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 Brush “Mail-A-Voice” recorder was designed in the late 1940s as an office dictating machine. As tape recording technology was developed, experimenters tried a variety of formats including flat paper or plastic discs.
Description (Brief)
This Brush “Mail-A-Voice” recorder was designed in the late 1940s as an office dictating machine. As tape recording technology was developed, experimenters tried a variety of formats including flat paper or plastic discs. These discs resembled the record players familiar to many in that era and did not require threading a wire or tape. The discs could also be folded and mailed to a recipient in an ordinary business-size envelope, something impossible to do with an inflexible record.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1947
maker
Brush Development Company
ID Number
1995.3101.01
nonaccession number
1995.3101
catalog number
1995.3101.01
These recording discs were made for the Brush Company “Mail-A-Voice” dictating machine. This set of 62 discs includes several slightly different types, the most significant difference being that some are paper and some are plastic.
Description (Brief)
These recording discs were made for the Brush Company “Mail-A-Voice” dictating machine. This set of 62 discs includes several slightly different types, the most significant difference being that some are paper and some are plastic. All are flexible and coated with a magnetizable powder. The Mail-A-Voice was designed by German immigrant Semi J. Begun who also used the device for personal correspondence. Several of the discs in the set are audio letters from Begun to his mother.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1947
maker
Brush Development Company
ID Number
1995.3101.05
nonaccession number
1995.3101
catalog number
1995.3101.05
This model BK-416 “Soundmirror” is a modified version of Brush’s model BK-401. Like the earlier unit, the BK-416 used a paper tape coated with a magnetizable material in a reel-to-reel configuration. The retail price in 1953 was about $280, nearly $2300 in 2012 dollars.
Description (Brief)
This model BK-416 “Soundmirror” is a modified version of Brush’s model BK-401. Like the earlier unit, the BK-416 used a paper tape coated with a magnetizable material in a reel-to-reel configuration. The retail price in 1953 was about $280, nearly $2300 in 2012 dollars. Working in parallel with Bell Laboratories and the Armour Research Foundation, Brush Development Company spearheaded American research efforts in magnetic recording prior to World War II. Building on the research of Semi Begun, the company made military wire recorders during the war and introduced consumer products like this Soundmirror after the war ended.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1948
maker
Brush Development Company
ID Number
1995.0316.02
accession number
1995.0316
catalog number
1995.0316.02
This Ampex model 750 recorder is a professional-grade unit. In 1927, Alexander M. Poniatoff emigrated from Russia to the United States and in 1944 founded Ampex to make equipment for the U. S. Navy.
Description (Brief)
This Ampex model 750 recorder is a professional-grade unit. In 1927, Alexander M. Poniatoff emigrated from Russia to the United States and in 1944 founded Ampex to make equipment for the U. S. Navy. Looking for a post-war product, he attended a demonstration of a German tape recorder. Poniatoff decided that magnetic recording would be a good post-war market. Ampex concentrated on building higher-quality products for professional studio use rather than selling consumer products.
The donor purchased this unit as a graduate student for use in field work in the late 1970s. He was researching black gospel music.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
Ampex Corporation
ID Number
1987.0927.01
accession number
1987.0927
catalog number
1987.0927.01
model number
750
This portable tape recorder from Steelman Phonograph & Radio Company was produced during the early 1950s and featured miniature vacuum tubes in the circuits. Users found this recorder much easier to carry than earlier tape and wire recorders.
Description (Brief)
This portable tape recorder from Steelman Phonograph & Radio Company was produced during the early 1950s and featured miniature vacuum tubes in the circuits. Users found this recorder much easier to carry than earlier tape and wire recorders. While transistors accelerated miniaturization and portability in electronics, vacuum tube development had already made smaller and more portable devices practical. By the end of the 1950s however, this recorder was replaced by a transistorized design that used less power and was more rugged.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Kleinerman, Ben
ID Number
1987.0520.02
accession number
1987.0520
catalog number
1987.0520.02
Recording machines designed for dictation have used many different formats over the years. This “Time-master” unit made by Dictaphone Corporation used a 3.5-inch wide belt coated with a magnetizable material.
Description (Brief)
Recording machines designed for dictation have used many different formats over the years. This “Time-master” unit made by Dictaphone Corporation used a 3.5-inch wide belt coated with a magnetizable material. Sold as “Dictabelt Records” in a pack of 10, these belts were stronger than regular, thin plastic recording tape.
This machine was used in the office of historian Daniel J. Boorstin when he served as director of the National Museum of History and Technology. The unit includes a loudspeaker, two different types of foot-pedal controls, and a “Twin Ear” head set.
