at a much faster rate than with an ordinary key. The key automatically produces rapid morse code dots by using a weighted pendulum to quickly make and break contact in the electrical circuit. The operator still makes the dashes manually.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Western Union Corporation
ID Number
EM.331978
accession number
294351
collector/donor number
100-061
catalog number
331978
Telegraph keys are electrical switches used to send coded messages that travel as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. This British “thumb key” was designed for use on underwater telegraph cables. Typical telegraph keys turn the current on and off in the line.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical switches used to send coded messages that travel as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. This British “thumb key” was designed for use on underwater telegraph cables. Typical telegraph keys turn the current on and off in the line. This double-current key keeps the battery on the line and reverses the direction of the current flow when the operator presses down on the lever. Setting the small lever to “receive” sends the current to a separate relay instead of through the main section of the key.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
EM.331673
accession number
294351
collector/donor number
14-02
catalog number
331673
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The sequence and duration of pulses represent letters and numbers.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The sequence and duration of pulses represent letters and numbers. This patent model shows Lucien Crandall's design for an automatic key. His idea involved a key for each letter, number and character, set on a frame like a typewriter. Each key included a ratcheted wheel with conducting and insulated segments around the edge. When the operator pressed a key, the wheel rotated and generated morse code pulses at a regular speed. His goal was to permit operators to send messages, "with greater rapidity, uniformity, and certainty than with the common telegraphic key."
Note: the US Patent Office tag for this model misspells the inventor's name: Randall instead of Crandall.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875
maker
Crandall, Lucien S.
ID Number
EM.308883
catalog number
308883
accession number
89797
patent number
168144
Semi-automatic keys like this "Vibroplex" automatically produced rapid morse code dots by using a weighted pendulum to quickly make and break contact in the electrical circuit. The operator would make the dashes manually but could send much faster than with an ordinary key.
Description (Brief)
Semi-automatic keys like this "Vibroplex" automatically produced rapid morse code dots by using a weighted pendulum to quickly make and break contact in the electrical circuit. The operator would make the dashes manually but could send much faster than with an ordinary key. This key was used by Margaret M. A. Donahue (1892-1984), a Western Union operator.
Margaret Donahue received her radio license 17 February 1913. She attained national attention in 1917 as the "first woman in the United States to get a first-class radio operator's license," when she volunteered her services as the country entered World War I.
The key is housed in its original carrying case. Operators often owned their own keys and would adjust the settings to fit their personal preference. They would take the key with them after their shift. The box is wood with a paper covering, "18" penciled inside lid. Printed on key's label: "Trade "Vibroplex" Mark No. 72839 / U.S.Patents No.767,303 No.812,183 No.842,154 No.1,042,457 No.1,043,449 No.1,260,008 / The Vibroplex Company, Inc. 253 Broadway, New York". Plug stamped "W.U.Tel.Co." Faded decorative painted marks on base.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1919
maker
Vibroplex Company, Inc.
ID Number
1979.1016.01
accession number
1979.1016
catalog number
1979.1016.01
This prototype wireless telegraph key is from 1941. Until recently “wireless” meant radio and operators used keys to send radio messages via Morse code. The key is a semi-automatic device made by Lynn G. Heatherly.
Description (Brief)
This prototype wireless telegraph key is from 1941. Until recently “wireless” meant radio and operators used keys to send radio messages via Morse code. The key is a semi-automatic device made by Lynn G. Heatherly. While working for the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company in Jacksonville, NC, Heatherly received US Patent #2,323,133 for this improved key. A semi-automatic key repeated the Morse code dots rapidly, much like holding down a key on a keyboard for repeated letters. The operator still keyed the dashes but could work much faster.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1941
maker
Lynn G. Heatherly
ID Number
2003.0235.01
accession number
2003.0235
catalog number
2003.0235.01
Until recently, “wireless” meant radio and operators used keys to send radio messages via Morse code. This wireless telegraph key operated a Poulsen arc transmitter on the Italian-made dirigible S.S. Roma. The Roma, purchased by the U.S.
