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: New York

Campaign speeches are useful, at that

This pen-and-ink comic art drawing by Rube Goldberg from 1924 features the concept of using “windy” political speeches as free energy.Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was an engineer before he was a comic artist.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink comic art drawing by Rube Goldberg from 1924 features the concept of using “windy” political speeches as free energy.
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was an engineer before he was a comic artist. After receiving an engineering degree, he started his career designing sewers for the City of San Francisco, but then followed his other interest and took a job as a sports cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle. After moving to New York in 1907 Goldberg worked for several newspapers, producing a number of short-lived strips and panels—many of which were inspired by his engineering background, including his renowned invention cartoons. In the late 1930s and 1940s he switched his focus to editorial and political cartoons and in 1945 founded the National Cartoonists Society. The Reuben, comic art’s most prestigious award, is named after him.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924-10-31
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
GA.23492
catalog number
23492
accession number
299186

Bunnell type 368-B telegraph relay

Telegraph relays amplify an electrical signal in a telegraph line. Telegraph messages travel as a series of electrical pulses through a wire from a transmitter to a receiver.
Description
Telegraph relays amplify an electrical signal in a telegraph line. Telegraph messages travel as a series of electrical pulses through a wire from a transmitter to a receiver. The pulses fade in strength as they travel through the wire, limiting the distance a message can be sent. Relays remedy that problem by detecting a weak signal and automatically re-transmitting that signal down the line using a local power source.
Location
Currently not on view
Maker
Western Union Corporation
maker
J. H. Bunnell & Co.
ID Number
EM.332327
model number
368-B
accession number
294351
catalog number
332327

Hand stamp

Date made
1867
circa 1867
patent date
November 19, 1867
maker
Willbur, J. M.
ID Number
1971.293320.2983
accession number
293320
patent number
071105
catalog number
1971.293320.2983
1971.293320.2983

Threadless U.S. Tel. Co. / Chester Glass Insulator

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1865
maker
Chester, Charles T.
ID Number
EM.231782.2
catalog number
231782.2
accession number
43532

New York Lithographing, Engraving, and Printing Company circular

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1868
maker
Bien, Julius
ID Number
GA.03771
catalog number
03771
accession number
23155

Cow-Boys of Colorado - Life In a Dug-Out

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1882
graphic artist
Harper & Brothers
original artist
Rogers, W. A.
ID Number
GA.311495.04
accession number
311495
catalog number
311495.04

Daisy press

This rail press, on a Museum-made base, has an unknown maker; it dates from about 1885.
Description (Brief)
This rail press, on a Museum-made base, has an unknown maker; it dates from about 1885. The press has a height of 4 inches a width of 3.5 inches and a length of 9 inches; its chase measures 1.5 inches by 2.75 inches.
The press like other Daisys, the Bonanza, and the Favorite were probably all made by Ives, Blakeslee of New York (later Ives Blakeslee Williams). The company dealt in novelties and was the principal distributing—and perhaps manufacturing—company for rail presses at the end of the nineteenth century. Their line included presses called the Boss, the Favorite, the Daisy, the Leader, and other very similar rail presses.
Donated by William Miner, 1976.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1885
maker
Ives, Blakeslee & Co.
ID Number
GA.24232
accession number
322684
catalog number
24232

American Converting Canoes into Schooners, in the Bay of Panama

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1851
associated date
1851
author
Sears, Robert
publisher
Oliver & Brother
ID Number
GA.309390.05
accession number
309390
catalog number
309390.05

Gordon Firefly press

This self-inking card press was made by George P. Gordon of New York after 1852. It includes its original maker’s label.
Description (Brief)
This self-inking card press was made by George P. Gordon of New York after 1852. It includes its original maker’s label. The press has a height of 49 inches a width of 24 inches and a length of 24 inches; its chase measures 3 inches by 4.5 inches.
Though Gordon is most famous for his platen jobbers, he made several presses specifically for card printing. The Firefly, patented in 1852, printed on a roll or a long strip of paper and then cut the paper into card lengths. Two sets of inking rollers circulated continuously around the cylindrical ink surface. The type formed a segment of the cylinder, and was driven against the platen after each passage of the rollers, twice for every complete revolution.
The Firefly was said to be able to print 8,000 or more impressions per hour. This specimen was modified before it came to the Museum; its original crank was replaced with a belt wheel.
Donated by Benjamin, Samuel, Harding, and Thomas Rees, 1969.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1852
maker
Gordon, George P.
ID Number
GA.23054
catalog number
23054
accession number
282544

