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.

This Morsephone model KH-270B answering machine is connected to a Sony model M-7 micro-cassette recorder. The cassette recorder has been modified, possibly by the user, so as to connect to the Morsephone.
Description (Brief)
This Morsephone model KH-270B answering machine is connected to a Sony model M-7 micro-cassette recorder. The cassette recorder has been modified, possibly by the user, so as to connect to the Morsephone. This modular adaptation permits the user to record telephone messages when needed but also allows the recorder to be used for other tasks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1982
maker
Sony
ID Number
2000.0101.09
catalog number
2000.0101.09
accession number
2000.0101
Motorola produced this BPR 2000 model pager around 1982. Prior to the widespread availability of inexpensive cell phones many people carried telephone pagers to stay in contact with work or home.
Description
Motorola produced this BPR 2000 model pager around 1982. Prior to the widespread availability of inexpensive cell phones many people carried telephone pagers to stay in contact with work or home. A miniature radio receiver, a pager alerted the user that someone needed to talk to them and provided the call-back number. The BPR 2000 featured a dual address and numerical display to also show the user the source of an incoming call. Later alphanumeric pagers could communicate messages to the user. Pager use declined as cell phone coverage expanded across the U.S.
date made
1982
maker
Motorola Inc.
ID Number
1997.0246.05
catalog number
1997.0246.05
accession number
1997.0246
This full-size working replica of the 'Franklin' Press was made by ClintonSisson in 1984.The press was made for the exhibition “After the Revolution: Everyday Life in America 1780-1800,” in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, 1985.Purchased from Sisson, Foss &
Description (Brief)
This full-size working replica of the 'Franklin' Press was made by Clinton
Sisson in 1984.
The press was made for the exhibition “After the Revolution: Everyday Life in America 1780-1800,” in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, 1985.
Purchased from Sisson, Foss & Co., 1985.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1984
maker
Sisson, Clinton
ID Number
1985.0717.01
accession number
1985.0717
catalog number
1985.0717.01
This front-loading Betamax video recorder was manufactured by Sony at the height of the company’s competition with producers of the rival VHS format. Beta recorders initially featured a one hour recording cassette, later lengthened to match VHS.
Description (Brief)
This front-loading Betamax video recorder was manufactured by Sony at the height of the company’s competition with producers of the rival VHS format. Beta recorders initially featured a one hour recording cassette, later lengthened to match VHS. Early Beta machines were slightly larger than early VHS units and designers struggled to put a quality audio signal on the tape without compromising video signal quality. Both formats were available for about ten years but ultimately Sony could not solve the audio-video problem without a major redesign that made newer tapes incompatible with older machines. Sony dropped the Beta format in 1988.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1984
maker
Sony
ID Number
2003.0147.04
accession number
2003.0147
catalog number
2003.0147.04
David Lance Goines is known as a writer and lecturer as well as an illustrator and printer of both letterpress and offset lithography, his work much exhibited and collected throughout the country.
Description
David Lance Goines is known as a writer and lecturer as well as an illustrator and printer of both letterpress and offset lithography, his work much exhibited and collected throughout the country. But his Arts and Crafts influenced design is best known on his posters and in books. Goines was a recognized activist in Berkeley, associated with the Free Speech and Anti-War movements, and he did poster and book work for these movements.
Alice Waters, who founded the Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, was a founding inspiration of the fresh, local, and organic food movement. She met David Goines in the Berkeley Free Speech movement. They began to collaborate on a column, “Alice’s Restaurant” for the local alternative paper. She wrote the recipes and he provided the artwork. He collected and printed each column as Thirty Recipes for Framing and the entire set and individual prints from the set began to appear on Berkeley walls and beyond, establishing him with enough profits to buy the Berkeley Free Press, rechristened the St. Hieronymus Press.
He issued his first Chez Panisse poster, "Red-Haired Lady," in 1972 and his most recent, "41st Anniversary," in 2012. In between is a series of anniversary posters, plus occasional others celebrating the restaurant's book releases, such as the Chez Panisse Café Cookbook, and other ventures. These works established his place as the primary artist associated with food and wine in the so-called Gourmet Ghetto. His early posters for Chez Panisse were soon followed by requests from other food and wine related sites and events, as well as from many other commercial entities.
