Communications - Overview
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.
"Communications - Overview" showing 11 items.
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NBC Microphone
- Description (Brief)
- The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was the first major broadcast network in the United States. During the golden age of radio, NBC’s roster of stars included comedians Jack Benny, Edgar Bergen, George Burns and Gracie Allen, singer Al Jolson, and conductor Arturo Toscanini. This microphone dates from the 1930s.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1931
- maker
- RCA Corporation
- ID Number
- EM*311450
- catalog number
- 311450
- accession number
- 148157
- model number
- 618-A
- serial number
- 931
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- No Image Available
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
Kodak Bullet Camera
- Description (Brief)
- This Eastman Kodak "Bullet" camera commemorates the New York World’s Fair (1939-1940.) The camera’s faceplate features the Fair’s dominant architectural features, the Trylon and the Perisphere.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1939
- ID Number
- 1989.0438.1740
- catalog number
- 1989.0438.1740
- accession number
- 1989.0438
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Kodak Baby Brownie Camera
- Description
- This Eastman Kodak "Baby Brownie" camera commemorates the New York World’s Fair (1939-1940). The camera’s faceplate features the Fair’s dominant architectural features, the Trylon and the Perisphere.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1939
- ID Number
- 1989.0438.1741B
- accession number
- 1989.0438
- catalog number
- 1989.0438.1741B
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Sawyer's View-Master
- Description (Brief)
- The view master was first introduced at the New York World's Fair (1939-1940.) Made by Sawyer's Photo Services, the device showed stereoscopic three-dimensional pictures. Originally intended as an educational device for adults, the view master soon become a popular children's toy. This example is a commemorative item from the Fair.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1939
- ID Number
- 1989.0438.1742
- catalog number
- 1989.0438.1742
- accession number
- 1989.0438
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
RCA TRK-12 Television
- Description (Brief)
- From 1939 to 1941, about 7,000 television sets were sold. This new technology was out of reach for most Americans as sets ranged from $200 to $600. Television broadcasts were limited to a few large cities such as New York and Los Angeles; they became available across the country only after World War II. This early set was designed for limited commercial service in the New York area.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1939
- maker
- RCA Corporation
- ID Number
- EM*326100
- catalog number
- 326100
- accession number
- 258911
- model number
- TRK-12
- serial number
- 32
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Poster, You Bet I'm Going Back to Sea
- 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
- Office of War Information
- ID Number
- 1991.0856.07
- catalog number
- 1991.0856.07
- accession number
- 1991.0856
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- No Image Available
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
- No Image Available
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
- No Image Available
William Dandrige Terrell Papers, 1911-1965
- Notes
- Terrell, born in rural Virginia, performed government services for 22 years in the communications field, specific duties unknown. In 1911, after this service, he was appointed to a New York civilian post, to ensure the smooth operation of the freshly pioneered wireless on all Atlantic-based Naval ships. This collection begins with Terrell's appointment. In 1915, he was transferred to Washington, where he was given a trans-national staff of 35 and interdepartmental duties among the armed forces divisions. As Chief of Radio Division in the Commerce Department, he was responsible for monitoring the institution of radio into the nation's defense forces. After 19 years in this field, he was promoted to Chief of Field Operations for the Federal Radio Commission, created 1934. He continued in that post even when the FRC was changed into the FCC. After granting a special FCC request that he serve for a few more years after normal retirement age, he finally retired to Florida in 1943 at 72
- Summary
- Collection documents Terrell's life from his 1911 appointment to the years immediately before his death in the mid-1960s. Includes: a brief, partial autobiography and descendant listing; a large body of correspondence ranging from financial planning to insurance policies to appointment notices; a program from an American Wireless Operators convention held in his honor; several retirement announcements and best wishes; business correspondence concerning Terrell's inspection job, largely covering 1911-1914; and 4 photographs of Terrell, family, and friends
- Cite as
- William Dandrige Terrell Papers, 1911-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1911
- 1911-1965
- 20th century
- 1930-1950
- author
- Terrell, William Dandrige (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