Object Details
- Description (Brief)
- Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator pushes the key’s lever down briefly to make a short signal, a dot, or holds the lever down for a moment to make a slightly longer signal, a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. This key is an example of the earliest type of key used by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- from Western Union Telegraph Co.
- 1843
- ID Number
- EM.181410
- catalog number
- 181410
- accession number
- 31652
- Object Name
- telegraph key
- Physical Description
- brass (overall material)
- mahogany (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 1/2 in x 3 in x 6 in; 3.81 cm x 7.62 cm x 15.24 cm
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Electricity
- Telegraph Keys
- Communications
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_706715
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-3333-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
