Snapshots of the Past

Morse apparatus and alphabet – Antique Wall Art

Morse apparatus and alphabet, [1877] — antique engraving
Morse apparatus and alphabet, [1877]. Antique engraving from the Books & Writers collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare antique engraving captures Morse apparatus and alphabet in remarkable detail. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

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Morse apparatus and alphabet

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A wood engraving from the second volume of *Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary* (1877) pairs Samuel F. B. Morse's telegraph apparatus with the dot-and-dash alphabet that bears his name. The dictionary was a reference work for machinists and inventors, so the picture explains how the mechanism works rather than celebrating it. By the 1870s, Morse code had become a standard method for sending messages over telegraph wires across much of the world. The engraving offers a clear view of how the telegraph was presented to technical readers after Morse's death in 1872.

Created / published[1877]
Medium1 print : wood engraving.
GenreBook illustrations 1870-1880.Wood engravings 1870-1880.
NotesTitle from item. Illus. in: Knight's American mechanical dictionary. New York : Hurd and Houghton, 1877, vol. 2, fig. 3225. Published in: The tradition of technology : Landmarks of Western technology ... / Leonard C. Bruno. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 1995, p. 237.
SubjectsMorse, Samuel Finley Breese,--1791-1872. Morse code--1870-1880. Telegraph--1870-1880.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan2,560 × 3,816 px · prints to 9 × 13 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-186817

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