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.

Date: 1900s

A Rabbi

This etching by Léopold Flameng is known as either Un Rabbin or Un Vieux (An Old Man). The painting by Rembrandt hangs in the Musée Bonat, Bayonne, France.
Description
This etching by Léopold Flameng is known as either Un Rabbin or Un Vieux (An Old Man). The painting by Rembrandt hangs in the Musée Bonat, Bayonne, France. The print was etched for the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, a publication started in Paris by Charles Blanc in 1859, which ceased only recently. Flameng had met Blanc in the studio of a well-known engraver, Luigi Calamatta, and became one of two graphic artists on the new publication. He etched no fewer than 100 plates for the Gazette and some forty plates for Blanc’s book on Rembrandt’s work, published in 1859. Flameng’s etchings after Rembrandt were highly regarded by collectors in this period.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th century
original artist
Rembrandt van Rijn
graphic artist
Flameng, Léopold
publisher
Gazette des Beaux-Arts
ID Number
GA.14958
catalog number
14958
accession number
94830

Portrait of P. Ordire

Signed and dated pencil drawing of a model named P. Ordire in 1904Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Signed and dated pencil drawing of a model named P. Ordire in 1904
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1904
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16673
catalog number
16673
accession number
119780

Portrait of President McKinley

Ferris noted on the pencil drawing that it was for the plate for his portrait of President McKinley. There are thirty-one impressions of the etched portrait in the Ferris Collection.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Ferris noted on the pencil drawing that it was for the plate for his portrait of President McKinley. There are thirty-one impressions of the etched portrait in the Ferris Collection.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1901
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14558.02
catalog number
14558
accession number
94830

Portrait of Mrs. Kissic

Stephen Ferris signed and dated this pencil portrait of Mrs. Kissic in 1908. In 1912 he noted that she was “one hundred years old and still continues well.”Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Stephen Ferris signed and dated this pencil portrait of Mrs. Kissic in 1908. In 1912 he noted that she was “one hundred years old and still continues well.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1908-10-15
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16667
catalog number
16667
accession number
119780

Alhambra, Hall of the Ambassadors

An unsigned exterior view of the Hall of the Ambassadors in the Alhambra complex of Granada, Spain. In another watercolor, the view serves as a frame for a story in the making. See GA*14539.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
An unsigned exterior view of the Hall of the Ambassadors in the Alhambra complex of Granada, Spain. In another watercolor, the view serves as a frame for a story in the making. See GA*14539.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14544
catalog number
14544
accession number
94830

Portrait of Richard Wilson

This signed and dated portrait was made in 1904. The sketch is in pencil with pen and ink additions.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This signed and dated portrait was made in 1904. The sketch is in pencil with pen and ink additions.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1904
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16666
catalog number
16666
accession number
119780

An Etching Society Outing

This light-hearted etching by Stephen Ferris, the Philadelphia Society of Etchers Outing in 1900, recalls the sixth such event held by the Society on the Neshaminy River near Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Description
This light-hearted etching by Stephen Ferris, the Philadelphia Society of Etchers Outing in 1900, recalls the sixth such event held by the Society on the Neshaminy River near Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Etching, eating, and games were the outing’s major activities.
Ferris was a founding member of the Society, organized in 1880, and its first treasurer. Initially, it was an important source for information in the Philadelphia area about the newly revived technique of etching. The group met monthly during the summer for more than twenty years, offering occasions for its members to exchange prints.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1900
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14476
accession number
94830
catalog number
14476

Portrait of Mlle. Bellamy

Signed pencil sketch, dated 1906Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Signed pencil sketch, dated 1906
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1906
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16686
catalog number
16686
accession number
119780

Portrait of Phoebe Harard Ferris

Stephen Ferris appended a long note on this pencil drawing of his grandmother Phoebe Harard Ferris: “This from memory a Portrait of Phoebe Harard Ferris Grand Isle Vt my grandmother of Providence Rhode Island lived 1775/1845. I saw her last in 1844 in my 10th year.
Description (Brief)
Stephen Ferris appended a long note on this pencil drawing of his grandmother Phoebe Harard Ferris: “This from memory a Portrait of Phoebe Harard Ferris Grand Isle Vt my grandmother of Providence Rhode Island lived 1775/1845. I saw her last in 1844 in my 10th year. I made this in one hour sketch at Cape May Point N. J. August 10th 1906. For my granddaughter Elizabeth M. Ferris.” Elizabeth Ferris was the daughter of Ferris’s son Gerome and his wife Annette.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1906-08-10
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16648
catalog number
16648
accession number
119780

Plant Manufacturing Company

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1904
ID Number
2012.0093.06
accession number
2012.0093
catalog number
2012.0093.06

Christ Preaching/ La Petite Tombe

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
original artist
Rembrandt van Rijn
ID Number
2012.0093.24
accession number
2012.0093
catalog number
2012.0093.24

If I cannot fight, I can feed those who do.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
ca 19th century
maker
unknown
ID Number
2013.0095.01
accession number
2013.0095
catalog number
2013.0095.01