The design for this 1987 poster by David Lance Goines was first commissioned as a bottle label by Corti Brothers Grocery in Sacramento to note the introduction of some of the first extra-virgin olive oil made in the United States. According to Corti, the labels were originally made for Antinori, the great Italian wine (and olive oil) producer, but a freeze knocked out the olive crop. Antinori returned the labels to Corti, whose grocery was to carry the Antinori oil. Corti got Goines to re-do the labels for the Pallido and Verdesco oils, “Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spring Harvest Mission Olives,” simultaneously requesting a large number of the 4 color posters (unsigned, number130 in the Goines repertory) which he (Corti) could sell in the store. He also obtained the progressives from Goines, eventually giving the set of progressives and several of the posters to the National Museum of American History in 2012. The poster documents the arrival in the U.S. of the first wave of soon-to-be well known and much favored California-produced olive oils.
Many credit Darrell Corti for introducing chefs, food writers, and food critics to some of the high grades of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, American wines such as Zinfandel, and other foods that have become staples across America.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1987
maker
Goines, David Lance
ID Number
2011.0252.04
accession number
2011.0252
catalog number
2011.0252.04
This one-fourth scale model of the 'Franklin' common press, described separately, was made by Richard P.
Description (Brief)
This one-fourth scale model of the 'Franklin' common press, described separately, was made by Richard P. Heitzenrater of Dallas, Texas in about 1985.
The replica model recreated the plans for the 'Franklin' press described in volume two of Elizabeth Harris's "The Common Press" (London: Merrion Press, 1978). The wood was originally used in pews from the Church of St. Margaret in London's Westminster Abbey and were removed as part of a remodeling project in the nineteenth century. They were then sold to an individual in Dallas, Texas.
The press is a working model constructed by Mr. Heitzenrater when he served as curator of Early English Printing in the Methodist Collections at Bridwell Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Donated by Richard P. Heitzenrater, 2013.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1985 - 1986
ca 1985
maker
Heitzenrater, Richard P.
ID Number
2013.0320.01
accession number
2013.0320
catalog number
2013.0320.01
Motorola produced the DynaTAC cell phone in 1984 after more than a decade of work in cellular research and technology. The Motorola DynaTAC (an abbreviation of Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) was the first commercially available portable handheld cell phone.
Description
Motorola produced the DynaTAC cell phone in 1984 after more than a decade of work in cellular research and technology. The Motorola DynaTAC (an abbreviation of Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) was the first commercially available portable handheld cell phone. The phone was a 9-inches tall, weighed 2.5 pounds, had 30 minutes of battery life, and sold for $4,000. The Federal Communications Commission divided the country into market areas and licensed cellular service to two companies per market, one affiliated with a wired telephone company and one non-wired franchise. Cellular One was the company formed by the American Radio Telephone Service and Motorola to offer cell service in the Washington D.C. area, the company that sold and provided service for this DynaTAC phone.
date made
ca 1990
ca 1989
maker
Motorola Inc.
ID Number
2003.0095.046
catalog number
2003.0095.046
accession number
2003.0095
The model 1100 Code-a-Phone was one of several telephone answering machines Ford industries produced in the early 1980s. Not everyone appreciated the new technology.
Description (Brief)
The model 1100 Code-a-Phone was one of several telephone answering machines Ford industries produced in the early 1980s. Not everyone appreciated the new technology. Some callers, offended to be talking to a machine instead of a person, would hang up when the machine began playing the outgoing message. Sensing a market opportunity, Ford Industries began selling an inexpensive book, “How To Make Your Code-a-Phone Talk Funny,” with the goal of using humor to smooth ruffled feathers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1982
maker
Ford Industries, Inc.
ID Number
2000.0101.05
catalog number
2000.0101.05
accession number
2000.0101
This Phonetel model KH-141B answering machine used a removable cartridge to record telephone calls. This unit, with just a few simple controls, was imported from Hashimoto Corporation of Japan.
Description (Brief)
This Phonetel model KH-141B answering machine used a removable cartridge to record telephone calls. This unit, with just a few simple controls, was imported from Hashimoto Corporation of Japan. The founder of that company, Kazuo Hashimoto, held several answering machine patents.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1980
maker
Hashimoto Corporation, Ltd.
