Communications

WANN Microphone

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.

Topic: Religion

Church of the Storm Country

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1937
maker
Kloss, Gene
ID Number
GA.19276
catalog number
19276
accession number
170056

marriage certificate or fraktur

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1894
1910
about 1804
associated date
1890 - 1900
graphic artist
unknown
ID Number
2014.0037.23
catalog number
2014.0037.23
2014.0037.23
2014.0037.23
accession number
2014.0037

Innocent the Tenth

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1774
artist attribution
Velazquez, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y
engraver
Green, Valentine
delineator
Farington, George
ID Number
GA.20769
catalog number
20769
accession number
226630

Journal of ... Thomas Chalkley ...

Book, leather over boards.Binding broken.A Journal or Historical Account of the Life, Travels, and Christian Experiences of ...Thomas Chalkley; bound with The Works of Thomas Chalkley, Part II only (no Part I). Both imprints Philadelphia: Printed by B. Franklin and D.
Description (Brief)
Book, leather over boards.Binding broken.
A Journal or Historical Account of the Life, Travels, and Christian Experiences of ...Thomas Chalkley; bound with The Works of Thomas Chalkley, Part II only (no Part I). Both imprints Philadelphia: Printed by B. Franklin and D. Hall, 1749
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1749
associated date
1749
printer
Franklin, Benjamin
ID Number
GA.16522
accession number
118225
catalog number
16522

birth and baptismal certificate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1773
associated date
1773 03 21
associated user
unknown
unknown
ID Number
1987.0006.04
accession number
1987.0006
catalog number
1987.0006.04

Spirit of Prayer ...

Pamphlet, stitched. An Extract from a Treatise by William Law, M. A. called The Spirit of Prayer...Philadelphia: Printed by B. Franklin and D. Hall, 1760.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Pamphlet, stitched. An Extract from a Treatise by William Law, M. A. called The Spirit of Prayer...
Philadelphia: Printed by B. Franklin and D. Hall, 1760.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1760
associated date
1760
printer
Franklin, Benjamin
ID Number
GA.16523
catalog number
16523
accession number
118225

copy book letter learning

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1800
ID Number
1987.0006.11
accession number
1987.0006
catalog number
1987.0006.11

Abraham's Sacrifice

Mezzotint after painting by Rembrandt once in the Gallery at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Print removed from George P. Marsh’s copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol. 2.
Description
Mezzotint after painting by Rembrandt once in the Gallery at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Print removed from George P. Marsh’s copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol. 2. Marsh probably wrote the numeral 33 in pencil in the lower right margin. Notation on mounting sheet indicates the print was taken out for framing in 1894. SI Secretary's Library stamp embossed in lower left margin.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1781
original artist
Rembrandt van Rijn
publisher
Boydell, John
engraver
Murphy, John
ID Number
1978.0534.03.35
accession number
1978.0534
catalog number
1978.0534.03.35

Map of the Pilgrim's Progress

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1850
date made
ca 1800
graphic artist
Melish, John
ID Number
1985.0303.05
accession number
1985.0303
catalog number
1985.0303.05

birth and baptismal certificate, fraktur

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1774
associated date
1774 01 14
associated user
unknown
unknown
ID Number
1987.0006.02
catalog number
1987.0006.02
accession number
1987.0006

The Mystic Marriage of St. Catharine

Mezzotint after original painting by Giulio Cesare Procaccini (once attributed to his brother Camillo Procaccini), formerly at Houghton Hall, Norfolk,England. Current location of the original is State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Print tipped onto sheet bound in George P.
Description
Mezzotint after original painting by Giulio Cesare Procaccini (once attributed to his brother Camillo Procaccini), formerly at Houghton Hall, Norfolk,England. Current location of the original is State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Print tipped onto sheet bound in George P. Marsh's copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol. 1.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1775
artist attribution
Procaccini, Camillo
delineator
Boydell, Josiah
engraver
Green, Valentine
publisher
Boydell, John
original artist
Procaccini, Giulio Cesare
ID Number
1978.0534.02.36
catalog number
1978.0534.02.36
accession number
1978.0534

birth and baptismal certificate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1797
associated date
1788 06 19
associated user
unknown
unknown
graphic artist
Krebs, Johann Jacob Friedrich
ID Number
1987.0006.10
accession number
1987.0006
catalog number
1987.0006.10

Christ Preaching (La Petite Tombe)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
engraver
Rembrandt van Rijn
ID Number
GA.01459
catalog number
01459
accession number
20802

Satan tempting Christ in the wilderness

Title attribution from the British Museum online catalogue. Signed in the plate " DvB in." [invenit]. Vinckboons's original drawing is in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg.Currently not on view
Description
Title attribution from the British Museum online catalogue. Signed in the plate " DvB in." [invenit]. Vinckboons's original drawing is in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th century
graphic artist
Visscher, Nicolaes Jansz
original artist
Vinckboons, David
ID Number
1978.0534.05
accession number
1978.0534
catalog number
1978.0534.05