Poster, Your Work Means Victory

Before the first troops could be shipped overseas to fight in the trenches of France during World War I, the American people had to be convinced that the war was both justified and necessary.
Description
Before the first troops could be shipped overseas to fight in the trenches of France during World War I, the American people had to be convinced that the war was both justified and necessary. To sway public opinion, President Woodrow Wilson initiated a massive project to flood the country with powerful propaganda. Americans were called upon to enlist, to buy war bonds, to conserve food and essentials—anything that would help the war effort. This poster, by artist Fred J. Hoertz, reminded shipyard workers that their labor was essential for victory. Like many posters geared towards the manufacturers of war materials, "Your Work Means Victory"was meant to show workers that they were just as important as the troops.
Created just days after the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the Committee on Public Information was the independent agency that oversaw the production of various propaganda means, such as newspaper ads, lecturers, and films. But the most effective and wide-reaching method was from the Committee on Pictorial Publicity, which issued the thousands of colorful posters that lined Main Streets across the country. Whether these images were created for a Liberty Bond drive, the Red Cross, or the Department of Labor, every poster urged Americans to do something for "the boys over there."
date made
1917-04
1917
initiated propaganda program
Wilson, Woodrow
agency oversaw production of propaganda
Committee on Public Information
issued posters
Committee on Pictorial Publicity
artist
Hoertz, Fred J.
ID Number
1991.0856.15
catalog number
1991.0856.15
accession number
1991.0856

Birth and baptismal certificate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1905
associated person
Dollinger, Louisa Amalia
Dollinger, Wilhelmina
Dollinger, Wilhelm
graphic artist
Jennings and Pye
ID Number
1986.0428.10
accession number
1986.0428
catalog number
1986.0428.10

Electroytpe of a "Carrying-basket in usual position"

This electrotype of “Carrying-basket in usual position” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Plate 15 (p.37) in an article by David I. Bushnell, Jr. (1875-1941) entitled “The Choctaw of Bayou Lacomb St.
Description
This electrotype of “Carrying-basket in usual position” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Plate 15 (p.37) in an article by David I. Bushnell, Jr. (1875-1941) entitled “The Choctaw of Bayou Lacomb St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana” in the Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 48, (1909).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1909
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Bushnell, Jr., David I.
ID Number
2000.0207.089
catalog number
2000.0207.089
accession number
2000.0207

Celluloid Post Card

A celluloid postcard or carte postale, made in France. The front is decorated with a pop-up design: a hanging basket, made of paper, and three large flowers, with attached butterflies, dangling off it by silk ribbons.
Description (Brief)
A celluloid postcard or carte postale, made in France. The front is decorated with a pop-up design: a hanging basket, made of paper, and three large flowers, with attached butterflies, dangling off it by silk ribbons. If you pull a ribbon at the top, the flowers holding the butterflies unfold and move the butterflies up.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1908
ID Number
2006.0098.0036
catalog number
2006.0098.0036
accession number
2006.0098

Celluloid Postcard

One side of this celluloid postcard features a black and white photographic image of a wilderness scene at Emerald Isle, British Columbia. The other side has a postmark from Coatesville, Pa.Currently not on view
Description
One side of this celluloid postcard features a black and white photographic image of a wilderness scene at Emerald Isle, British Columbia. The other side has a postmark from Coatesville, Pa.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1907
maker
Rose Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0031
catalog number
2006.0098.0031
accession number
2006.0098

Electrotype of "Toshkachito holds a Choctow blowgun in shooting position"

This electrotype of “Toshkachito holds a Choctow blowgun in shooting position” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Plate 20 (p.37) in an article by David I. Bushnell, Jr.
Description
This electrotype of “Toshkachito holds a Choctow blowgun in shooting position” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Plate 20 (p.37) in an article by David I. Bushnell, Jr. (1875-1941) entitled “The Choctaw of Bayou Lacomb St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana” in Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 48, (1909).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1909
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Bushnell, Jr., David I.
ID Number
2000.0207.091
catalog number
2000.0207.091
accession number
2000.0207

Camera-ready drawing, entitled "The New Photographic Idea".

John T. McCutcheon (1870-1949) was a Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist, known for his political cartoons and fascination with technology, particularly aviation. This drawing is in two parts. In the top panel, archeologists look at the Rosetta Stone with magnifying glasses.
Description
John T. McCutcheon (1870-1949) was a Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist, known for his political cartoons and fascination with technology, particularly aviation. This drawing is in two parts. In the top panel, archeologists look at the Rosetta Stone with magnifying glasses. "This is the way we have gotton our records of things that happened 3,000 years ago." At bottom, tourists look at signs about preservation buildings, which are meant to last forever. "This is the way posterity, 3,000 years hence, will get its records about us." Typed note, "February 5, 1904, The New Photographic Idea for Preserving History with Text."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
02/05/1094
02/05/1904
original artist
McCutcheon, John T.
publisher
Tribune Printing Company
ID Number
GA.24180
catalog number
24180
accession number
1976.320859

Brown drum-type cable 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 unit is a drum relay specially made for use in submarine telegraphy. Sending signals through underwater cables introduces electrical effects not seen in landline telegraphy. The early cables were also limited by the long distances over which the pulses traveled since relays capable of operating on the ocean floor had not yet been developed. This drum recorder has a wood and glass cover. Unit is mounted on a wooden base. Multi-tap and rotary switches on front, connector panel with 11 posts on the left side. Nameplate reads: "Drum Cable Relay / Patent 1434-1899 / S. G. Brown Ltd. / Acton, London. W. / No. 50". Unit appears to be intact and complete.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
S. G. Brown, Ltd.
ID Number
EM.294351.026
accession number
294351
catalog number
294351.026

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