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.

Unknown artist, about 1868“Drawing made by a Kiowa Indian”(Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer)Media: Pencil on paperThis Kiowa Indian drawing was likely prepared and collected in 1868 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1868
“Drawing made by a Kiowa Indian”
(Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer)
Media: Pencil on paper
This Kiowa Indian drawing was likely prepared and collected in 1868 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma. Non-Indians were known to have offered paper and illustrating equipment to Plains Indians as early as the 1830s. The drawing displays a Kiowa warrior’s head and neck ornament (possibly a peace medal), and his leg sashes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ca 1869
ca 1882
original artist
unknown
ID Number
2008.0175.51
catalog number
2008.0175.051
accession number
2008.0175
Koba aka Wild Horse (Kiowa),drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida"Indian Discovery of U.S. Cavalry"Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878Colored pencil, ink, and watercolorThe focus of this drawing by Koba is a Kiowa warrior coming down from his lookout hill.
Description
Koba aka Wild Horse (Kiowa),
drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida
"Indian Discovery of U.S. Cavalry"
Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878
Colored pencil, ink, and watercolor
The focus of this drawing by Koba is a Kiowa warrior coming down from his lookout hill. He carries a pair of field glasses (either a trade item or possibly taken from an enemy combatant) which assisted him in the discovery of the cavalry unit riding nearby. The Kiowa camp below is at rest; tribesmen welcome the scout's return and warning.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875-1878
original artist
Koba
ID Number
2008.0175.52
catalog number
2008.0175.052
accession number
2008.0175
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Captain Easy comic strip shows the title character enjoying the fictitious Mediterranean Republic of Dizmaylia with his date, Lolita.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Captain Easy comic strip shows the title character enjoying the fictitious Mediterranean Republic of Dizmaylia with his date, Lolita. He later discovers that she works for his enemies.
Leslie Turner (1899-1988) prepared freelance illustrations in Dallas in his early years. When he sold a cartoon to Judge, he moved to New York and began contributing to publications such as Redbook and Pictorial Review. In 1937 Turner took a job as an assistant to Roy Crane, creator of the Captain Easy newspaper strip, which was then called Wash Tubbs. Turner took over the strip in 1943 and continued to draw it, with some assistance from Walt Scott, until he retired in 1970.
Captain Easy, (1933-1988) an adventure strip originally called Wash Tubbs, starred an eccentric character named Washington Tubbs II. The Captain Easy character was included in a supporting role. In 1933 creator Roy Crane retitled the strip and remodeled it to highlight the new protagonist who joined the U.S. army during World War II, and later became a private detective.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-08-14
graphic artist
Turner, Leslie
publisher
NEA, Inc.
ID Number
GA.22332
catalog number
22332
accession number
277502
"Beetle Bailey" was created and continues to be drawn by Mort Walker (b. 1923). The comic strip centers around characters on Camp Swampy, a fictitious United States Army military post.
Description
"Beetle Bailey" was created and continues to be drawn by Mort Walker (b. 1923). The comic strip centers around characters on Camp Swampy, a fictitious United States Army military post. The main character, Beetle Bailey, is consistently lazy, drawing negative attention towards him and causing antics on the post. In this strip, the General is briefing his men on battle plans. He soon learns that asking his men for criticisms was the wrong plan.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
07/03/1966
graphic artist
Walker, Mort
publisher
King Features Syndicate
ID Number
GA.22601
catalog number
22601
accession number
277502
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Beetle Bailey comic strip shows Beetle asking what the Chaplain thinks about sneaking naps after being told “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”Addison Morton "Mort" Walker (1923- ) was first published at age eleven, and soon afterward was
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Beetle Bailey comic strip shows Beetle asking what the Chaplain thinks about sneaking naps after being told “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Addison Morton "Mort" Walker (1923- ) was first published at age eleven, and soon afterward was drawing a weekly cartoon for the Kansas City Journal. After U.S. Army service in World War II, Walker began drawing a cartoon named Spider for the Saturday Evening Post. King Features Syndicate later contracted with him for the related comic strip devoted to the character Beetle Bailey. Walker also wrote for Hi and Lois, considered to be a spin-off of Beetle Bailey. More recently Walker has drawn the strip with the help of his sons.