.01: Dictaphone “Time-master” electronic dictating machine, (version 1). Includes vinyl cover, power cord (~2 meters) and green extension cord (~ 2 meters). Also includes “Dictabelt Records” (blank recording belts), one full pack of 10 belts and one pack of 9. On bottom: label 1 reads: “UL Listed under reexamination service of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.”; label 2 reads: “Rated 110 VAC 60 Cycles 45 Watts (B)”; label 3 reads in part: “Dictaphone Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. Registered Trade Mark electronic dictating machine”. Patents listed for 9 countries including US 2219030 to 2667613. Printed on front: “Dictaphone Time-master Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.”; knobs labeled: “V”, “T”, “S”. Printed on back: “Dictaphone Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. Transcribing Machine”. Printed on vinyl cover: “Dictaphone Dictating Machine Time-master Model”.
.02: Dictaphone speaker. Cord (~2 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Decals on front and back: “Dictaphone”. Painted on bottom: “51343”
.03: Dictaphone pedal control with 2 pedals and cord (~2 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Printed on bottom: “51349”, “Final OK”.
.04: Dictaphone FC-15 pedal control with single pedal and cord (~2 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Printed on bottom: “Model FC-15”. Bottom: label reads: “UL Listed under reexamination service of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.”
.05: Dictaphone FC-15 pedal control with single pedal and cord (~2 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Printed on bottom: “Model FC-15”. Bottom, one label reads: “UL Listed under reexamination service of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.”; second label reads: “Accepted by H. C.”
.06: Dictaphone “Twin Ear” head set with cord (~1.5 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Stamped on hinge: “Dictaphone Twin-Ear”.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
maker
Dictaphone Corporation
ID Number
2010.0125.07
catalog number
2010.0125.07
accession number
2010.0125
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
Nippon Electric Company (NEC) produced this reel-to-reel tape recorder around 1962. Japanese industry took advantage of the post-World War II rebuilding effort to modernize their factories and enter markets for high-technology devices.
Description (Brief)
Nippon Electric Company (NEC) produced this reel-to-reel tape recorder around 1962. Japanese industry took advantage of the post-World War II rebuilding effort to modernize their factories and enter markets for high-technology devices. Many of these devices used transistors in place of older vacuum tube technology. Modern, efficient factories and low labor costs made Japanese products price competitive with American products. This recorder has an inexpensive plastic case and operates with seven transistors.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1962
maker
Nippon Electric Co.
ID Number
1990.0052.01
catalog number
1990.0052.01
accession number
1990.0052
This PhoneMate model PM-800S answering machine bears a label that reads: "California Public Utilities Commission Equipment Authorized for Direct Connection to Telephone Network." The Bell System resisted the development of telephone answering machines for several reasons, one of
Description (Brief)
This PhoneMate model PM-800S answering machine bears a label that reads: "California Public Utilities Commission Equipment Authorized for Direct Connection to Telephone Network." The Bell System resisted the development of telephone answering machines for several reasons, one of which was fear that devices produced outside of Bell’s tightly controlled research and testing environment might prove harmful to the overall system. California regulators adopted a certification program whereby manufacturers could demonstrate that their equipment would not damage Bell equipment, and hence was safe for customers to use.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1975
maker
PhoneMate
ID Number
2000.0101.07
catalog number
2000.0101.07
accession number
2000.0101
The origin of magnetic recording can be traced to design work by Oberlin Smith of the United States in 1878. After seeing a demonstration of Thomas Edison’s phonograph, Smith thought about how to record sound using a magnetic medium.
Description (Brief)
The origin of magnetic recording can be traced to design work by Oberlin Smith of the United States in 1878. After seeing a demonstration of Thomas Edison’s phonograph, Smith thought about how to record sound using a magnetic medium. After ten years of failing to make a working model, Smith published his idea in the hope that someone else might benefit. Valdemar Poulsen of Denmark read Smith’s idea and in 1898 demonstrated the first practical magnetic recorder, a telephone answering machine he called a “telegraphone.” Various companies sold telegraphones for about ten years but microphone and amplification technology were not sufficiently developed to support the device. Poulsen turned to radio experiments in 1902.
The telegraphone spurred others to continue development of magnetic recording devices. Much early work took place in Germany where the telephone manufacturing firm of Ferdinand Schuchard hired engineer Semi Begun to work on circuit design. Begun became interested in magnetic recording and while working for Lorenz Company helped to design a new answering machine, the “Textophone.” Introduced in 1933, the textophone sold well since it could also be used as a dictating machine.
