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.

Place: Ohio

Offset press: Harris Seybold, miniature

This one-twentieth scale model of the Harris-Seybold 4-color sheet-fed offset press dates from about 1950.
Description (Brief)
This one-twentieth scale model of the Harris-Seybold 4-color sheet-fed offset press dates from about 1950. The press has a height of 7.5 inches a length of 32.5 inches and a width of 9.5 inches.
Donated by Lithographers National Association, 1953.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
circa 1950
date made
ca 1950
maker
Harris-Seybold Company
ID Number
GA.20396-a
accession number
1953.198538
catalog number
20396-a

Automatic Rotary Printer No. 6A

This cast-iron rotary press for rubber type was made by the Cincinnati Time Recorder Company in the early twentieth century. It is marked in its casting “Pat’d Oct.
Description (Brief)
This cast-iron rotary press for rubber type was made by the Cincinnati Time Recorder Company in the early twentieth century. It is marked in its casting “Pat’d Oct. 11 1904." The press has a height of 8.5 inches high by 8.5 inches wide and 16 inches long.
The Automatic Rotary Printer took short rubber-stamp type, which was fitted in metal slots arranged around the press cylinder. The type was inked with stamp-pad ink, and printed on a roll of paper. The press was made with a dual purpose—office use, and children’s play. With the young printers, at least, it was popular for half a century.
Donated by Robert Vogel, 1983.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
early 20th century
maker
Cincinnati Time Recorder Co.
ID Number
1983.0841.01
catalog number
1983.0841.01
accession number
1983.0841

Telephone Answering Machine

This Crown model CTA-4000 answering machine from the late 1960s used a non-standard cassette for recording messages. The telephone sat on top of the unit and was connected via a pickup and telephone cradle plug. A small microphone is mounted in a slot on the right side.
Description (Brief)
This Crown model CTA-4000 answering machine from the late 1960s used a non-standard cassette for recording messages. The telephone sat on top of the unit and was connected via a pickup and telephone cradle plug. A small microphone is mounted in a slot on the right side. The duration of message was 60 seconds. An advertisement from 1968 lists the retail price as $98.50 while one year it sold for $49.95.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1968
maker
Crown Radio Corporation
ID Number
1982.0264.01
accession number
1982.0264
catalog number
1982.0264.01

Gammeter Multigraph printing machine

This Gammeter Multigraph No. 4, with a separate bank of type, was made by The American Multigraph Company in about 1908.
Description (Brief)
This Gammeter Multigraph No. 4, with a separate bank of type, was made by The American Multigraph Company in about 1908. The Multigraph (with table) has a height of 47 inches a width of 29 inches and a depth of 19 inches; its type bank has a height of 11.5 inches a width of 19 inches and a depth of 10 inches.
The Multigraph was an office printing machine invented in 1902 by H. C. Gammeter, a typewriter salesman. The machine printed either from short type with a specially shaped body, which slid into slots on the printing drum, or from curved plates. The impression was made with printing ink or, for a better facsimile of typewriting, through a ribbon.
Donated by Richard Stevans, 1971.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1908
date made
ca 1908
maker
American Lithograph Company
American Lithograph Company
ID Number
GA.23342.01
accession number
1971.297032
297032
catalog number
23342.01

Chandler and Price proof press

This roller proof press was made by the Chandler & Price company, of Cleveland, Ohio, in about 1900.
Description (Brief)
This roller proof press was made by the Chandler & Price company, of Cleveland, Ohio, in about 1900. The press has a height of 41 inches a width of 24 inches and a length of 4 inches; its cylinder diameter measures 9 inches.
The galley proof press has the name of the manufacturer cast into the sides of the iron bed. It includes a wooden cupboard beneath it.
Donated by Alan Dietch, 1971.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
circa 1900
date made
ca 1900
maker
Chandler and Price
ID Number
GA.23270
catalog number
GA*23270
accession number
293344

