Telegraph Key

Description (Brief):

Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator pushes the key’s lever down briefly to make a short signal, a dot, or holds the lever down for a moment to make a slightly longer signal, a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. This key has a switch on the side called a circuit-closer that takes the key off-line when not in use. The straight lever was used in the mid nineteenth century. This key was used in the 1870s on the Railroad Overland Telegraph Line.

Date Made: 1869

Used: United States: California

See more items in: Work and Industry: Electricity, Telegraph Keys, Communications, America on the Move, Transcontinental Railroad

Exhibition: America On The Move

Exhibition Location: National Museum of American History

Credit Line: from A. E. Roome

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: EM.231787Catalog Number: 231787Accession Number: 43532

Object Name: telegraph key

Physical Description: brass (overall material)rubber (handle material)Measurements: overall: 3 in x 3 1/2 in x 6 1/2 in; 7.62 cm x 8.89 cm x 16.51 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-5725-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_706530

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