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Science Museum Group Journal
Technologies of Romance: Valentine from a Telegraph Clerk ♂ to
a Telegraph Clerk ♀: the material culture and standards of early
electrical telegraphy
Journa l IS SN nu mbe r: 2054-5770
Th i s a rti cle wa s wri tten by El iza be th B ruton
10-08-2019 Cite a s 10.15180; 191201 Di scus si on
Technologies of R omance : Va le nti ne from a Tel e graph Cl erk ♂ to a Te le gra ph Cl erk ♀: the m ate ria l cul ture a nd s tand ard s of ea rly
el ectri cal tel e graphy
Publi s he d i n Autumn 2019, Is su e 12
Arti cle D OI : http://dx.doi .org/10.15180/191201
Keywords
electrical telegraphy, poetry, s cienti fic i nstr uments , James Clerk Ma xwell
Valentine from A Telegraph Clerk ♂ to a Telegraph Clerk ♀, by JC Maxwell, 1860
The tendri l s of my s oul a re twi ned
With thine, though ma ny a mil e apart.
And thi ne in c l ose coi l ed ci rcuits wi nd
Around the needl e of my heart.
Cons ta nt as Da n i el l , s trong as Gr ove.
Ebullient throughout i ts depths l i ke Smee,
My hea rt puts forth i ts ti de of love,
And all i ts circuits clos e in thee.
O tell me, when along the line
From my ful l heart the mes sage flows ,
Wha t currents a re induc ed in thi ne?
On e click from thee wil l end my woes .
Through ma ny a n Ohm the Weber fl ew,
And clicked this a nswer b a ck to me;
I am thy Fara d s taun ch a nd true,
Charged to a Volt wi th love for thee
Com ponent D OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/191201/001
Introduction
In 1860 , renowned natural phi los opher (now referred to a s a ‘sc i enti st’ or, more s peci fic a l l y in the case of Cl erk Maxwell, a
‘phys i cist’) Ja mes Clerk Ma xwell wr ote ‘Valenti ne from a Telegraph Cl erk ♂ [ma le] to a Tel egraph Cl erk ♀ [female]’ (Harma n ,
2001).[1] The s hort poem wa s a sl ightly tongue-i n-cheek ode to the roma nce of the electri c telegraph littered wi th refer enc es to
manufa cturers of batteri es used in el ectri cal telegraphy a round thi s ti me such as Joh n Da niell, Alfred Smee, a nd W il l i am Grove
and electri cal units (now SI deri ved uni ts ) such as Ohm, Weber, Fa rad a nd Volt (Mills, 199 5).
Although i ntended a s s l ightly tongue-i n-cheek, Ma xwell ’s s hort ode can be read a s a sta te of play of el ectri cal tel egraphy as it
stood i n 18 60 when Bri tain domina ted the l imi ted u ndersea electri cal telegraph network a s i t exis ted at the ti me and conti nued
to do s o as the network expa nded to a globa l i nterconnected el ectri cal network by the end of the ni neteenth c entury.
Figure 1
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Scienc e Mus eum object 20 04-16 2, Letter o pener wi th 18 94 calendar a nd map, ma de
for the Eastern Tel egraph Company, 18 93–1894. O bjec t i s cur rentl y on di splay i n
ca ble secti on of the Information Age ga ll ery a t the Scienc e Mus eum, London
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /012
Thi s s ixteen-l i ne poem wa s but one from a lifeti me of poetry on the part of Cl erk Maxwell – ma ny expl ori ng the wonders a nd
roma nce of the new age of el ectri cal tel ecommunicatio ns thro ugh whi ch Clerk Ma xwel l l ived a nd to which he activel y
contri buted. Three yea rs earl ier i n September 185 7, Ma xwel l had a ls o wri tten a poem a bout the fa il ed tra nsatlanti c telegraph
ca ble, The song of the Atlantic Telegraph Co.[2]
It would not be unti l 1 866 , nearl y a dec a de after the failure of the ini tial 1857 trans atl a nti c cabl e, that the fi rst s ucc es s ful
commercial trans a tl a ntic telegra ph cabl e was laid and by the end of the nineteenth c entury a vast network of tel egraph cabl es
connected the furthest corners of the globe.[3] By this ti me, an extended tel egraph network l ed to decrea s ed costs a nd the
telegra ph beca me a mor e a cces si ble and ever yday form of c ommun i cation. It wa s the roma nce, pos si bil ity, and pers on a l use of
the tel egraph which c a ught the po pu l a r i ma gination, and thes e as pects bega n to be fea tured in popul ar l i terature in the l ate
Victorian a ge – as they had been, in a mor e techni cal form, in Cl erk Maxwell’s or i gi nal 1860 poem a bove (Bruton, 2 015). Below I
ha ve used artefa cts from the Sci ence M us eum Gr ou p’s extens ive holdi ngs relating to the hi stor y of electrical telegraphy – many
on di splay i n the I nfor ma tion Age gallery a t the Museum – to enga ge with both the tec hnology a nd romance of the earl y years of
electrical telegraphy.[4] In this a rticl e, I expl ore, s itua te and c ontextua l i se the technology – the ma terial cul ture a nd ea rly
techni cal s tand a rds – as well as the human aspect – the ro ma nce a nd promi s e – of el ectri cal telegraphy referred to in Clerk
Ma xwel l ’s poem above.