Poster, Cleveland: Many Peoples One Language

Waves of non–English–speaking European immigrants flooded the cities of industrial America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Local governments and civic groups sought to encourage immigrants to learn to speak, read, and write English.
Description
Waves of non–English–speaking European immigrants flooded the cities of industrial America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Local governments and civic groups sought to encourage immigrants to learn to speak, read, and write English. This 1917 poster from the Americanization Committee of the Cleveland Board of Education was posted in schools in an attempt to reach immigrant parents through their children.
An appeal to attend free evening English classes appears on this poster in six languages : Italian, Hungarian, Slovenian, Polish, Yiddish, and English. Cleveland's factories, steel mills, port facilities, and assembly plants teemed with the new working–class arrivals from central and eastern Europe. On the eve of the American entry into World War I, nationalistic passions were rising and new immigrants were especially encouraged to "become American" by learning English and preparing for American citizenship.
The 29" x 43" poster is a J. H. Donahey publication printed by the Artcraft Company of Cleveland, Ohio.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1917
referenced
Cleveland Board of Education
graphic artist
Artcraft Company
maker
Donahey, James Harrison
ID Number
1986.0799.01
accession number
1986.0799
catalog number
1986.0799.01

Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder

This reel-to-reel BK-401 “Soundmirror” used paper recording tape coated with artificial magnetite particles. Brush Company designed the BK-401 after Semi Begun’s experiments convinced him that a thin, flexible tape would give good audio performance.
Description (Brief)
This reel-to-reel BK-401 “Soundmirror” used paper recording tape coated with artificial magnetite particles. Brush Company designed the BK-401 after Semi Begun’s experiments convinced him that a thin, flexible tape would give good audio performance. Introduced in 1947 with tape made by Shellmar Company, the expensive BK-401 malfunctioned easily. Despite good initial sales, production ceased in 1952.
Before leaving Nazi Germany in 1935, Begun had heard of Fritz Pfleumer’s work on printing cigarette paper with a gold-colored band. Pfleumer also made paper tape coated with magnetizable materials and fabricated a demonstration tape recorder in 1931.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1948
maker
Brush Development Company
ID Number
EM.336308
catalog number
336308
accession number
1977.0895
model number
BK-401
serial number
6677
model number
BA-106

Offset press: Harris model S4L

This single color sheet-fed rotary offset press, series S4L no. 101, was built by Charles and Alfred Harris, and sold to the Republic Bank Note Company of Pittsburgh in July 1906.
Description (Brief)
This single color sheet-fed rotary offset press, series S4L no. 101, was built by Charles and Alfred Harris, and sold to the Republic Bank Note Company of Pittsburgh in July 1906. Its cylinder measures 34 inches in diameter.
The Harris Automatic Press Company, of Dayton, Ohio was the maker of several successful fast, automatic rotary presses, both letterpress and lithographic. Their first offset press, a development of their type press S4, was among several offset presses produced in quick response to Ira Rubel’s press of 1903, described separately. Serial no. 101 was the first production model of the new line.
The Harris S4L was sold for $4,000, and printed about 3,000 22 x 30 inch sheets per hour. Harris presses were soon the most popular offset presses in the United States.
Donated by The Harris Intertype Corp., 1966.
Citations: “With a Chip on my Shoulder,” an unpublished talk by H. A. Porter given to the Detroit Litho Club, 14 December 1950; Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Date made
ca 1906
maker
Harris, Alfred
Harris, Charles
Harris-Intertype
ID Number
GA.22080
accession number
266310
catalog number
GA*22080

Commodore Foote/ USN

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Foote, Andrew H.
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.34
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.34

E. Elsworth/ Col. N. Y. Z.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Ellsworth, Elmer E.
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.38
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.38

Shiloh Church

Shiloh Church Sketched by A. E. Mathews, 31st regt. OV [Ohio Volunteers] Lithograph by Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co., Cincinnati, O.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Shiloh Church Sketched by A. E. Mathews, 31st regt. OV [Ohio Volunteers] Lithograph by Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co., Cincinnati, O.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860s
lithographer
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0271.03
accession number
2014.0271
catalog number
2014.0271.03