The Stoning of St. Stephen

Engraving after painting formerly attributed to Eustache Le Sueur once in the Salon at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, attributed provisionally to Thomas Gousse. Print removed from George P.
Description
Engraving after painting formerly attributed to Eustache Le Sueur once in the Salon at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, attributed provisionally to Thomas Gousse. Print removed from George P. Marsh’s copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol. 2.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1773
maker
A. B. & W. Transit Company
artist attribution
Le Sueur, Eustache
publisher
Boydell, John
engraver
Aliamet, Francois Germain
ID Number
1978.0534.03.40
accession number
1978.0534
catalog number
1978.0534.03.40

The Prophet

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.014
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.014

print

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.01146
catalog number
01146
accession number
20593

The Prodigal Son

Line engraving from original painting by Salvator Rosa once in the Gallery at Houghton, now in State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Print tipped onto sheet bound in George P. Marsh’s copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol.
Description
Line engraving from original painting by Salvator Rosa once in the Gallery at Houghton, now in State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Print tipped onto sheet bound in George P. Marsh’s copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol. 1.This is the smaller of two engravings after Rosa's painting included in the Houghton Gallery set; it was delineated by Richard Earlom and engraved by J. B. Michel.
Claiming that this print in volume one was “too small for such a capital picture,” the publisher introduced another larger version for volume two, also delineated by Earlom but engraved by Simon Ravenet. It had first appeared in Boydell’s series, A Collection of Prints Engraved after the Most Capital Paintings in England, begun in 1769.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1775
publisher
Boydell, John
delineator
Earlom, Richard
engraver
Michel, Jean Baptiste
original artist
Rosa, Salvator
ID Number
1978.0534.02.39
accession number
1978.0534
catalog number
1978.0534.02.39

Camera-ready comic strip, entitled "David Crane"

"David Crane", drawn by Creig Flessel (1912-2008) from 1960 to 1971, is a comic strip about a young minister, David Crane, and the small town in which he lives. In this comic strip, Jinny thinks Jamie found a way to befriend the neighbor Mr. McAllister.Currently not on view
Description
"David Crane", drawn by Creig Flessel (1912-2008) from 1960 to 1971, is a comic strip about a young minister, David Crane, and the small town in which he lives. In this comic strip, Jinny thinks Jamie found a way to befriend the neighbor Mr. McAllister.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
08/09/unknown year
graphic artist
Flessel, Creig
publisher
Hall Syndicate, Inc.
ID Number
GA.22458
catalog number
22458
accession number
277502

Erinnerung an de Tag der Confirmatim/Confirmation Certificate (translated title)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1884
publisher
Kaufmann, Ernst
ID Number
2012.0093.28
accession number
2012.0093
catalog number
2012.0093.28

Circumcision

Engraved wood block. Possibly from a 15th-century Dutch work used for reading Gospels during Mass. One of a group of 38 blocks now dispersed among public and private collections. See John Buchanan-Brown, "A Forged Series of Woodcuts?", The Library, 29:2 (June 1974), pp.
Description (Brief)
Engraved wood block. Possibly from a 15th-century Dutch work used for reading Gospels during Mass. One of a group of 38 blocks now dispersed among public and private collections. See John Buchanan-Brown, "A Forged Series of Woodcuts?", The Library, 29:2 (June 1974), pp. 165-196.
Proof made in Museum ca1963 is GA*21735B
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca1500?
ID Number
GA.21735A
catalog number
21735A
accession number
257804

birth and baptismal certificate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1808
associated date
1808 10 02
associated user
unknown
unknown
ID Number
1987.0006.09
accession number
1987.0006
catalog number
1987.0006.09

Archbishop Laud

Mezzotint after painting formerly attributed to Anthony van Dyck, hung in the Drawing Room at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg as a repetition by the workshop of van Dyck.
Description
Mezzotint after painting formerly attributed to Anthony van Dyck, hung in the Drawing Room at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg as a repetition by the workshop of van Dyck. The painting that is now considered the original portrait is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England. Print removed from George P. Marsh’s copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol. 2. Marsh probably wrote the numeral 11 in pencil in the lower right margin. Pencil note in the binding indicates the print was taken out for framing in March, 1894. SI Secretary's Library stamp embossed lower right.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1779
original artist
Van Dyck, Anthony
engraver
Watson, James
publisher
Boydell, John
ID Number
1978.0534.03.13
accession number
1978.0534
catalog number
1978.0534.03.13

copy book letter learning

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1783
associated date
1783 03 18
ID Number
1987.0006.05-06
accession number
1987.0006
catalog number
1987.0006.05-06
1987.0006.05 1987.0006.05-06

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