Com ponent D OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/191201/002
Needle
Figure 2
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Scienc e Mus eum object 19 83-47 8, Ørs ted Compa ss Needle, 182 8. Obj ect is currentl y
on di splay i n ca ble secti on of the Information Age gallery at the Science Mus eum,
London
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /013
In 1820 , Dani sh na tura l phi los opher Hans Christian Ør s ted publ is hed i n Lati n the r es ults of hi s experiments and demonstra tion
on the d i rect r el a ti ons hip between el ectri city a nd ma gnetism i n a report en titled Experimenta circa effectu m conflictus electrici in
acum magneticam (Ø rsted, 1 820 ). In the same year , a n Engl is h-language trans la ti on of Ø rsted’s paper wa s published as
‘Experi ments on the Effect of a Current of El ectri city on the Magneti c Needl e’ in Ann als o f P hilosophy (Ibi d, pp 273 –277 ). Ø rsted’s
wor k conti nued to be of inter es t to telegraph engi neers more tha n fi fty yea rs later: i n 18 76, a sta tue was erected to the memory
of Ør s ted in Copenhagen and the Jou rna l of the Society o f Telegraph Eng ineers us ed thi s event to re-print Ø rsted’s ori ginal paper
in La tin alongs i de an En gl is h-langua ge tr a nslation by Reverent J E Kempe, Rector of St James ’s , Picca dil ly, London (Ør s ted, 1 876;
Ma dsen, 1 876 ).
Ør s ted ha d di scover ed tha t a ma gnetised c ompa s s needl e moved when brought near a wi re in whi ch el ectri c current wa s
flowing, and tha t the effect wa s i ncr ea s ed if the wi re wa s formed i nto a coi l. The Ørs ted Compa ss Needle shown above, c urrentl y
on di splay i n the I nfor ma tion Age gallery a t the Scienc e Mus eum, is believed to have been us ed at lecture demons trations in
London i n the 1 820 s – the same deca de of the publication in Lati n, English a nd other l a ngua ges of Ø rsted’s grou nd-brea king
res earch on el ectromagnetism. It wa s a l s o around this ti me that it bec ame a pparent that Ør s ted’s appa ratus had a ppl ication
far beyond s cienti fic researc h and demonstra tion a nd had i mmens e potential as a pra ctical form of long-distance el ectri cal
signa ll ing, also known a s el ectri cal telegraphy.
Figure 3
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Left: Scienc e Mus eum object 19 63-21 5, Large Cooke and W heatstone 5-needle
telegra ph, 1837 . O bjec t i s cur rentl y on di spl ay in the cabl e section of the
Information Age ga ll ery a t the Scienc e Mus eum, London
Ri ght: Scienc e Mus eum object 1876-12 72, Cooke and Whea tstone's ea rliest (fi ve-
needle) telegraph, England. Obj ect is currentl y on di splay i n the Maki ng the Modern
World gallery a t the Sci enc e Mus eum, London
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /014
On e of the earl ies t a nd best-kn own a ppl i cations of Ørs ted’s appa ratus a nd pri nci ples to a form of electri cal telegraphy wa s
Cooke and Whea tstone’s fi ve-needl e telegr a ph, patented by Wi l l i a m Fothergill Co oke a nd Cha rles Whea tstone i n 1837 (Li ffen
2010). Cons idered the first practica l el ectri cal tel egraph a ppara tus, a l etter of the a lphabet was communicated when any two of
the fi ve needles on the di al fa ce poi nted to a l etter. Thi s mea nt the s ystem coul d only c ommuni cate us ing twenty l etters of the
alphabet. Two Cooke a nd W heatstone five-needl e dials have s urvived: one on di splay i n the I nfor ma tion Age gallery a t the
Scienc e Mus eum (s hown a bove) a nd one a t the National Mus eum of Scotl and – the latter, as commu nica ted to me by John Liffen,
ha s s ome puzzl ing fea tur es wh i ch do not ma tch the Sc ienc e Mus eum exa mple but s ti l l s eems li kely to d a te fr om 183 7.