Emigrants Departing for the West

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
September 2, 1871
associated date
1871
graphic artist
Harper & Brothers
Jewett, William Samuel Lyon
Jewett, William Samuel Lyon
ID Number
GA.309390.06
catalog number
309390.06
309390.06

Buffalo Wax Engravers, Inc., Buffalo, NY

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
Buffalo Wax Engravers, Inc.
ID Number
2013.0122.01
catalog number
2013.0122.01
accession number
2013.0122

Kelton D-cylinder press

This D-cylinder copperplate press includes an attached inking table and hanging counterweight for the bed return. It dates from the late 19th century.
Description (Brief)
This D-cylinder copperplate press includes an attached inking table and hanging counterweight for the bed return. It dates from the late 19th century. Its bed (working part) measures 14 inches by 20.5 inches; its cylinder diameter is 6 inches.
The press is said to have come from Louis Prang’s workshop.
Donated by Mr. and Mrs. C. Charles Smith, 1984.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
circa 1900
date made
ca 1900
late 19th century
maker
Kelton Machine Company
ID Number
1984.0698.01
accession number
1984.0698
catalog number
1984.0698.01

Hat-tip press

This bench-top, iron-lever press, marked “Hoffman Type & EngravingCo,” dates from the late 19th century.
Description (Brief)
This bench-top, iron-lever press, marked “Hoffman Type & Engraving
Co,” dates from the late 19th century. The press has a height of 39 inches a length of 28 inches; its bed measures 8 inches by 8 inches.
“Hat tip” was a term for the manufacturer’s label pasted in the crown of a gentleman’s hat. Tips were often blocked in gold leaf on fabric—a process that, by 1850, justified a specialized press, small and sturdy, with enough mass in the platen to hold the heat to melt gold size. The term came to be used for small presses with an overhead lever like this one, whether intended for hat-tip printing, card printing, or any other small job work.
The bed and platen are reversed on this press: the type hangs face down from the bed, and the platen is under it. There is an ink disk beyond the bed. Two rollers mounted on the platen's leading edge roll across the ink disk to pick up ink, and then deposit the ink on the type on the return trip.
Donated by Joseph Hennage, 1988.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
late 19th century
maker
Hoffman Type & Engraving Co.
ID Number
1988.0650.01
catalog number
1988.0650.01
accession number
1988.0650

Dunkerly press

This self-inking, bench-top, foot-lever press, was made by William Dunkerly of New York in about 1873. The press is incomplete, and is missing its treadle and link as well as its inking-roller connections.
Description (Brief)
This self-inking, bench-top, foot-lever press, was made by William Dunkerly of New York in about 1873. The press is incomplete, and is missing its treadle and link as well as its inking-roller connections. The press has a height of 13 inches a width of 12 inches and a length of 15 inches; its chase measures 4 inches by 6.25 inches.
Walter and William H. Dunkerly produced a line of amateur printing presses, starting with this “Dunkerly,” in 1873. By 1880 the press was made in larger sizes, renamed “King,” and sold by wholesalers such as W. Y. Edwards. The Dunkerly brothers may have originated the rail presses that became popular later in the century. These, too, were distributed through wholesalers.
Donated by Mr. and Mrs. Stan Harris, 1992.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1873 or later
date made
ca 1873
maker
Dunkerly, William
ID Number
1992.0262.01
catalog number
1992.0262.01
accession number
1992.0262

Lower Bar, Mokelumne River

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
graphic artist
Sarony & Major
publisher
Putnam, George Palmer
original artist
Taylor, Bayard
ID Number
GA.69.179
catalog number
69.179
accession number
282174