ID Number
2000.0101.10
catalog number
2000.0101.10
accession number
2000.0101
This PhoneMate model 960 telephone answering machine was advertised as "SAM" or Smart Answering Machine. The user carried a small remote control and could retrieve messages by calling from any location.
Description (Brief)
This PhoneMate model 960 telephone answering machine was advertised as "SAM" or Smart Answering Machine. The user carried a small remote control and could retrieve messages by calling from any location. A tone emitted by the remote control activated the play-back function on the recorder.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1981
maker
PhoneMate
ID Number
1989.0371.04
accession number
1989.0371
catalog number
1989.0371.04
model number
960
This “AutoMatic TelePhone” unit combines an answering machine with a telephone. Like many early answering machines, the tape is not in a removable format. Twenty minutes of recording time is permitted before the tape must be erased and reset to the beginning.
Description (Brief)
This “AutoMatic TelePhone” unit combines an answering machine with a telephone. Like many early answering machines, the tape is not in a removable format. Twenty minutes of recording time is permitted before the tape must be erased and reset to the beginning. A more advanced model featured a remote access feature that allowed the user to use a small tone-generator to activate the machine from any telephone.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1980
maker
American Telecommunications Corporation
ID Number
2000.0101.08
catalog number
2000.0101.08
accession number
2000.0101
The model 5500 Code-a-Phone was one of several telephone answering machines Ford industries produced in the early 1980s. These answering machines were produced for differing markets. The model 5500 featured a metal case and front-facing controls.
Description (Brief)
The model 5500 Code-a-Phone was one of several telephone answering machines Ford industries produced in the early 1980s. These answering machines were produced for differing markets. The model 5500 featured a metal case and front-facing controls. The design, intended for commercial rather than residential use, was durable and easy to use for a seated receptionist. This particular unit was used in a hospital.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1981
maker
Ford Industries, Inc.
ID Number
2000.0101.06
catalog number
2000.0101.06
accession number
2000.0101
PhoneMate’s model 5000 answering machine sold for about $120 in the late 1980s. In order to save space many answering machine makers adopted a tape cartridge that was much smaller than the standard audio cassette.
Description (Brief)
PhoneMate’s model 5000 answering machine sold for about $120 in the late 1980s. In order to save space many answering machine makers adopted a tape cartridge that was much smaller than the standard audio cassette. The model 5000 took this miniaturization one step further by reducing the size of entire machine. One advertisement shows the unit being held in a man’s hand.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1989
maker
PhoneMate
ID Number
1989.0371.01
accession number
1989.0371
catalog number
1989.0371.01
model number
5000
While some answering machines used special recording formats, this model 757 “Dictaphone” used standard cassettes for both incoming and outgoing messages.
Description (Brief)
While some answering machines used special recording formats, this model 757 “Dictaphone” used standard cassettes for both incoming and outgoing messages. The user could set the machine to record a 30 second incoming message or use a “continuous” setting to record however long a message the caller wanted to leave. A text transcription of the outgoing message shows this machine was used at the Indiana University Dental Clinic.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1985
maker
Pitney Bowes
ID Number
2000.0101.03
catalog number
2000.0101.03
accession number
2000.0101
This hand-made circuit board served as the brain for Gus Searcy and Franz Kavan’s "Butler In A Box" electronic home controller. In addition to the various capacitors, resistors and transistors on the board, there are two integrated circuits.
Description (Brief)
This hand-made circuit board served as the brain for Gus Searcy and Franz Kavan’s "Butler In A Box" electronic home controller. In addition to the various capacitors, resistors and transistors on the board, there are two integrated circuits. The idea was to couple emerging computer technology with novel wireless devices and make a product that could control a variety of electrical devices in a home.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1983
maker
Mastervoice, Incorporated
ID Number
1991.0079.02
catalog number
1991.0079.02
accession number
1991.0079
This is the prototype "Butler In A Box", an electronic home controller system created in 1983 by professional magician Gus Searcy and computer programmer Franz Kavan.