As di scus sed in more detai l i n John Liffen’s 20 10 j ourna l articl e, there a re also two o r three other more c ompl ete but l ater
wor ki ng model s of Co oke a nd W heats tone’s 1837 fi ve-needle di al tel egr a ph – one (also shown above) on di spl ay in the Maki ng
the Modern W orl d gallery a t the Scienc e Mus eum; one at the Museum fur Kommunika ti on i n Berlin; a nd a third example, also
bel i eved to da te fr om the same ti me, i n the P owerhous e Mus eum in Sydney (I bid). All three were working model s made i n 18 49–
50 to demonstra te i n a patent dispute.
An a rticl e in The Times (1839) des cri bed Cooke a nd W heats tone’s tel egraph s ystem as bei ng ‘du ring two months , constantl y
wor ked a t the pa ss i ng of ever y [Great Western Railway] tra in between Dr a yton, Ha nwell, a nd Paddington’ (The Times, 1839). The
arti cle went on to des cri be the ea rly – i f not earl ies t – tel egraphists employed on the l ine as bei ng ‘two of the boys fr om the Deaf
and Dumb Asyl um in the Kent-r oad have been at the Padd i ngton s tation for fi ve or s i x weeks , where they were ins tructed i n the
wor ki ng of the machi nery by Mr . Ralph Hutch i nson, and they a re now perfectl y competent to superi ntend the tel egraph a t a ny
one of the s tations ’, a n earl y exa mple of a new technol ogy enabl i ng acc essi bl e empl oyment opportuni ties for those previously
margina li s ed from mos t workpl aces.
Ba ck to top
Com ponent D OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/191201/003
Daniell
Figure 4
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Scienc e Mus eum object 19 23-23 2, Da niell cell us ed by Edward Da vy, 1836–183 9.
Ob ject is currentl y on di splay i n ca ble section of the I nfor ma tion Age gallery a t the
Scienc e Mus eum, London
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /015
In 1836 , Br i tis h na tur a l phi losopher a nd fi rst Profes s or of Chemi stry a t Univers i ty Col lege London, John Fr eder i c Da niell,
developed the Da niel l c el l . The Da niell cell wa s a n electroc hemical ba ttery contempo raneous ly r eferred to as a ‘doubl e flu i d
ba ttery’ which used c opper s ulpha te and zinc s ulphate fl uids and offered an i mprovement i n effi ciency over the Vol tai c cell
(Fa hie, 18 37, pp 216 –217 ). The Dani ell cell wa s mo re continuous and effici ent in operation, es peci al l y compared to the s ingle-
flui d ba ttery, but had a tendency to decl ine in effi ciency over ti me (ETHW ).
In 1837 , Dani ell received the Copley Meda l – the Roya l Soci ety’s oldes t a nd mos t pres tigi ous a ward, gra nted for outstanding
achievemen ts i n res earc h in a ny bra nch of science – for ‘hi s two pa pers on vol taic combina tions published i n the Philosophical
Transaction s for 183 6’ (Dani ell, 1836 ). These papers related to the electroc hemistry which underp i nned the Dani ell cell . ‘The fa r-
famed Da niel l c el l ’ (a s per contempora ry el ectri cal telegraphy hi s tor i an and Iri shman J J Fa hie) beca me one of the s tand a rd
prima ry batteri es fo r electri cal tel egraphy and remained s o into the mid-ni neteenth century when Cl erk Maxwell wrote the poem
quoted above (Fa hi e, 1837 ). It was the same J J Fa hie who discovered the Dani ell Cell s hown a bove – now on di s play i n the
Information Age ga ll ery – i n a fi eld in Somer s et i n 18 83 and i t i s believed to have been us ed and pos s ibl y made by chemi st
Edwa rd Davy, who a round 183 7–18 38 wa s a riva l to Cooke and Whea tstone i n developing a pr a ctic al el ectri c telegraph s ys tem.