Description (Brief)
Until recently, “wireless” meant radio and operators used keys to send radio messages via Morse code. This wireless telegraph key operated a Poulsen arc transmitter on the Italian-made dirigible S.S. Roma. The Roma, purchased by the U.S. Army in 1921, was destroyed in a landing accident at Hampton Roads Naval Station. Henry Epsal was in the rescue party that entered the airship and retrieved this key before the ship was destroyed.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920
ID Number
EM.319445
catalog number
319445
accession number
238754
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. Horace G. Martin patented a practical semi-automatic telegraph key in 1903 and his company dominated the market for these devices.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. Horace G. Martin patented a practical semi-automatic telegraph key in 1903 and his company dominated the market for these devices. Keys like Martin's "Vibroplex" automatically produced rapid Morse codes dots by using a weighted pendulum to quickly make and break contact in the electrical circuit. The operator would make the dashes manually, but could send much faster than with an ordinary key.
Stamped on label: "Trade The Vibroplex Mark / Pat. June 30.03 / Aug.9.04 / Jan.22.07 / Others Pending / Horace G. Martin / New York - U.S.A." and "11875". Faded decorative painted marks on base. A semi-automatic key with switch, two binding posts.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1908
maker
Martin, Horace G.
ID Number
EM.320853
catalog number
320853
accession number
241556
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code and can spark when the circuit opens. This wireless telegraph key features a large disc on the knob to protect against the accidental shock.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code and can spark when the circuit opens. This wireless telegraph key features a large disc on the knob to protect against the accidental shock. Until recently “wireless” meant radio, and early wireless equipment often used high voltages.
A standard wireless telegraph key. Stamped on base: "Boston Key Clapp-Eastham Co." and on lever: " Clapp-Eastham Co". All metal parts are of nickel-plated brass except for the steel pin that forms the central bearing. Mounted on an engraved formica base. Current is carried through the heavy conductors directly to the binding posts. Current rating of this unit is unknown, but Boston Keys were manufactured in ratings of 10, 20, 30, and 50 amperes. Reference: Clapp-Eastham bulletin FZ-1922, page 27.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1922
maker
Clapp-Eastham Co.
ID Number
EM.320854
catalog number
320854
accession number
241556
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code and can spark when the circuit opens. Flame-proof telegraph keys, like this one made by American Marconi, were designed to contain the spark within a sealed chamber.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code and can spark when the circuit opens. Flame-proof telegraph keys, like this one made by American Marconi, were designed to contain the spark within a sealed chamber. These keys were necessary on early aircraft and in confined spaces such as aboard ships and submarines where the spark might ignite flammable gasses.
Label reads: "Flame Proof Hand Key - 1/2 K.W. / Volts 300 Amperes 5 Cycles 500 / Type SE86 Serial No. 235 / Mf'd by Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co of America." This unit is a 500 watt flame-proof hand key designed for submarine transmitters. A U-shaped lever arm operates internal contact points. A double-grip knob is affixed to arm. Spring action is adjustable. Marble-type base with two binding posts. Reference: Navy Type Numbers, 1918.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
maker
Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. of America
ID Number
EM.320852
catalog number
320852
accession number
241556
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code and can spark when the circuit opens. Flame-proof telegraph keys, like this one made by General Radio, were designed to contain the spark within a sealed chamber.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code and can spark when the circuit opens. Flame-proof telegraph keys, like this one made by General Radio, were designed to contain the spark within a sealed chamber. These keys were necessary on early aircraft and in confined spaces such as aboard ships and submarines where the spark might ignite flammable gasses. Stamped on cover of this unit: "Airplane / Flame-Proof Radio Key / Type CAG-1169 Made for Navy Department / BU.of S.E. / General Radio Co. / Cambridge Mass." The knob is missing from this specimen.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
maker
General Radio Company
ID Number
2013.0030.02
catalog number
2013.0030.02
accession number
65022
This US Navy telegraph key was designed and built by the Navy for wireless communication from ships. Until recently, “wireless” meant radio and operators used keys to send radio messages via Morse code.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This US Navy telegraph key was designed and built by the Navy for wireless communication from ships. Until recently, “wireless” meant radio and operators used keys to send radio messages via Morse code.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
associated date
1919
maker
Lowenstein Radio Co.
ID Number
2013.0030.01
accession number
2013.0030
catalog number
2013.0030.01

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