Description (Brief)
This is the prototype "Butler In A Box", an electronic home controller system created in 1983 by professional magician Gus Searcy and computer programmer Franz Kavan. The idea was to couple emerging computer technology with novel wireless devices and make a product that could control a variety of electrical devices in a home. Searcy reportedly conceived the idea after friends asked him why, if he could pull rabbits from hats, couldn’t he just tell lights to come on instead of physically operating a switch. Soon thereafter, Searcy and Kavan developed “Sidney,” an electronic controller to do that and more.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1985-04
maker
Mastervoice, Incorporated
ID Number
1991.0079.03
catalog number
1991.0079.03
accession number
1991.0079
This PhoneMate model 6950 illustrates answering machine technology in the midst of radical change. From the earliest designs in the 1900s, answering machines used magnetic recording technology, recording on either wire or coated tape.
Description (Brief)
This PhoneMate model 6950 illustrates answering machine technology in the midst of radical change. From the earliest designs in the 1900s, answering machines used magnetic recording technology, recording on either wire or coated tape. Most machines of the 1960s and 1970s used two tapes, one for the outgoing message and one to record the incoming message. Advances in digital memory design during the 1980s led the model 6950's designers to eliminate the outgoing message tape by using digital memory instead. The incoming message was still recorded on a standard tape cassette. The suggested retail price was $179.98.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1989
maker
PhoneMate
ID Number
1989.0371.02
accession number
1989.0371
catalog number
1989.0371.02
model number
6950
This Sony "Walkman" portable tape player dates from the early 1980s. Originally introduced in 1979 as the “Soundabout,” two people could listen simultaneously while a small microphone permitted them to converse without removing their headsets.
Description
This Sony "Walkman" portable tape player dates from the early 1980s. Originally introduced in 1979 as the “Soundabout,” two people could listen simultaneously while a small microphone permitted them to converse without removing their headsets. Powered by a 9-volt battery, the recorder sold well until the decline of the cassette format in the mid 2000s.
Until the middle of the twentieth century portable recording equipment could be quite heavy. The introduction of small transistor radios in 1954 marked a new era in portable entertainment. Philips’ invention of a compact recording cassette in 1962 provided a convenient medium for music distribution.
date made
ca 1980
maker
Sony
ID Number
1987.0127.01
accession number
1987.0127
catalog number
1987.0127.01
This is a commercial version of "Butler In A Box", an electronic home controller system designed by professional magician Gus Searcy and computer programmer Franz Kavan. This unit sold for between $1500 and $3000 depending on the accessories needed to meet a customer’s requests.
Description (Brief)
This is a commercial version of "Butler In A Box", an electronic home controller system designed by professional magician Gus Searcy and computer programmer Franz Kavan. This unit sold for between $1500 and $3000 depending on the accessories needed to meet a customer’s requests. Butler In A Box required microphones for users’ voice inputs, and different controllers for thermostats, light circuits, alarm systems and telephone access. Aside from sales to luxury-home owners, Mastervoice also marketed the product to physically challenged people who might have difficulty operating traditional electrical switches and controls.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1986
maker
Mastervoice, Incorporated
ID Number
1991.0079.01
catalog number
1991.0079.01
accession number
1991.0079
serial number
D05076-A00001
In 1945 William Lear purchased a license from the Armour Research Foundation and made wire recorders like this “Dynaport” unit. The Dynaport combined a wire recorder with a disk record player. The user could play records and make a wire recording of the contents.
Description (Brief)
In 1945 William Lear purchased a license from the Armour Research Foundation and made wire recorders like this “Dynaport” unit. The Dynaport combined a wire recorder with a disk record player. The user could play records and make a wire recording of the contents. Users could also connect the Dynaport with a radio and record programs off the air.
The Dynaport did not sell well and Lear turned his attention to other products like small business jets. Years later he redesigned a tape cartridge system and became a driving force in the introduction of 8-track tape players for automobiles.
This unit includes the recorder, a power amplifier, five spools of recording wire, an empty container for a spool of wire (mounted on the machine), two recording heads, a recording arm, a recording microphone with stand, and a bag of loose parts and tools. Box reads "WR105A".Also included are the owner's manual, wiring schematics for both the recorder and the amplifier, technical information for the recording arm and head, and advertising sheets.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1948
date ordered, given, or borrowed
1981-01-15
maker
Lear, Inc.
ID Number
1984.0901.01
accession number
1984.0901
serial number
175
catalog number
1984.0901.01
This “Conger” model battery-powered signal lantern was manufactured by the Conger Lantern Company of Honeoye Falls, New York in 1989.