Beetle Bailey (1950- ), a private in the U.S. Army, is regularly looking for a way to avoid doing work. He is memorable because his eyes are always covered by a hat or helmet. The strip location originally took place on a college campus but after a year Walker reimagined the location of the strip as a U.S. Army base called "Camp Swampy," where the characters seem to be stationed in never-ending basic training.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-09-24
graphic artist
Walker, Mort
publisher
King Features Syndicate
ID Number
GA.22533
catalog number
22533
accession number
277502
This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Dan Flagg comic strip shows the title character and companions aboard a yacht in trouble during a storm. Flagg tries to calm the other passengers and announces the arrival of the U.S.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Dan Flagg comic strip shows the title character and companions aboard a yacht in trouble during a storm. Flagg tries to calm the other passengers and announces the arrival of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Don Sherwood (1930-2010) spent his youth preparing to be a comic artist and after serving as a U.S. Marine in the Korean War assisted on Terry and the Pirates. In 1963 he debuted his own strip, Dan Flagg, inspired by the U.S. Marine Corps. After Dan Flagg was canceled in 1967, Sherwood began drawing for Hanna-Barbera, Columbia Pictures, the comic book The Phantom, and The Flintstones comic strip.
Dan Flagg (1963-1967) was an adventure comic strip that premiered during the Vietnam War. As World War II had been a popular subject matter for comic strips in the 1940s, publishers thought that comic strips about the Vietnam War would be just as popular. However, though readers thought Dan Flagg was an entertaining character, increasing opposition to the Vietnam War prevented the strip from enjoying sufficient popularity. Dan Flagg was dropped by its syndicate in 1965 and canceled permanently in 1967.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-07-24
publisher
Bell-McClure Syndicate
graphic artist
Sherwood, Don
author
Thomas, Jerry
ID Number
GA.22575
catalog number
22575
accession number
277502
Unknown artist, about 1894“Cheyenne Pictures. Standing Elk’s Horse Killed in Fight with Troops.”Pencil, ink, and watercolorThe central focus of this image is a wounded horse, bleeding from head and rump, being fired on by U.S. troops at the right.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1894
“Cheyenne Pictures. Standing Elk’s Horse Killed in Fight with Troops.”
Pencil, ink, and watercolor
The central focus of this image is a wounded horse, bleeding from head and rump, being fired on by U.S. troops at the right. Standing Elk, with his name glyph above him, has dismounted and appears to be safe from the rifle shots. The suggestion of concern by the warrior indicates the high value placed on horses by Plains tribesmen.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1894
original artist
unknown
ID Number
GA.08112
catalog number
GA*08112
accession number
1897.031963
Unknown artist, about 1869“Drawing made by a Comanche Indian”[Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer]Media: Colored inks on paperThis drawing of a Comanche warrior was likely prepared and collected in 1869 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1869
“Drawing made by a Comanche Indian”
[Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer]
Media: Colored inks on paper
This drawing of a Comanche warrior was likely prepared and collected in 1869 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma. The artist’s representation of a warrior on horseback follows a tradition of pictographic imagery which presents the subject on one plane without the illusion of depth. Here both of the warrior’s legs and leg sashes are imaged on the viewer’s side of the horse.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ca 1868
ca 1882
ca 1868
original artist
unknown
ID Number
2008.0175.50
catalog number
2008.0175.050
accession number
2008.0175
Bear's Heart, or Nock-ko-ist (Cheyenne),drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida"Council" (or more properly, Sun Dance or Medicine Lodge)Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878Colored pencil, ink, colored ink, and watercolorThe drawing of a Sun Dance or Medicine Lo
Description
Bear's Heart, or Nock-ko-ist (Cheyenne),
drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida
"Council" (or more properly, Sun Dance or Medicine Lodge)
Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878
Colored pencil, ink, colored ink, and watercolor
The drawing of a Sun Dance or Medicine Lodge gathering offers a partial view of one moment in the most sacred of Plains Indian ceremonies. The event is represented here by the Sun Dance lodge with its cloth and tree-branch offerings flying. The people stand outside to bear witness to the sacred offerings being made, while four painted Sun Dancers stand ready to make their sacrifices inside. Four men, probably warrior society officers, stand guard over the ceremony.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875-1878
original artist
Bear's Heart
ID Number
2008.0175.56
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.056
Unknown artist, about 1894“Cheyenne Pictures.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1894
“Cheyenne Pictures. High Wolf Kills a Shoshonee or Snake Indian.”
