The cables needed to transmit electrical power may seem simple but are actually complex technological artifacts. Modern cables inherit the lessons learned during more than a century of research and experience. This power cable was described by GE engineer William Clark in 1898 as follows: “1,000,000 [circular mil] cable composed of 59 wires, each .1305" in diameter, containing two insulated pressure wires each 2500 C.M. area, the whole insulated with saturated paper 5/32" thick and finished with lead 1/8" thick. This is a feeder cable for circuits not exceeding 2000 volts working pressure on Edison three wire circuits."
A DC electric motor mounted on a wooden base, stamped on the side: "W.A. Ulary / Phila." Armature with two oil cups, dual pulley on one end and a commutator on the other. Two carbon brushes. Coil mounted on top above the armature. The manufacturer W.A. Ulary was located at 1018 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia in 1893. The founder was William Anst Ulary (7 September 1863 - 3 March 1943). Reference: Advertisement, Electrical World 22, (1 July 1893): xxx.
The donor reported that this "item was picked up in Norwalk, Conn. in a very old machine shop. I found it up in the attic. A quite old watchman, a former mechanic, told me he had installed it and removed it from the first tugboat in Long Island Sound to be lighted by electricity. He gave it to me to keep it from going to a junk yard after I had promised to give it a good home and see that it was properly cared for."
Telegraph keys are electrical switches used to send coded messages that travel as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. Due to special difficulties in sending pulses through long underwater cables, so-called double-current keys were used. Instead of the short dots and long dashes of land-line telegraphs, submarine telegraphs sent positive pulses and negative pulses that made the receiver move right or left. The operator pressed one lever on the key to send a positive pulse and another to send a negative pulse. The code consisted of the sequence of left and right movements recorded on a paper tape. One knob is missing from this specimen.
The cables needed to transmit electrical power may seem simple but are actually complex technological artifacts. Cables are designed for many different applications, for example, indoor or outdoor use. This power cable was described by GE engineer William Clark in 1898 as follows: “500,000 [circular mil] cable, 3/32" rubber insulation, braided. [This cable is] for general use in interior wiring."