Communications

• William K. Applebaugh Papers, 1857-1926

  Notes

  Telegrapher during the U.S. Civil War.

  Summary

  Archival materials documenting the life and career of William K. Applebaugh, and his activities as a telegrapher during the U.S. Civil War.

  Cite as

  William K. Applebaugh Papers, 1857-1926, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

  Date

  1857

  1857-1926

  Civil War, 1861-1865

  1840-1940

  1850-1900

  20th century

  1850-1910

  creator

  Applebaugh, William K

  collector

  Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI

  Local number

  1985.0183 (NMAH Acc.)

  Data Source

  Archives Center - NMAH

• 

  Four soldiers with heavy communications equipment in winding battlefield trench. 14558 interpositive

  Notes

  Company catalog card included.

  Currently stored in box 3.2.43 [143].

  Date

  1910-1920

  publisher

  Underwood & Underwood

  Local number

  RSN 25396

  Data Source

  Archives Center - NMAH

• 

  Confederate Signal Station, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tenn. Active no. 5745 : interpositive.

  Notes

  Currently stored in box 3.2.51 [114].

  Date

  1900

  1910

  Civil War, 1861-1865

  1900-1910

  publisher

  Underwood & Underwood

  Local number

  RSN 26753

  AC0143-0026753 (AC scan number)

  Data Source

  Archives Center - NMAH

• 

  The Heliograph Station--signalling between land and naval forces--near Pasay, Philippine Islands. Copyright 1899 by Underwood & Underwood. on negative Active no. 20943 : non-stereo photonegative, 1899

  Notes

  Company catalog card included.

  Currently stored in box 3.1.51 [100].

  Date

  1899

  1890-1900

  publisher

  Underwood & Underwood

  Local number

  RSN 16110

  Data Source

  Archives Center - NMAH

• Charles Cohill Harris Collection, ca. 1906-1976

  Notes

  Harris, radio engineer and executive, served in various capacities in the Tropical Radio Telegraph Company, a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company, 1916-1963.

  Summary

  Correspondence, notes, articles, and photographs assembled by Harris on the history of the United Fruit Company and Tropical Radio Telegraph Company (TRT), 1904-1961. Also includes manuscript histories of companies; material on the application of teletypewriters to radio circuits; blueprints, schematics, reports, and manuals concerning the technical work on TRT; and a scrapbook of William Edgar Beakes, president of TRT, 1939-1943.

  Cite as

  Charles Cohill Harris Collection, ca. 1906-1976, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

  Date

  1906

  1976

  ca 1906-1976

  20th century

  collector

  Harris, Charles Cohill 1898- (radio engineer)

  Beakes, William Edgar

  Subject

  Fessenden, R.A

  Tropical Radio Telegraph Company

  United Fruit Company

  Data Source

  Archives Center - NMAH

• 

  Harmon B. Deal Papers, ca. 1920-1930

  Notes

  Deal, an electrical engineer, graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1920. He joined the Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia and was assigned to the Radio Apparatus Division and then to the television research department. Later he worked for the RCA Company, Moorestown, New Jersey. He researched improvements in radar reception techniques for the Defense Electronics Division.

  Summary

  This collection includes blueprints, schematics, photographs, notes, and some correspondence of Harmon B. Deal, engineer with the Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company, relating to a study on the possible lines of development of television in 1929.

  Cite as

  Harmon B. Deal Papers, ca. 1920-1930, Coll. 53, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

  Date

  1920

  1930

  ca 1920-1930

  Creator

  Deal, Harmon B (electrical engineer)

  Subject

  Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company

  Data Source

  Archives Center - NMAH

• 

  Anglo-American Telegraph Company Records, 1862-1947

  Notes

  The Anglo-American Telegraph Company was organized in 1865 as a joint British-American venture to lay an Atlantic telegraph cable. After three failed attempts by other telegraph companies, Anglo-American Telegraph Company successfully laid and operated the first trans-Atlantic cable in 1866. The company operated cables until 1912, when they were leased to Western Union.