Pencil, colored pencil, ink and watercolor
This drawing shows a mounted warrior with a name glyph - a symbol for the personal name “High Wolf” - riding victoriously over a fallen Snake (Shoshone) warrior, identified by his shield. The artist depicts High Wolf counting coup on his enemy by showing a riding whip (quirt) touching the shield of the fallen Shoshone warrior. Counting coup - in this instance touching an adversary in battle - was considered an act of bravery that could gain war honors.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1894
original artist
unknown
ID Number
GA.08113
catalog number
GA*08113
accession number
1897.031963
During World War II, the United States government recognized that full public support and dedication to the war effort was essential to victory.
Description
During World War II, the United States government recognized that full public support and dedication to the war effort was essential to victory. To bolster support, the government hired artists to create propaganda posters, designed to promote patriotism with simple, catchy slogans and colorful images. Toiling factory workers, thrifty home front mothers, and fearless soldiers were among the most popular images used by artists to communicate the message.
This 1942 poster commissioned by the War Shipping Administration encouraged a specific mission, designed to attract former seamen back into the Merchant Marine. At the time, American shipyards were producing cargo ships faster than crews could be assembled, forcing recruiters to rely not only on new volunteers, but also to persuade experienced mariners to leave retirement and go back to sea.
The creation of incentive posters mainly fell under the watch of the Office of War Information, a government agency created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in June 1942 to consolidate public information services and coordinate the sanctioned release of war news. The OWI reviewed and approved the content of newsreels, radio broadcasts, and billboards, in addition to producing hundreds of posters. Initially, the most pressing message to be communicated through posters was a warning to Americans about the dangers of discussing sensitive information like production schedules and troop movements that could be overheard by enemy spies. Over the course of the war, posters covered a variety of topics, such as encouraging the purchase of war bonds and galvanizing the work force at shipyards to keep production going on the assembly line.
date made
1942
commissioned poster
War Shipping Administration
directed poster program
United States. Office of War Information
Associated Name
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
ID Number
1991.0856.07
catalog number
1991.0856.07
accession number
1991.0856
Mr. Breger (also published as Private Breger and G.I. Joe during World War II) was created by Dave Breger (1908-1970), syndicated by King Features from 1946-1960s. Breger has been credited with creating the term "G.I.
Description
Mr. Breger (also published as Private Breger and G.I. Joe during World War II) was created by Dave Breger (1908-1970), syndicated by King Features from 1946-1960s. Breger has been credited with creating the term "G.I. Joe", replacing the term "Yank" to describe American soldiers. The comic is a gag-panel about life in the military. In this comic, The Bregers go to the attorney to discover what Mr. Breger's uncle willed to him.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
8/21/1966
publisher
King Features Syndicate
ID Number
GA.22334
catalog number
22334
Bear's Heart, or Nock-ko-ist,drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida"Buffalo Chase and Encampment"Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878Colored pencil, ink, colored ink, and watercolorThis drawing shows an encampment, and men and women courting outside their tipi
Description
Bear's Heart, or Nock-ko-ist,
drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida
"Buffalo Chase and Encampment"
Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878
Colored pencil, ink, colored ink, and watercolor
This drawing shows an encampment, and men and women courting outside their tipis. The men are dressed in black and the women in blue and green. Above them, in another level of the story drawing, are warriors on a buffalo hunt. Three riders prepare to kill the buffalo, with bows drawn and ready.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875-1878
original artist
Bear's Heart
ID Number
2008.0175.54
catalog number
2008.0175.054
accession number
2008.0175
Shave Head, or O-uk-ste-uh,drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida“Buffalo Chase”Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878Pencil, colored pencil, and inkCheyenne warriors participate in the challenge of the buffalo chase.
Description
Shave Head, or O-uk-ste-uh,
drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida
“Buffalo Chase”
Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878
Pencil, colored pencil, and ink
Cheyenne warriors participate in the challenge of the buffalo chase. Four warriors, bows drawn and ready, ride close to the buffalo in order to kill the buffalo with one well directed arrow.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875-1878
original artist
Shave Head
ID Number
2008.0175.59
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.059
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1864
depicted (sitter)
Wilkes, Charles
original artist
Chappel, Alonzo
publisher
Johnson, Fry & Co.
