Antique Telegraphs

Today it seems impossible that there was a time when there were no means of communicating over distance. But the truth is that until the advent of ancient telegraphs, the only way to contact people and disseminate information was by post. For this reason, the invention of the telegraph can be considered one of the most important in the history of mankind. Thanks to this ingenious device, news began to be known quickly and the way of understanding the world was never the same again. Today, fans of collecting antiques related to communications place a special value on antique telegraphs and their components. And no wonder: these are truly fascinating mechanical pieces, which in many cases are still working and keep intact all their power of attraction.

History of antique telegraphs and Morse apparatus

The name "Morse apparatus" is due to the one who is considered the inventor of the telegraph: Samuel F. B. Morse, an American artist born in 1791. However, although Morse was the first to build a telegraph apparatus as we know it today, a series of discoveries and inventions (by figures such as Francisco Calvá y Campillo and Carl Friedrich Gauss) led to the final design. The story goes that Morse decided to invent a device that could transmit information quickly, after learning of the death of his wife a week after the sad event. In addition to designing the device, Morse created the code that bears his name with the help of Henry and Alfred Vail. The inventor built the first telegraph in 1837, and seven years later the first telegraph communication was made. Ancient telegraphs were the first step for the appearance of one of the most important inventions of the last centuries: the telephone.

Parts of an ancient telegraph station

There are two types of telegraph stations: sending stations and receiving stations. The former have keys, also known as pointers, manipulators or boosters, intended to transmit information in Morse code. The receiving stations, on the other hand, have telegraph printers that print the signs received on reels of paper. These signs are then decoded by an operator, who transforms them into words, phrases and messages. Another important element of the receiving station is the galvanometer, a contribution of the English scientist Lord Kelvin thanks to which the first telegraph cable connecting London with New York was put into operation in 1866.

Collecting antique telegraphs

Antique galvanometers, antique Morse keys and antique telegraphs in general are items full of magnetism, with a beauty and interest given by their functionality. Today, antique telegraph stations and their components(together or separately) are part of the most important collections. We can find magnificent pieces in private collections, but also in the most important science and technology museums in the world. Their precision, their intrinsic beauty and the ingenuity displayed by their invention make them true jewels, treasures of a past time that coincided with the advent of Modernity.