Description
This “Conger” model battery-powered signal lantern was manufactured by the Conger Lantern Company of Honeoye Falls, New York in 1989. The Conger Lantern Company originally operated in Portland, Oregon until it was purchased by the Star Headlight & Lantern Company of Honeoye Falls, New York in 1982. The lantern was incredibly popular due to its lightweight, rust-proof stainless steel body and rubber coated handle. The lantern has sockets for two bulbs; the bare bulb with reflector below the lantern body was used for signaling while the smaller adjacent bulb makes a focused beam that could be used as a flashlight. This particular lantern was witnessed to be the last Conger from the Star Company's assembly line, as the company changed to producing their line of plastic lanterns in 1989.
Before the advent of portable two way radios, train crews communicated via hand signals during the day, and lantern signals during periods of low visibility or at night. Hand lantern signals are still used in situations when radio intercommunication is impractical. Specific motions of the lantern convey precise instructions such as “Clear to Depart;" "Move the train Forward;" "Move the train Backward;" "Slow Down;" "Slow Down Further;" or "Stop and Remain Stopped."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1989-06-22
ca. 1989
ca. 1954 - 1989
1989
maker
Star Headlight & Lantern Company
ID Number
1989.0610.01
accession number
1989.0610
catalog number
1989.0610.01
This Starlight 222 model lantern was manufactured by the Star Headlight & Lantern Company of Honeoye Falls, New York in 1989. The Star Company replaced their metal lanterns with acrylic plastic lanterns like this one beginning in 1989.
Description
This Starlight 222 model lantern was manufactured by the Star Headlight & Lantern Company of Honeoye Falls, New York in 1989. The Star Company replaced their metal lanterns with acrylic plastic lanterns like this one beginning in 1989. This side of this lantern is stamped with the text “PRODUCED IN OUR 100th Year 1889-1989” surrounding the Star Company logo. The lantern has sockets for two bulbs; the bare bulb with reflector below the lantern body was used for signaling while the smaller adjacent bulb makes a focused beam that could be used as a flashlight. The Starlight model was available in several colors with a choice of railroad logos on the side.
Before the advent of portable two way radios, train crews communicated via hand signals during the day, and lantern signals during periods of low visibility or at night. Hand lantern signals are still used in situations when radio intercommunication is impractical. Specific motions of the lantern convey precise instructions such as “Clear to Depart;" "Move the train Forward;" "Move the train Backward;" "Slow Down;" "Slow Down Further;" or "Stop and Remain Stopped."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1989
maker
Star Headlight & Lantern Company
ID Number
1989.0610.02
accession number
1989.0610
catalog number
1989.0610.02
Printed in 1988, the etching was included in the Washington Area Printmaker's 1992 Original Print Calendar.Currently not on view
Description
Printed in 1988, the etching was included in the Washington Area Printmaker's 1992 Original Print Calendar.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1988
1992
ID Number
1991.0783.15
catalog number
1991.0783.15
accession number
1991.0783
catalog number
1991.783.15
This railroad hand-signal kerosene lantern was manufactured by the Adams & Westlake Company of Chicago, Illinois around 1870. Adlake was a major equipment supplier to railroads during the Westward expansion.
Description
This railroad hand-signal kerosene lantern was manufactured by the Adams & Westlake Company of Chicago, Illinois around 1870. Adlake was a major equipment supplier to railroads during the Westward expansion. The lantern is made of metal with a wire frame protecting the glass globe. The globe has the frosted name “J.H. Barrelle” in the center, surrounded by frosted glass floral designs. J.H. Barrelle was an agent for the Milwaukee Railroad, living in South Dakota in 1881, who likely used this hand-signal lantern.
Before the advent of portable two way radios, train crews communicated via hand signals during the day, and lantern signals during periods of low visibility or at night. Specific motions of the lantern convey precise instructions such as “Clear to Depart;" "Move the train Forward;" "Move the train Backward;" "Slow Down;" "Slow Down Further;" or "Stop and Remain Stopped."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970-1989
1870s to 1880s
ca. 1870-1880s
maker
Adams & Westlake Company
ID Number
TR.322916
catalog number
322916
accession number
249870

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