ID Number
2012.0093.29
accession number
2012.0093
catalog number
2012.0093.29
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Buz Sawyer comic strip shows U.S. Air Force jets flying close to Tam’s plane, as Buz tries to signal that he and Tam are not the enemy.Royston Campbell "Roy" Crane (1901-1977) studied art in Chicago.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Buz Sawyer comic strip shows U.S. Air Force jets flying close to Tam’s plane, as Buz tries to signal that he and Tam are not the enemy.
Royston Campbell "Roy" Crane (1901-1977) studied art in Chicago. He started a short-lived strip called Wash Tubbs in 1924, and Captain Easy in 1929, as an outlet for ideas from his own travels through Central America. Later, in 1943, Crane launched Buz Sawyer which, unlike Captain Easy, allowed him ownership of all the rights to his strip. Crane drew the strip with the help of assistants until the 1960s, when he retired because of health issues.
Buz Sawyer (1943-1989) told the story of World War II U.S. Navy fighter pilot John Singer “Buz” Sawyer. With the real-life end of the war, Buz's life changed with his marriage and the birth of his son. By the early 1950s Buz is shown as returning to the U.S. Navy and later fighting in the Vietnam War. The strip was continued into the late 1980s but the Sunday version of the strip was discontinued in 1974.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-06-24
graphic artist
Crane, Roy
publisher
King Features Syndicate
ID Number
GA.22438
catalog number
22438
accession number
277502
Wohaw, aka Beef, Wolf Robe, Gu hau de (Kiowa),drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida"Buffalo Chase"Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878Pencil, colored pencil, and watercolorWohaw's drawing shows a party of Kiowa warriors participating in a buffalo hunt.
Description
Wohaw, aka Beef, Wolf Robe, Gu hau de (Kiowa),
drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida
"Buffalo Chase"
Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878
Pencil, colored pencil, and watercolor
Wohaw's drawing shows a party of Kiowa warriors participating in a buffalo hunt. The warriors ride tightly together behind the herd. One buffalo has been successfully killed.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875-1878
original artist
Wohaw
ID Number
2008.0175.53
catalog number
2008.0175.053
accession number
2008.0175
The unsigned rough pencil sketch of a man in Scottish military dress probably corresponds to a soldier of the Forty-second Black Watch Regiment, who appears in the painting Here Comes the Bride, 1759.
Description (Brief)
The unsigned rough pencil sketch of a man in Scottish military dress probably corresponds to a soldier of the Forty-second Black Watch Regiment, who appears in the painting Here Comes the Bride, 1759. Ferris believed members of the regiment, which was stationed in the colonies in 1759, would have been present at Washington’s wedding.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
20th century
original artist
Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome
ID Number
GA.16562.08
catalog number
16562.08
accession number
119780
Unknown artist, about 1894“Cheyenne Pictures. Soldiers Charging on Sioux and Cheyennes.”Pencil and colored pencilThis drawing of U.S. Army cavalry soldiers in a charge displays the uniformity of the colors, equipment, and methods of the military.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1894
“Cheyenne Pictures. Soldiers Charging on Sioux and Cheyennes.”
Pencil and colored pencil
This drawing of U.S. Army cavalry soldiers in a charge displays the uniformity of the colors, equipment, and methods of the military. The soldiers fire their rifles at the Sioux and Cheyenne targets ahead of them. Some of these drawings are so accurate that the specific unit uniforms and types of firearms can be identified.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1894
original artist
unknown
ID Number
GA.08109
catalog number
GA*08109
accession number
1897.031963
Gerome Ferris noted that the unsigned watercolor shows two men from “Foot/first Regiment,” one of the oldest foot regiments in the British Army.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Gerome Ferris noted that the unsigned watercolor shows two men from “Foot/first Regiment,” one of the oldest foot regiments in the British Army.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
20th century
original artist
Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome
ID Number
GA.16562.11
catalog number
16562.11
accession number
119780
Engraving after painting by Salvator Rosa once in the Cabinet at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Sold to Russia in 1779; first in the Hermitage Palace, later in the Gatchina Palace. Disappeared during World War II; present location unknown. Print removed from George P.