  Summary

  Records relating to the organization of the company, corporate and financial records. Corporate records include two volumes of the company's acts, charters, contracts and agreements, 1862-1883; minutes of board meetings relating to varied subjects, such as agreements between the company and other telegraph companies such as Western Union Telegraph concerning sales of property, details of trnsactions or purchases undertaken by the company. Financial records consist of nine volumes of "journals" showing monthly records of receipts, 1866-1912; nineteen volumes of ledgers reveal a detailed financial status of the company, 1866-1912; and nine volumes of cash books consist of the financial transactions of the company, 1904-early 1941. See also 1 folder of the Anglo-American Telegraph Company telegrams in the Warshaw Collection under the heading "Telegraphs".

  Cite as

  Anglo-American Telegraph Company Records, 1862-1947, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Washington, DC

  Date

  1862

  1862-1947

  1860-1920

  1900-1950

  author

  Anglo-American Telegraph Company, Ltd

  collector

  Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI

  Subject

  Western Union Telegraph Company

  Data Source

  Archives Center - NMAH

• 

  William Dandridge Terrell Papers, 1911-1964

  Notes

  William Dandridge Terrell (1871-1965) was born in rural Virginia and worked in government service for twenty-two years in the communications field. His specific duties are unknown, but in 1911, after his government service, he was appointed to a New York civilian post. His new duty was to insure the efficient operation of the freshly pioneered wireless apparatus on all Atlantic based Naval ships. In 1915, Terrell was transferred to Washington, D.C. where he supervised a staff of thirty-five. As Chief of Radio Division in the Commerce Department, Terrell was responsible for monitoring the [the use of?] radio nation's defense forces. Terrell was promoted to Chief of Field Operations for the Federal Radio Commission (FRC), which was created in 1934. Terrell continued in that post even when the FRC was changed to Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Terrell retired to Florida in 1943 at the age of 72. He died on March 23, 1965.

  Summary

  Collection documents William Dandridge Terrell's life from his 1911 appointment to the Commerce Department to the his death in the 1960s. The collection consists of a brief and partially completed autobiography and descendant listing; a large body of correspondence related to financial planning, insurance policies, and appointment notices; a program from an American Wireless Operators Convention held in his honor; several retirement announcements; business correpsondence concerning Terrell's inspection job from 1911-1914; and four photographs of Terrell, his family, and his friends. .

  Cite as

  William Dandridge Terrell Papers, 1911-1964, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

  Date

  1911

  1911-1965

  1911-1964

  20th century

  1930-1950

  author

  Terrell, William Dandridge (radio communication specialist) 1871-1960s

  collector

  Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI

  Subject

  United States. Commerce Department

  United States. Federal Radio Commission

  Local number

  1997.3094 (NMAH Acc.)

  Data Source

  Archives Center - NMAH

• Cartridge Tape Recorder

  Description (Brief)

  Viking’s model 811R tape recorder was made for home use. The 8-track format was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear, along with Ampex, Ford, GM, Motorola and RCA. Intrigued by Earl Muntz’s four-track cartridge, Lear wanted a tape system for his Learjet business aircraft. Realizing that the aviation market was too small, Lear convinced Ford and GM to offer optional 8-track players. The format became popular for several years, finally losing to Philips compact cassette. This Viking unit sold for about $170 in 1969, by 1972 the price had dropped to about $85.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1973

  maker

  Viking

  ID Number

  1996.0105.02

  catalog number

  1996.0105.02

  accession number

  1996.0105

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Telegraph Register

  Description (Brief)

  This telegraph register was made in the shop of Charles Williams, Jr., in Boston. Williams was an important maker of telegraph equipment and also early telephones designed by Alexander Graham Bell. Telegraph registers are electrically-activated printers that receive Morse code messages. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The pulses energize the register’s electromagnets which move a lever-arm holding a pen or stylus. A clockwork mechanism pulls a strip of paper across the pen or stylus, recording the message. Short pulses draw or emboss a dot, slightly longer pulses a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1870

  maker

  Charles Williams, Jr.