Salmon P. Chase/ Secretary of the Treasury

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Chase, Salmon Portland
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.26
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.26

Hon. William H. Seward/ Secretary of State

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Seward, William Henry
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.30
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.30

E. M. Stanton/ Secretary of War

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Stanton, Edwin McMasters
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.29
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.29

O.P. Morton/ Governor of Indiana

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Morton, O. P.
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.28
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.28

Joe Hooker/ Major General USA

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Hooker, Joseph
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.37
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.37

August Willich/ Brigadier General USA

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.35
accession number
2014.0250.35
catalog number
2014.0250.35

A. E. Burnside/ Major General USA

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Burnside, Ambrose E.
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.32
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.32

S. B. Heintzelman/ Major General USA

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
ID Number
2014.0250.36
accession number
2014.0250.36
catalog number
2014.0250.36

Cincinnati Type Foundry Army press

This Cincinnati Type Foundry Army Press was invented in 1860 and was sold during the American Civil War and until at least the 1910s; it is marked 'Cin'ti Type Foundry.' The press has a height of 15 7/8 inches a width of 33 inches and length of 27 inches.The mechanism for the pre
Description (Brief)
This Cincinnati Type Foundry Army Press was invented in 1860 and was sold during the American Civil War and until at least the 1910s; it is marked 'Cin'ti Type Foundry.' The press has a height of 15 7/8 inches a width of 33 inches and length of 27 inches.
The mechanism for the press was invented by Henry Barth, foundry manager from 1861, who later invented an automatic type caster that revolutionized the manufacture of type later in the 19th century. The press is believed to date from about 1875 especially as it is marked as a 6-column size, indicating post-war manufacture.
The Cincinnati Type Foundry (CTF) of Cincinnati, OH, began manufacturing these presses in 1862 for the Union Army. The Foundry ceased production after the war, but because of popular demand resumed production soon afterward. The small, portable presses later became popular in the West and throughout the United States.
The CTF Army Press had adjustments for pressure and feeding the paper and allowed for more precise control. It worked more like the operation of a full-sized press and was offered in several sizes to print different newspaper formats. Other manufacturers of the time made variations on this style of press, as it was not protected by patent, and variations continued to be offered in supply catalogues as late as 1912.
Description
Henry Barth of the Cincinnati Type Foundry designed this cylinder press, known as the Army Press, for use by the armed forces during the Civil War. To make up for lost business early in the war, the Foundry also manufactured bullets for the State of Indiana and Gatling guns used in the New Orleans campaign.
The Army Press was listed as resembling the modern common hand press in having ways, bed, tympan and fisket and a rotating cylinder that, unlike the Adams's Cottage press, moved with the press bed.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1862
ca 1860
inventor
Barth, Henry
manufacturer
Cincinnati Type Foundry
ID Number
2005.0133.01
accession number
2005.0133
catalog number
2005.0133.01

Washington press, Cincinnati Type Foundry

This press was made by the Cincinnati Type Foundry in about 1860. The press has a height of 68.5 inches a length of 78.5 inches and a width, at cheeks, of 38 inches; its platen measures 26 inches by 42 inches.
Description (Brief)
This press was made by the Cincinnati Type Foundry in about 1860. The press has a height of 68.5 inches a length of 78.5 inches and a width, at cheeks, of 38 inches; its platen measures 26 inches by 42 inches. There is a large painted white “F” on both the head and the platen.
The press sports an oval ornament with an eagle and banners, on the front of the frame, similar to that on the Taylor press. The back includes an eagle with cornucopias.
Donated by Wayne Opdyke, 1978.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1860
maker
Cincinnati Type Foundry
ID Number
1978.2124.01
catalog number
1978.2124.01
accession number
1978.2124

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