[5] I n 183 8, Da vy emi grated to Aus tralia l ea vi ng behi nd his el ectri cal tel egraph a ppa ratus in s tor a ge with much bei ng destroyed
with the excep tion of a few Da niell cells.
Ba ck to top
Com ponent D OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/191201/004
Grove
Figure 5
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Left: Scienc e Mus eum object 19 80-51 7, Si r Wil l i a m Robert Grove (181 1–18 96):
Lithogra ph by Bos ley, a fter a daguerreotype by Claudet
Ri ght: Scienc e Mus eum object 1895-14 , Gr ove battery of fi ve cel ls , 1895
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /016
Another standard battery i nc orpo rated i nto use in electrical telegraphy i n the mi d-ni neteenth century was the Grove voltai c cell,
developed by W els h judge a nd natur a l phi los opher W il liam Grove. I nitially devel oped in 1 839 , the ba ttery continued to be us ed
througho ut the mi d-ni neteenth c entury a nd very pr oba bly beyond. In the mi d-ni neteenth c entury, the Grove cel l was fa voured by
the el ectri cal tel egraph i ndus try i n the US and Bri tain as i t had a higher output vol tage c ompa red to the ea rlier Da niell cells
menti oned previ ously. For example, the c ommerci al vers ion of the Grove cel l made i n 18 95 by the s cienti fic i nstr ument makers
Elliott Brothers s hown above was a battery of fi ve Grove cel ls with a total vol tage of 9 vo l ts s o about 1 .8 volts current output
per cell.[6] The Gr ove cell had el ectrodes made of pl ati num and zi nc with the electrol yte bei ng di lute sul phuri c acid a nd the
depol a ris er bei ng s trong nitri c acid.[7] However, the increased s cale and popul arity of the electri cal telegraph network i n the
late ni neteenth c entury l ed to the Grove cell fa l ling out of us e as , unl ike the Da niell cell, it did not p roduce a c on s ta nt voltage;
the platinum el ectrode was expens ive; an d fur thermore the battery di scha rged poisonous nitrogen di oxi de, whi ch was
ha zardous to hea l th.[8] As such the exa mple shown above may have b een a ra re s ur vivi ng commerc i a l vers i on of the Grove cell
from the l a te nineteenth c entury.
Ba ck to top
Com ponent D OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/191201/005
Smee
Figure 6
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Scienc e Mus eum object 18 95-13 , Smee cell, 189 5
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /017
In 1840 , s urgeon a nd l ater electro-chemi s t Al fr ed Smee devel oped a n improved vers i on of the single-fl uid battery cel l c a l l ed the
Smee c el l , for which he won the pr es ti gi ous Gol d Isis medal of the Soc i ety of Arts i n 18 41.[9] The Smee cel l wa s popul ar in both
the el ectri cal tel egraphy and pr i nting i ndustri es, i ncl udi ng the printi ng of ba nknotes . The latter was a family connecti on: Smee’s
father W i llia m Smee wa s Chi ef Accounta nt for the Ba nk of England (Mackenzie, 19 53).
Ba ck to top
Com ponent D OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/191201/006
Ohm
Figure 7
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Left: Scienc e Mus eum object 19 82-14 59/52 , Portra it, photogravure, Geor g Simon
Oh m
Ri ght: Scienc e Mus eum object 1980-34 , Stan dard resistor, 1 ohm, c 1883
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /018
In 1862 , the British Association for the Adva ncement of Sci enc e (BAAS) a ppoi nted the fi rst Commi ss ion to study el ectri c units
and standards of electri cal resistance. The commi ttee consis ted of experts in electr i cal engineeri ng and s cience cha ired by
William Thomson wi th members including Fl eemi ng Jenkin, James Pres cott Joul e, Clerk Ma xwell, and ma ny others. In 1 864, the
Oh ma d – na med after German phys i cist Georg Si mon O hm – wa s propos ed by the commi ttee to be the standard el ectri cal unit
(later SI deri ved un i t) for el ectri cal resistance; by 186 7, i t had been renamed the O hm, as i t is c urrentl y refer red to (Repo rt of the
Committee on Stan dards of Electrical Resistance, 1864 and 1 867 ).