The Textophone consisted of two units: this telephone desk set, and a recording and playback console. The recording mechanism passed a steel wire from one reel to another in front of an electromagnet that impressed a magnetic field on the wire. When the wire was passed back in front of the electromagnet, a signal was induced in the speaker circuit. The desk set operated as a regular telephone but also includes control buttons for the recorder.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
maker
C. Lorenz AG
ID Number
1995.0316.01
accession number
1995.0316
catalog number
1995.0316.01
This Executary dictation machine was designed to allow people to record letters and other information for later transcription.
Description (Brief)
This Executary dictation machine was designed to allow people to record letters and other information for later transcription. Designs for dictating machines date back to Edison’s cylinder phonograph, and magnetic recorders were also adapted for this application as they became available. IBM introduced the Execuary in 1960 and used a magnetic belt as recording medium. Less likely to break than a thin tape, the belt could be folded and mailed to correspondents with similar machines. The unit could record two tracks, one for the dictation content and a parallel track for instructions to the transcriber.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1964
maker
International Business Machines Corporation
ID Number
1999.3029.01
nonaccession number
1999.3029
catalog number
1999.3029.01
One of the difficulties of using steel wire as a recording medium was the fragility of the thin wire. These RCA model MI-12877 recording cartridges from about 1948 were designed to address that problem.
Description (Brief)
One of the difficulties of using steel wire as a recording medium was the fragility of the thin wire. These RCA model MI-12877 recording cartridges from about 1948 were designed to address that problem. The user simply inserts the cartridge into the recorder and can quickly begin using the machine. The steel casing is durable and the wires are only exposed at the front of the cartridge.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1948
maker
Radio Corporation of America
ID Number
2002.0034.02
accession number
2002.0034
catalog number
2002.0034.02
This Message On Hold telephone answering machine was designed for business use. The user would connect the device to their phone line so that an incoming caller could listen to music and messages while their call was on hold.
Description (Brief)
This Message On Hold telephone answering machine was designed for business use. The user would connect the device to their phone line so that an incoming caller could listen to music and messages while their call was on hold. This allowed the business to entertain their callers as well as providing a sales opportunity. This particular unit is a production model made by Bogen Incorporated for DMS Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1993
maker
Bogen Communications Inc.
ID Number
1995.0068.02
catalog number
1995.0068.02
accession number
1995.0068
The origin of magnetic recording can be traced to design work by Oberlin Smith of the United States in 1878. After seeing a demonstration of Thomas Edison’s phonograph, Smith thought about how to record sound using a magnetic medium.
Description (Brief)
The origin of magnetic recording can be traced to design work by Oberlin Smith of the United States in 1878. After seeing a demonstration of Thomas Edison’s phonograph, Smith thought about how to record sound using a magnetic medium. After ten years of failing to make a working model, Smith published his idea in the hope that someone else might benefit. Valdemar Poulsen of Denmark read Smith’s idea and in 1898 demonstrated the first practical magnetic recorder, a telephone answering machine he called a “telegraphone.” Various companies sold telegraphones for about ten years but microphone and amplification technology were not sufficiently developed to support the device. Poulsen turned to radio experiments in 1902.
The telegraphone spurred others to continue development of magnetic recording devices. Much early work took place in Germany where the telephone manufacturing firm of Ferdinand Schuchard hired engineer Semi Begun to work on circuit design. Begun became interested in magnetic recording and while working for Lorenz Company helped to design a new answering machine, the “Textophone.” Introduced in 1933, the textophone sold well since it could also be used as a dictating machine.
The Textophone consisted of two units: a telephone desk set, and this recording and playback console. The recording mechanism passed a steel wire from one reel to another in front of an electromagnet that impressed a magnetic field on the wire. When the wire was passed back in front of the electromagnet, a signal was induced in the speaker circuit. The desk set operated as a regular telephone but also includes control buttons for the recorder.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
maker
C. Lorenz AG
ID Number
1995.0316.03
accession number
1995.0316
catalog number
1995.0316.03
In 1940 Marvin Camras received an engineering degree from the Armour Institute of Technology and began work at the Amour Research Foundation.
Description (Brief)
In 1940 Marvin Camras received an engineering degree from the Armour Institute of Technology and began work at the Amour Research Foundation. The prior year he had constructed a prototype wire recorder with a new type of recording head and adapted the technique of “AC bias” for improved sound quality. AC bias involves adding a high-frequency alternating current signal to the recording that significantly lowers noise and distortion.
During World War II, Armour manufactured U.S. military wire recorders using Camras’s design. General Electric licensed the design and produced a version of the Armour recorder. After the war other companies took licenses from Armour to produce recorders. One such company was Webster-Chicago, this model 181 “Webcor” unit is one of that company’s products. Webster-Chicago’s products did well in the market and the company produced wire recorders into the early 1960s.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
ca 1950
maker
Webster-Chicago
ID Number
1992.0315.01
catalog number
1992.0315.01
accession number
1992.0315
model number
181-1
The Japanese emphasized electronic technology when rebuilding their manufacturing capability after World War II. The need to replace factories and equipment destroyed during the war gave them the opportunity to take advantage of the latest innovations and enter new markets.