  ID Number

  1981.0696.01

  accession number

  1981.0696

  catalog number

  1981.0696.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Union type chest Headquarters Army of Potomac, Printing Department, No. 6, about 1863

  Description

  This type chest, measuring roughly 1’H x 2.5’W x 1.5’D, was purchased from L. Johnson & Company for the Printing Department of the Union Army of the Potomac. At least five other type chests were made for that unit. The top of the chest reads Headquarters Army of Potomac, Printing Department, No. 6. A virtually identical chest markedNo. 5 is displayed at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1863

  maker

  L. Johnson & Company

  issuing authority

  Army of the Potomac

  ID Number

  1982.0203.2739

  accession number

  1982.0203

  catalog number

  1982.203.2739

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Adams Cottage press, No. 4

  Description (Brief)

  This hand cylinder press was made by the Adams Press Company of New York in about 1862. It is marked in its casting “Patented March 19 1861.” Its bed measures 11.5 inches by 13 inches.

  The Adams Cottage Press was patented by Albert Adams in 1861, and manufactured by Joseph Watson operating as the Adams Press Company, New York. The press was advertised as a portable do-it-yourself press for amateurs and businessmen, but its portability soon appealed to the armies and navies of the Civil War. This particular press arrived at the Museum with a traveling chest of type with the painted words, “HEAD QUARTERS, ARMY OF POTOMAC, NO. 6, PRINTING DEPARTMENT.”

  Purchased in 1982.

  Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.

  Description

  Every Man His Own Printer! advertised the makers of the Lowe and Adams presses. Easy to use, these presses inspired military and amateur printers during and after the Civil War to make use of the portable presses to print military orders, receipts, billheads, and other documents.

  Albert Adams's New York cylinder press was described as useful for the armed forces and merchants. It was patented on March 19, 1861, and manufactured and distributed by entrepreneur Joseph Watson and the Adams Press Company in New York.

  The Adams Cottage Press was designed without a frisket. The frisket, a separate inner frame hinged to the cloth-covered tympan, served to hold the paper in place and protect the printed sheet. The press included an automatic tympan which closed with the movement of the cylinder. The Adams Cottage Press and other portable presses did not include a self-inking system. The type was inked by hand, a sheet of paper was placed over the inked type, and the bed of the press was cranked below the cylinder to produce an impression and the printed sheet.

  date made

  ca 1861

  ca 1862

  maker

  Adams, Albert

  manufacturer

  Adams Press Company

  ID Number

  1982.0203.2740

  accession number

  1982.0203

  catalog number

  1982.0203.2740

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Telegraph Register

  Description (Brief)

  This telegraph register includes a reel for the paper tape. Not a commercial product, personnel at Trenton State may have made this object for use in the laboratory. Telegraph registers are electrically-activated printers that receive Morse code messages. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The pulses energize the register’s electromagnets which move a lever-arm holding a pen or stylus. A clockwork mechanism pulls a strip of paper across the pen or stylus, recording the message. Short pulses draw or emboss a dot, slightly longer pulses a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  1982.0230.03

  accession number

  1982.0230

  catalog number

  1982.0230.03

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Telephone Answering Machine

  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

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Garfield

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Garfield comic strip shows the title character explaining the best things about cats.

  James Robert "Jim" Davis (1945- ) first worked at an advertising agency before transitioning into comics. Beginning in 1969, he assisted Tumbleweeds artist Tom K. Ryan. Davis later created a short-lived strip called Gnorm Gnat, which was only syndicated in one Indiana newspaper. In 1978 he launched Garfield for United Features and created one of the most popular animals in the comic world. Garfield has been represented in books, films, television specials, video games, amusement park attractions, and merchandise. Davis continues to write Garfield today.