At the 1 881 Congrès internationale des élec trici ens (Interna tion a l El ectri cal Congres s) a nd the rel ated 18 84 Interna ti ona l
Conferenc e for Determi nation of Electr i cal Units, the Ohm was defined in rel ation to the r es i s ta nce of a mercur y column of
specifi ed weight and length, wi th sli ghtly differ i ng l engths due to va riance between different na ti ona l s tand a rds of Ohm. In
addition, the i ncons is tenc y of the cros s -section of the glass tubi ng of the mercur y column meant repr od uci ng a physica l
standard Ohm wa s c hallengi ng. Ins tead other a ppa ratus s uch a s the standard one-o hm resistor (s hown above) wa s devel oped
to c i rcumvent this pr obl em a nd to bec ome a physica l a rtefact standard for the O hm.[10]
Ba ck to top
Com ponent D OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/191201/007
Weber
Figure 8
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Scienc e Mus eum object 19 32-39 0, W or king Reconstructi on of the Ga uss-Weber
(183 3) el ectromagnetic telegra ph a ppa ratus
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /019
In 1833 , direc tor of Gotti ngen O bser va tory Ca rl Friedrich Gaus s a nd his col lea gue W i l helm W eber i nvented on e of the fi rst
practica l el ectri cal tel egraph s ystems a nd used i t to communica te with ea ch o ther fr om the Phys ical Labora tory to the
Ob s erva tor y in Gotti ngen, Ger ma ny over a distance of about one ki lometre a nd to co or dina te thei r s tud y of geoma gnetism (s ee
Fi gure 8[11]). Gaus s a nd W eber l ater devel oped a telegraph code of thei r own ma kin g.
The Gaus s-W eber s ystem wa s the first to make use of the p rinci ple of self-i nduc ti on dis covered by Michael Fa rada y in 1831 a nd
the wo rki ng recons truction exampl e shown a bove was gi ven fi rst to the Ins tituti on of El ectri cal Engineers upon the centena ry of
Fa rada y’s d i s covery i n 19 31 by the Electrotec hni s cher Verein of Berl in.[12] Although most of thei r or i gi nal appa ratus has been
los t, there i s a lso a recons truction in the Deuts ches Mus eum, Muni ch.
In 1902 , the British Association for the Adva ncement of Sci enc e (BAAS) c ommi ttee on el ectri c units a nd s tandards of el ectri cal
res is ta nc e committee propos ed the SI derived uni t of ma gnetic flux be na med after Weber.[13]
Ba ck to top
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Farad
Figure 9
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Left: Scienc e Mus eum object 19 78-44 6/4, Engra ved portra it of Michael Fa rada y
Ri ght: Scienc e Mus eum object 1914-89 7, Gl azed frame, containi ng ‘Del i neati on of
Lines of Magnetic Forc e by I ron fi lings’ pr epared by Mi cha el Fara day
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /020
Named after Mi cha el Fara day, the Fa rad i s the SI deri ved uni t of electri cal capa citanc e, a s decl ared a t the Congrès
interna tionale des électr i ciens (International El ectri cal Congres s) in 1 881 (The Electrician, 1881). The diagram s hown above,
whi ch some may r ecognis e fr om thei r s cience class es , wa s prepa red by Mi cha el Fa rada y an d ini tial l ed by hi m on the back.[14]
Using ma gnetic lines of forc e visua l ised by iron fil i ngs, i t demons trates the magneti c attra ction between the unlike pol es of two
adj a cent b a r ma gnets. Fa rada y’s work on electromagneti sm a nd el ectro-chemi stry wa s deepl y infl uenti a l on the devel op ment of
electrical telegraphy a nd l ater wireless telegraphy.
