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 construction of this German key is heavier than most American models used in land-line telegraphy.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The construction of this German key is heavier than most American models used in land-line telegraphy. The telegraph system in Germany was operated by the Deutschen Reichpost (German Post Office) for whom Siemens & Halske made this key.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Siemens & Halske
ID Number
EM.327960
catalog number
327960
accession number
271855
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 to select which side of a battery to connect to a line, the positive or negative terminal, and is called a pole-changing key.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Spies Electric Works
ID Number
EM.331428
maker number
1-B
collector/donor number
100-825
accession number
294351
catalog number
331428
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 a very simple type known as a strap key.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
ID Number
EM.333359
maker number
3B
accession number
294351
catalog number
333359
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 was received disassembled and 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 1880
ID Number
EM.331503
accession number
294351
catalog number
331503
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
ID Number
EM.331901
accession number
294351
catalog number
331901
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
Thompson-Levering Co.
ID Number
EM.332378
accession number
294351
catalog number
332378
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
Western Electric
ID Number
EM.331836
accession number
294351
catalog number
331836
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 replica of an early type of lever key used by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1898
inventor
Vail, Alfred
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese
maker
Model Shop, United States National Museum
ID Number
EM.181770
catalog number
181770
nonaccession number
1995.3095
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. In operation, the key was mounted to a table using the bolts and wingnuts.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
EM.331515
accession number
294351
catalog number
331515
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 knob is missing from this object.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1915
maker
Western Electric
ID Number
EM.331835
accession number
294351
catalog number
331835
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 an example of a very early type of key called a strap key.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Western Union Corporation
ID Number
EM.332296
accession number
294351
collector/donor number
03-48
catalog number
332296
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 to select which side of a battery to connect to a line, the positive or negative terminal, and is called a pole-changing key.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Spies Electric Works
ID Number
EM.331248
accession number
294351
catalog number
331248
collector/donor number
100-826
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 moves this key’s lever 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 moves this key’s lever from side to side to make signals. Called a simplex-duplex key, this key can send messages either on one-way circuits (simplex) or on circuits designed to send messages on lines designed to carry two messages at once (duplex.)
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
EM.331410
maker number
2
collector/donor number
14-03A
accession number
294351
catalog number
331410
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
1891
ID Number
EM.181119
accession number
25412
catalog number
181119
Semi-automatic keys like this small unit 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 small unit 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. In this example, the key is mounted on the side.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
EM.331900
accession number
294351
catalog number
331900
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 referred to as a camelback due to the curved design of the lever.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1865
maker
L. G. Tillotson & Co.
ID Number
EM.331249
accession number
294351
collector/donor number
100-824
catalog number
331249
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. According to the Western Union catalog this key was used by baseball reporter Edson S. Brewster of New York to telegraph play-by-play accounts of games from 1899 to 1938.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
J. H. Bunnell & Co.
ID Number
EM.332379
accession number
294351
catalog number
332379
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. Radio, or "wireless" as is was then called, played only a minor role in World War I, but land-line telegraphy connected commanders to troops in the trenches.
Description (Brief)
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. Radio, or "wireless" as is was then called, played only a minor role in World War I, but land-line telegraphy connected commanders to troops in the trenches. According to the Western Union catalog, "This Key [was] picked up in a German Post Command Dug-Out on the Western Front near Fey-en-Haye, France on Sept. 13, 1918, after the first day of American operations to eliminate the St. Mihiel salient. Received from E.T. Rickard, Radio Detail, 307 F.A. Headquarters Co, American Expeditionary Force."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1917
ID Number
EM.331832
accession number
294351
catalog number
331832

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