  Garfield (1978- ) is a comic strip which looks at the life of the title character, a tabby cat, as well as a beagle named Odie, and their owner, Jon Arbuckle. Appearing in newspapers around the world, the strip’s international popularity is the result of non-topical and apolitical humor, and a simple story. The character Garfield is lazy and fat, and usually presents a disdainful attitude towards everything. He is often seen harassing Odie, his happily naïve housemate. Garfield also looks down on his owner, Jon, because of Jon's inability to get a date or benefit from social situations. Dr. Liz Wilson, Garfield’s veterinarian, was introduced in the second year of the strip’s run. She became Jon's romanic interest. In 2006, Jon and Liz began dating and then became engaged.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1978-06-25

  original artist

  Davis, Jim

  publisher

  United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

  ID Number

  1983.480.01

  accession number

  1983.0480

  catalog number

  1983.0480.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Regency Model TR-1 Transistor Radio

  Description

  During World War Two scientists and engineers at Bell Laboratories conducted research on many radar and radio devices. One goal was to find a replacement for fragile and energy-wasting vacuum tubes. Building on war-time research, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, working with group leader William Shockley, developed a device they called a transistor. The first laboratory demonstration took place on 23 December 1947. Bell publicly announced the new invention on 30 June 1948.

  At first the US military bought all the transistors Bell Labs could make, and the company agreed to license other manufacturers. As engineers learned how to use the new invention, plans were made for commercial products that could take advantage of the transistor's small size, energy efficiency, and rugged design. In 1953 hearing aids became the first commercial product to use transistors.

  A small, portable radio seemed a good opportunity, and a company called Idea Incorporated designed and produced the Regency. Planning began in 1951 between Idea and Texas Instruments, supplier of the transistors. Work began in earnest in the spring of 1954, and this first Regency transistor radio was in stores for the Christmas season later that year. The Regency model TR-1 contained four transistors. Capable of receiving AM stations, the radio cost about $50 (that would be almost $400 today.)

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1954

  maker

  Idea Incorporated

  ID Number

  1984.0040.01

  accession number

  1984.0040

  catalog number

  1984.0040.01

  model number

  TR-1

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Reel-to-Reel Wire Recorder

  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.

  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

  maker number

  175

  catalog number

  1984.0901.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Railroad Hand-Signal Lantern, 1950s-70s

  Description

  This battery-powered signal lantern was manufactured by the Star Headlight & Lantern Company of Honeoye Falls, New York beginning in the 1950s. The lantern has a metal body with a fixed rubber-coated handle, allowing for better grip during signaling as well as a insulating the handle from electricity. The lantern has sockets for two bulbs; one equipped with a reflector used for signaling and a smaller adjacent socket that makes a focused beam that could be used as a flashlight.

  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

  1950-1959

  associated institution

  Louisville and Nashville Railroad

  maker

  Star Headlight & Lantern Company

  ID Number

  1985.0552.03

  accession number

  1985.0552

  catalog number

  1985.0552.03

  85.0552.03

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Studies for San Salvador, 1492

  Description

  Unsigned sheet of pencil drawings listing names of men who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his first expedition to the New World and shows some armor they might have worn. About 1930 Gerome Ferris painted San Salvador, 1492 in which Columbus claims the island of present-day San Salvador for Spain.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1920s

  maker

  Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome

  ID Number

  1985.0650.004

  accession number

  1985.0650

  catalog number

  85.0650.004

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

• 

  Studies for San Salvador, 1492

  Description

  Unsigned sheet of pencil studies, showing swords and helmets, some of which can be linked to the figure of a crossbowman in Ferris’s painting in which Christopher Columbus takes possession of present-day San Salvador for Spain.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1920s

  original artist

  Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome

  ID Number

  1985.0650.005

  accession number

  1985.0650

  catalog number

  85.0650.005

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

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