Ba ck to top
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Volt
Figure 10
© Science Mus eum/Sc i enc e & Society Picture Libr a ry
Scienc e Mus eum object 19 15-36 3, Hi bbert standard one-vol t cell
DOI: http://dx .doi .or g/10.151 80/19 1201 /021
Thi s el ectri cal cell wa s designed a nd constructed by l ecturer on Ph ys ics a nd El ectro-Technol ogy W al ter Hi l lbert between 1 894 –
18 96 in order to produc e a c el l whi ch wo ul d gi ve an output vol tage of ex a ctly one vol t.[15] Li ttle i s known about this obj ect; it
may h a ve been us ed for tea chi ng while a l s o bei ng a physica l ma nifestation of el ectri cal s tand a rds at the time – i n pa rtic ula r
how they a ppl ied to both electri cal power a nd el ectri cal telegraphy i n the nineteenth c entury a nd beyond.
Com ponent D OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/191201/010
Conclusion
Wri tten in 1 860, Ja mes Cl erk Maxwell’s poem ‘Va lenti ne from A Telegraph Cl erk ♂ to a Telegr a ph Clerk ♀’ hi ghlighted the human
impul s e behi nd a nd r omanti c potenti a l of el ectri cal telegraphy i n the Vi ctorian Age. Cl erk Maxwell’s poem mi xed r omanti c
langua ge with s tandards of electri cal units a nd a ppa ratus (and the people behind them) to pa int an evoc a ti ve portrait of the
state of pl ay o f el ectri cal telegraphy a s i t stood in 1860. Through a clos e readi ng of the poem and a wi der ex pl ora tion of the
materi al c ulture represented through the Sci ence M useum c oll ections, I ha ve enga ged wi th both the technol ogy a nd roma nce of
the ea rly years of el ectri cal telegraphy.
Acknowledgements
Tha nks to: K a ty Barrett a nd La ura Humphreys , the edi tors of thi s Science Museum Grou p Journal spec i a l c ollecti on; my line
mana ger Ri cha rd Dunn a nd to the Science Museum Group Journal team es peci a l ly K a te Stein er for their support with thi s a rticl e;
and to the a nonymous revi ewer for their hel pful comments . Special tha nks go to Scienc e Mus eum Cura tor Emeri tus John Li ffen
for his helpful a nd detailed comments. All a nd a ny errors in the text are mine. Las t and not least, ma ny thanks go to my wife
Ca men Lei for her s upport and countl ess c ups of tea .
Com ponent D OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/191201/011
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Footnotes
1. There a re ma ny, s lightly varying versions of this poem s o I ha ve us ed the vers ion fr om the first (188 2) edi tion of Lewi s
Ca mpbel l a nd W i l l iam Garnett, The life of James C lerk Maxwell: with a selection from his correspo nden ce a nd occasiona l
writings an d a sketch of his co ntributions to science (London: Ma cmillan), pp 630–631. URL:
https://archive.org/deta i l s /lifeofjamesclerk00 campri ch/
2. See Burns , B, 18 57, History o f the A tlantic Cable & Und ersea Communications: The Song o f th e A tlantic Telegraph Compan y
by James Clerk Ma xwell. URL: https://a tl a ntic-ca ble.com/Arti cle/UnderTheSea/i ndex.htm
For further detai ls of Ja mes Clerk Ma xwell a nd a n appendix of h i s poetry, s ee Campbell , L a nd Ga rnett, W , 1 882 , Th e life
of James Clerk Maxwell: with a selection from his corresponden ce and o ccasional writings a nd a sketch of his contribution s to
science (London: Ma cmill a n) URL: https ://arc hi ve.or g/detai l s /l i feofj a mescl er k0 0campri ch/
3. Reformatted vers ion of a n arti cle by Rober t O W oods, Fel low ASME, tha t ori ginally a ppea red i n Mechanical En gineering ,
Jul y 2011. It c ontains addi tional ma terial from ‘From Gaini ng W eeks to Mi ll i s econds The Tra nsatlanti c Ca ble’, by Joh n
Vardala s , i niti al l y publ is hed i n IEEE-USA’s Toda y's Engineer, November 2010 .
URL: https ://ethw.or g/Tr a nsatlanti c _Ca ble
4. See Bl yth, T, 2 015 , ‘Informa tion a ge? The cha ll enges of displ ayi ng informa ti on a nd communication technol ogies’ i n
Scien ce Museum Group Journal, Spring. Ar ti cle DO I: http://dx.doi.or g/1 0.151 80/15 030 3
5. Homer, Ron, ‘Edward Davy, 18 06–1 855; O ttery’s Pioneer of the El ectri c Telegraph’, an unpubl ished paper i n T/192 3-23 2
Scienc e Mus eum Technica l File for: Dani ell cell used by Davy, 183 6/9, wi th spa re pot.
