Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-02-08
Autographs Telegraphy.

Autographs telegraphy, or the pro-
cess of transmitting messages in the
actual handwriting of the sender, has
occasionally, during the past thirty
years, constituted the special study Of
scientific minds. So long since as
1850 Mr.. F. G. Bakewell invented a
copying telegraph, by means of which
photographic telegraphy was effected,
and this was probably the first time it
was effectnally accomplished. In this
instance the message was written by
the sender with a gummy ink or var
nish on metallic paper or tin foil, and
this writing was by the aid of mechan.
ism used to actuate electric currents in
such way as to produce q record at
the distant station by the chemical de-
composition of solution with which
the receiving paper was damped. Both
the written message and the paper
were fixed around cylinders of similar
form and dimensions, one being placed
in the transmitting and the other in
the recording instrument, and the
cylinders were caused to revolve with
corresponding velocities. Each time
the gummy and, consequently, raised
lines of the writing were crossed by q
pointer under which the metallic paper
was traversed in the transmitter, O
mark corresponding in position was
made on the prepared paper at the re-
ceiving end. It therefore followed
that the sum OF all the marks repro
duced the writing itself. Mr.. Bakewell
successfully reproduced the writing in
white on blue ground, but the pro-
cess failed to become one of public
utility owing to the extreme slowness
with which the apparatus worked and
the difficulty that was experienced in
maintaining uniform and synchronous
motion in the instruments. In 1866,
the Able Caselli, in Italy, endeavored
to solve the problem of autographs
telegraphy in similar manner. His
apparatus was exhibited in England,
and it was used practically between
Paris and Marseilles and Paris and
Lyons. Plans, drawings, and auto
graph sketches were faithfully pro-
duced at distant places, but it was
found that the apparatus had not only
the defects of Bakewell's, but it was
very costly and complicated. Two
other subsequent workers in this direc-
ton were M. Meyer and NJ. Lenoir,
who tried to accomplish the same re-
suits with ordinary ink. They, how
ever, pursued their Investigations quite
independently of and unknown to each
other. We have recently been afforded
the opportunity of examining the
latest example of this class of appara-
tus at the General Postoffice; where it
has been submitted to the authorities
for trial. This is the. invention of M.
dArlincourt, of Paris its general
principles are similar to those which
govern Bakewell's system. The dis
tinguishing feature in D'Arlincourt's
apparatus, however, is in the introduce
ton of an extremely ingenious syn
chronous movement, by means of
which the speed of travel of the cylin-
dsrs is rendered uniform, both in the
transmitting and the recording ma
chine. The message to be sent, which
may be either in the ordinary hand or
shorthand, is written with a thick,
gummy ink, upon strip of metallic
faced paper about twelve inches long
and two and half inches deep, which
is wrapped around the cylinder of the
transmitting instrument. A strip of
white paper chemically prepared and
of similar dimensions is placed on the
cylinder of the recording apparatus,
and the instruments are placed in cleo.
trical connection and started. The
raised writing, actuating the electric
current, causes reproduction of the
original message in facsimile on the
paper in the recording instrument,
which may be hundreds of miles away
from the other. Upon the occasion of
our visit the two instruments, although
in the same room, were practically
placed two hundred miles apart. The
writing can he reproduced in either
blue, brown, red, or black, according
to the chemical preparation of the
paper, but always on white ground,
and number of copies can be taken
from one original. In the same way,
sketches, plans, or drawings may be
faithfully transmitted some sketches
were, in fact, accurately reproduced
on the occasion of our visit. Although
the apparatus is perfect in its action,
it still has one drawback, which was
common to its predecessors-that of
slowness of reproduction. The time
occupied in revolving the cylinder o
sufficient number of times to allow the
pointer to traverse the whole surface of
the paper is seven minutes, and this
rate of speed is far below that required
and attained in practice for commercial
purposes. The Postoifice authorities,
to whom we are indebted for our in.
spection, do not, therefore, see their
way to utilize M. dArlincourt's ingeni-
GUS invention at present. It is, how
ever, being worked in France in for
tresses and for similar military purpo-
ses, for use in which, and in some
special cases, it is exceedingly we'll
adapted. Times.
Mrs. Francis Fl. Burnett, the author
of THAT Lass o. Lowrie's," having
had some Of her earlier sketches repub-