Bunnell pole-changer relay

Telegraph relays amplify an electrical signal in a telegraph line. Telegraph messages travel as a series of electrical pulses through a wire from a transmitter to a receiver.
Description
Telegraph relays amplify an electrical signal in a telegraph line. Telegraph messages travel as a series of electrical pulses through a wire from a transmitter to a receiver. The pulses fade in strength as they travel through the wire, limiting the distance a message can be sent. Relays remedy that problem by detecting a weak signal and automatically re-transmitting that signal down the line using a local power source.
Location
Currently not on view
Maker
Western Union Corporation
maker
J. H. Bunnell & Co.
ID Number
EM.332190
collector/donor number
100-837
accession number
294351
catalog number
332190

Portrait of Von Steuben

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1857
depicted (sitter)
Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin
engraver
Huber, Kaspar Ulrich
ID Number
2014.0250.43
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.43

A Polish Trading Post In New York

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1884
graphic artist
Harper & Brothers
original artist
Berghaus, Albert
ID Number
GA.311495.01
accession number
311495
catalog number
311495.01

Charles Wilkes

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

Engraved woodblock of the "Thomomys clusius" or Wyoming Pocket Gopher

This engraved woodblock of “Tholomomys Chusius” or (Thomomys Clusius) Wyoming Pocket Gopher was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published in 1875 as Figure 80 (p.265) in Report of the Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and
Description
This engraved woodblock of “Tholomomys Chusius” or (Thomomys Clusius) Wyoming Pocket Gopher was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published in 1875 as Figure 80 (p.265) in Report of the Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries. Explored in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution by John Wesley Powell (1834-1902). The image appears in Part Third, entitled “Zoology” by Elliott Coues (1842-1899). The illustration was engraved by Henry Hobart Nichols (1838-1887).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875
1875
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
graphic artist
Nichols, H. H.
original artist
Keene, S. W.
author
Coues, Elliott
block maker
V. W. & Co.
author
Powell, John Wesley
ID Number
1980.0219.1088
catalog number
1980.0219.1088
accession number
1980.0219

Rodgers telegraph relay

Telegraph relays amplified electrical signals in a telegraph line. Telegraph messages traveled as a series of electrical pulses through a wire from a transmitter to a receiver. Short pulses made a dot, slightly longer pulses a dash.
Description
Telegraph relays amplified electrical signals in a telegraph line. Telegraph messages traveled as a series of electrical pulses through a wire from a transmitter to a receiver. Short pulses made a dot, slightly longer pulses a dash. The pulses faded in strength as they traveled through the wire, to the point where the incoming signal was too weak to directly operate a receiving sounder or register. A relay detected a weak signal and used a battery to strengthen the signal so that the receiver would operate.
This telegraph relay appears similar to early units from the 1850s and '60s. The frame is marked "J. Rodgers New York" about whom we have no current information.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Rodgers, J.
ID Number
EM.181421
catalog number
181421
accession number
31652

Brown Moons

Abstract color lithograph, signed and dated inside the border on the right. Edition 11/23.Currently not on view
Description
Abstract color lithograph, signed and dated inside the border on the right. Edition 11/23.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1961
ID Number
GA.21171
catalog number
21171
accession number
241588

Favorite press

This rail press was sold by Ives Blakeslee of New York in about 1885. Its original box, with an advertizing label on the end, includes type and accessories.
Description (Brief)
This rail press was sold by Ives Blakeslee of New York in about 1885. Its original box, with an advertizing label on the end, includes type and accessories. It is marked “IB.” The press has a height of 6 inches a width of 4 inches and a length of 11.5 inches; its chase measures 2 inches by 3.5 inches.
Donated by Penny Speckter, 1988.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
date made
ca 1885
maker
Ives, Blakeslee & Co.
ID Number
1988.0823.01
accession number
1988.0823
catalog number
1988.0823.01

View of Sacramento City, from the River

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1851
associated date
1851
author
Sears, Robert
graphic artist
Badeau, Jonathan F.
publisher
Oliver & Brother
ID Number
GA.309390.14
catalog number
309390.14
309390.14

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