6. For further i nfor ma tion a bout the El li ott Brothers, s ee https ://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/exhibi ts /elliott-brothers /
7. T/189 5-14 Scienc e Mus eum Technica l File for: Grove battery, fi ve cel ls , i n tra y
8. T/189 5-14 Scienc e Mus eum Technica l File for: Grove battery, fi ve cel ls , i n tra y and Mi ll s , Bob. 'Ea rly batteri es fo r
telegra ph, tel ephone a nd other us es', in A ustralasian Telephone Collectors So ciety Newsletter (January 199 5 and May
19 95). URL: http://tel ephonec ollecti ng.or g/arti cl es /batteri es .html
9. T/189 5-13 Scienc e Mus eum Technica l File for: Smee Cel l a nd Power , D’Arcy. ‘SMEE, ALFRED (181 8–1877)’, Di ctionary of
National Bi ogra phy, 18 85–1 900, Vol ume 52. URL: https://en.wiki s ource.org/wi ki/Smee,_Alfred_(DNB00)
10 . For further deta i ls, s ee Cha pter 2: 'Mean i ngs of Meas uremen t a nd Ac counts of Accu racy', i n Gooda y, G J N, 20 04, The
Morals of Measu rement: Accuracy, Irony, and Trust in Late Victorian Electrical Practice (Cambr i dge: Ca mbri dge Uni vers ity
Press ).
11 . As of Septemb er 20 19, this obj ect i s descri bed i n the Sci ence M useum’s col lections da tabase as a r epl ica but i n fact ma y
be a recons truc tion , a s discus s ed in c orrespondence wi th John Li ffen. He also di rected me to: Denni son, Mark and Tony
Ha l l -Patch, ‘“Repl i ca” s team l ocomoti ves, wha t purpose do they s erve?’, i n (ed) Ja rvi s, Adr i an, Replicas as Research Tools,
papers presented at a Research Day Sch ool Merseysid e Maritime Museum 10 February 1 996 which expl ai ns the differenc e
between a repl ica, recons truction, reproduction, a nd repr es entati on.
12 . T/19 32-39 0 Sc i enc e Mus eum Technica l File for: W orki ng Replica of the Gaus s-W eber (1 833) electr omagneti c telegraph
appara tus. (Exhi bited a t the Fa rada y Centenary Exhi biti on, September 1 931)
13 . See Gi orgi , Giovanni, ‘Ra ti ona l Units of Electromagnetism’ [unpubli s hed MS with handwritten notes by O l i ver Heavi s ide].
URL: https ://www.i ec.ch/a bout/hi s tory/documents /doc uments _gi ova nni.htm
14 . T/19 14-89 7 Sc i enc e Mus eum Technica l File for: Glazed fra me, conta i ning ‘Deli nea tion of Li nes of Ma gnetic For ce by Iron
fil i ngs’ prepared by Michael Fa rada y
15 . T/19 15-36 3 Sc i enc e Mus eum Technica l File for: Hibbert s tanda rd o ne-volt cell and W i ki source contr i butors , ‘Author :
Walter Hibbert’, Wiki s ource, https://en.wiki s ource.org/w/i ndex.php?title=Author:Walter_Hibbert&ol did=7 310 085
(acces sed 1 September 201 9)
References
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Author information
Dr El i za beth Bruton is Curator of Tech nol ogy a nd Engi neeri ng at the Science Mu s eum, London. She wa s previous l y Heritage
Offi cer at Jodrel l Bank Di scovery Centre, Uni vers ity of Manc hester; Co-c ura tor / Res ea rcher for the Harry's Story: Henry Moseley,
a scientist lost to war HLF-funded pro ject and exhi bition at the Hi s tory of Scienc e Mus eum, Oxford, a nd; pos tdoctoral researc her
for A HRC-fun ded project Innova ting in Combat: Telecommunications and intellectu al property in th e First W orld War, Univers i ty of
Leeds . Her res earch i nteres ts i ncl ude museums, commu nica tions history, military history, el ectri cal hi story, gend er, Victorian
technologies, and s cienti fic i nsti tutions .
Elizabeth Bruton
Curator of Enginee ring and Technology
Contact t his author >