A mallet perforator used around 1910 to make message tapes for an automatic transmitter. A brass housing with three plungers along the front edge, and a brass-covered perforating mechanism toward the back. A spring-loaded roller arm in the right side maintains tension on the paper tape. Rubber pads on the keys damp the sound of stamping (one key is missing its pad). Unit is mounted on a wooden display plaque along with two rubber-tipped mallets. (The tip from one unit is missing.) Stamped on unit: "Muirhead & Co. Ltd. Westminster / No. 29276"; cover stamped: "Patent No. / 2904 of 1897 / 25346 of 1899." The operator would use the two mallets to punch the keys, creating perforations along three rows on the paper tape that represented coded characters. Western Union Museum display label reads: "Mallet Perforator / #29276 / Mfd. by Muirhead & Co. / Ltd. of Westminster."
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