Telegraph Register
date: label: date made
content: ca 1899
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This telegraph register is a replica of one of the 1844 units used on Samuel Morse’s line between Baltimore and Washington. The black coils are electromagnets and are much larger than those used on later registers. Telegraph registers are electrically-activated printers that receive Morse code messages. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The pulses energize the register’s electromagnets which move a lever-arm holding a pen or stylus. A clockwork mechanism pulls a strip of paper across the pen or stylus, recording the message. Short pulses draw or emboss a dot, slightly longer pulses a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: web subject
content: Communication, telegraph
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
label: See more items in
content: Telegraph Registers
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content: Communications
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.221482
label: catalog number
content: 221482
label: accession number
content: 41567
label: catalog number
content: 181438
objectType: label: Object Name
content: telegraph register
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: iron (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cloth (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 in x 6 in x 13 3/4 in; 20.32 cm x 15.24 cm x 34.925 cm