Five needle Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph
Object No. B669
Telegraph, five-needle Cooke and Wheatstone, wood / metal / glass, made by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone, England, c. 1849
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Summary
Physical Description
Cooke and Wheatstone's five-needle telegraph in a dark brown polished wood frame with decorative scrolls at either end, with brass attachments and a glass cover over a diamond shaped silvered face. There is a horizontal brass rod in the centre of the face with five needles spaced evenly along it. The letters on the face are in a diamond shaped arrangement, joined by lines. The frame is attached to a wooden rectangular base with a curved platform which protrudes, with six pairs of white buttons and springs. The back consists of a series of five pairs of wire coils.
DIMENSIONS
Height
785 mm
Width
675 mm
Depth
340 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
Research by the Science Museum, London, indicates this object is likely to be one of the working models made for demonstration at a High Court hearing in 1850 when a rival company was disputing Cooke and Wheatstone’s priority in the invention. It would date from around 1849. REVEALING THE REAL COOKE AND WHEATSTONE TELEGRAPH DIAL BY JOHN LIFFEN ON 21 OCTOBER 2014 Science Museum, London, website https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/revealing-the-real-cooke-and-wheatstone-telegraph-dial/ https://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/article/cooke-and-wheatstones/
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of AC Webb, 1936
Acquisition Date
9 March 1936
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