Description
Engraving after painting by Salvator Rosa once in the Cabinet at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Sold to Russia in 1779; first in the Hermitage Palace, later in the Gatchina Palace. Disappeared during World War II; present location unknown. Print removed from George P. Marsh’s copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol. 2. Marsh probably wrote the numeral 60 in pencil in the lower right corner.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1778
1788
publisher
Boydell, John
Boydell, Josiah
engraver
Heath, James
original artist
Rosa, Salvator
ID Number
1978.0534.03.62
accession number
1978.0534
catalog number
1978.0534.03.62
Unknown artist, about 1894“Cheyenne Pictures. Cheyennes Charging on U.S. Troops.”Pencil, colored pencil, ink and watercolorThe Cheyenne Indians pictured in this drawing are displayed in identifiable warrior society clothing.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1894
“Cheyenne Pictures. Cheyennes Charging on U.S. Troops.”
Pencil, colored pencil, ink and watercolor
The Cheyenne Indians pictured in this drawing are displayed in identifiable warrior society clothing. The warriors ride at a gallop, the hoof marks indicating movement, while firing their rifles at the U.S. troops. Two riders lean low behind the necks of their trained war horses shielding themselves from the bullets flying in all directions.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1894
original artist
unknown
ID Number
GA.08110
catalog number
GA*08110
accession number
1897.031963
This colored lithograph of "Buteo calurus [Cassin]," now "Buteo jamaicensis calurus" or Red-tailed Hawk, is believed to have been drawn on stone by William E.
Description (Brief)
This colored lithograph of "Buteo calurus [Cassin]," now "Buteo jamaicensis calurus" or Red-tailed Hawk, is believed to have been drawn on stone by William E. Hitchcock (ca 1822-ca 1906), lithographed by Bowen & Company of Philadelphia (ca 1840-1870), and likely hand colored by Bowen firm colorists or Lavinia Bowen (ca 1820- ca 1872).
The image was published as Plate XIV in the "Zoological Portion of the Reports by Lieutenant E. G. Beckwith, Third Artillery, upon the Route near the 38th and 39th Parallels, surveyed by Captain J. W. Gunnison, Corps of Topographical Engineers, and upon the route near the Forty–First Parallel, surveyed by Lieut. E. G. Beckwith, Third Artillery.” The report was published in volume X of the “Reports and Surveys to Ascertain the Most Practable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean ... 1853, 1856, Volume X," printed in 1859 by Beverley Tucker of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date on report
1854
date printed in book
1859
original artist
Cassin, John
publisher
U.S. War Department
author
Beckwith, Edward Griffin
publisher
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Command
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
ID Number
GA.16332.017
accession number
1930.110179
catalog number
16332.017
This colored lithograph of "Centurus uropyglialis [Baird], now Melanerpes uropyglialis" or Gila Woodpecker, is believed to have been originally drawn by C. B. R. Kennerly (1830-1861) and H. B. Mollhausen (1825-1905), then drawn on stone by William E.
Description
This colored lithograph of "Centurus uropyglialis [Baird], now Melanerpes uropyglialis" or Gila Woodpecker, is believed to have been originally drawn by C. B. R. Kennerly (1830-1861) and H. B. Mollhausen (1825-1905), then drawn on stone by William E. Hitchcock (ca 1822-ca 1906), lithographed by Bowen & Company of Philadelphia (ca 1840-1870), and likely hand colored by Bowen firm colorists or Lavinia Bowen (ca 1820- ca 1872).
The image was published as Plate XXXVI in the Zoological Report, Volume X, Part VI, No. 3, following page 35 in C. B. R. Kennerly's "Report Upon the Birds of the Route" (near the 35th Parallel explored by Lieutenant Whipple in 1853 and 1855). The report was published in the volume “Reports and Surveys to Ascertain the Most Practable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean ... 1853, 1856, Volume X," printed in 1859 by Beverley Tucker of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1859
1859
author
Whipple, Amiel Weeks
Ives, Joseph Christmas
original artist
Kennerley, Caleb Burwell Rowan
publisher
U.S. War Department
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
publisher
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Command
original artist
Mollhausen, H. B.
ID Number
GA.16332.089
catalog number
16332.089
accession number
1930.110179

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