Description (Brief)
The Japanese emphasized electronic technology when rebuilding their manufacturing capability after World War II. The need to replace factories and equipment destroyed during the war gave them the opportunity to take advantage of the latest innovations and enter new markets. The invention of the transistor at Bell Labs in 1947 proved to be a significant opportunity for Japanese electronics companies like Minatronics.
This model TE-155 answering machine does not electrically connect to the telephone, A desk telephone was placed on the deck of the unit and the lever is slipped under the handset. When the phone rang, the lever lifted the hand-set and the recording began. This indirect method of recording was required due to AT&T’s disapproval of telephone answering machines. Since the device did not connect to the company’s lines, the user avoided sanction.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1966
maker
Minatronics Corporation
ID Number
1987.0176.01
accession number
1987.0176
catalog number
1987.0176.01
model number
TE-155A
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
This audio tape cartridge was designed in 1963 by Cousino Electronics Corporation. Today’s music listeners familiar with audio tape players typically think of the compact cassette format or perhaps the 8-track cartridge.
Description (Brief)
This audio tape cartridge was designed in 1963 by Cousino Electronics Corporation. Today’s music listeners familiar with audio tape players typically think of the compact cassette format or perhaps the 8-track cartridge. However, other inventors designed many different tape formats while searching for an optimum combination of reliability, economy and ease of use. One such inventor was Bernard Cousino of Toledo, Ohio, who designed a single-loop magnetic tape cartridge for advertising use in 1952. His company continued producing tapes for a variety of uses into the 1960s.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1963
maker
Cousino Electronics Corporation
ID Number
1995.0316.07
accession number
1995.0316
catalog number
1995.0316.07
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
In the late 1990s Motorola introduced this Pocketalk digital answering machine. Similar to a pager in construction, the Pocketalk allowed the user to hear an incoming phone message almost anywhere.
Description (Brief)
In the late 1990s Motorola introduced this Pocketalk digital answering machine. Similar to a pager in construction, the Pocketalk allowed the user to hear an incoming phone message almost anywhere. Motorola designed the unit to make use of a special transmission network to which the user paid a monthly subscription. The incoming call would be recorded at a message center, digitized and sent to the transmitter nearest the Pocketalk’s location. While the network did not have complete coverage, most metropolitan areas could receive the signals. By 2000, advances in cellular telephones made the Pocketalk obsolete.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1998
maker
Motorola Inc.
ID Number
2003.0095.074
catalog number
2003.0095.074
accession number
2003.0095
Companies in many countries have produced magnetic recording devices, often in association with radio production. This professional grade machine was made in the 1959 by Tandbergs Radiofabrikk of Oslo, Norway.
Description (Brief)
Companies in many countries have produced magnetic recording devices, often in association with radio production. This professional grade machine was made in the 1959 by Tandbergs Radiofabrikk of Oslo, Norway. The reel-to-reel model 2TF unit was used at the National Museum to record interviews.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1959
maker
Tandbergs Radiofabrikk AS
ID Number
2010.0125.05
catalog number
2010.0125.05
accession number
2010.0125
This Message On Hold telephone answering machine was designed for business use. The user would connect the device to their phone line so that an incoming caller could listen to music and messages while their call was on hold.
Description (Brief)
This Message On Hold telephone answering machine was designed for business use. The user would connect the device to their phone line so that an incoming caller could listen to music and messages while their call was on hold. This allowed the business to entertain their callers as well as providing a sales opportunity. The digital message unit is an early model made by DMS Corporation. The associated cassette recorder is marked "Panasonic".
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1990
maker
Digital Message Systems Corporation
Matsushita
ID Number
1995.0068.01
catalog number
1995.0068.01
accession number
1995.0068
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 portable Fi-Cord reel-to-reel tape recorder was made in Switzerland around 1964.
Description (Brief)
This portable Fi-Cord reel-to-reel tape recorder was made in Switzerland around 1964. Intended for use as a portable dictating machine, the Fi-Cord model 101 weighs nearly two pounds (one kilogram).
The Swiss economy has always been heavily dependant on exporting manufactured products, especially finely crafted items like clocks and watches. This tape recorder exhibits the skill one associates with Swiss engineering and also shows that they quickly adopted transistors for small electronic devices.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1964
maker
Fi-cord International
ID Number
1986.0407.01
accession number
1986.0407
catalog number
1986.0407.01

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