Search Results

Interviewee:

Sanchez, Graciela I.  Search this

Interviewer:

Cordova, Cary  Search this

Creator:

Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas  Search this

Names:

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center  Search this

Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas  Search this

Anzaldúa, Gloria  Search this

Calvo, Luz María  Search this

Diaz, Eduardo  Search this

Guerra, Susan  Search this

Kasterly, Amy  Search this

Lorde, Audre.  Search this

Mondini-Ruiz, Franco, 1961-  Search this

Moraga, Cherríe  Search this

Perez, Cynthia  Search this

Vaughn, Genevieve  Search this

Wilson, Liliana, 1953-  Search this

Extent:

91 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2004 June 25-July 2

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Graciela Sanchez conducted 2004 June 25-July 2, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in San Antonio, Tex.

Sánchez speaks of her family background, her family's move to Chicago, return to San Antonio, and cultural traditions; San Antonio's Chili Queens; activism in the community; high school, attending Yale University; MEChA; Gloria Anzaldúa and This Bridge Called My Back; working for the Southwest Voter Registration Project; MALDEF, Mexican American Legal Defense; the foundation of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center with Susan Guerra and others; going to Cuba to study film; the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center; the values of being "buena gente," "good people"; Ellas, a Latina lesbian organization; working with Amy Kastely, lawyer; Mujer Artes; her film "No Porque lo Diga Fidel Castro"; working for AIDS prevention/education; the newsletter "The Interchange" which became "La Voz de Esperanza"; Stonehaven Ranch, a retreat location; the film screenings "Other America"; the complete de-funding of Esperanza in 1997 and the four year litigation with the city of San Antonio; trying to save the building La Gloria and other endeavors taken on by the Esperanza; the Cuentos Project and recent events sponsored by the Esperanza. Sánchez also recalls Audre Lorde, Luz Calvo, Eduardo Diaz, Liliana Wilson Grez, Cherríe Moraga, Cynthia Perez, Genevieve Vaughn, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Graciela Sanchez (1960- ) is an arts activist and the executive director of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in San Antonio, Tex. Cary Cordova (1970- ) is an art historian from Austin, Tex.

General:

Originally recorded on 5 sound discs. Duration is 5 hr., 30 min.

Provenance:

This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Arts administrators -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews  Search this

Topic:

Mexican American artists  Search this

Gay artists -- Texas -- Interviews  Search this

Latino and Latin American artists  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

This interview is part of the series "Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas," supported by Federal funds for Latino programming, administered by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives.

The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

Identifier:

AAA.sanche04

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-sanche04

Creator:

National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2016-12-12T19:46:29.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianAmHistory

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianAmHistory

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_zaOwiS5Wxgk

Creator:

National Museum of the American Indian  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2012-11-28T17:22:38.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Native Americans;American Indians  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNMAI

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNMAI

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_Jk02XLzljOY

Creator:

National Museum of the American Indian  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2012-11-15T17:08:32.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Native Americans;American Indians  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNMAI

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNMAI

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_jBUbD6Gb-BA

Creator:

National Museum of the American Indian  Search this

Type:

Symposia

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2016-03-25T16:26:46.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Native Americans;American Indians  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNMAI

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNMAI

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_HKoTzyIeU_A

Creator:

National Museum of the American Indian  Search this

Type:

Symposia

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2019-03-23T17:44:00.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Native Americans;American Indians  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNMAI

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNMAI

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_nNsOyovhhgA

Interviewee:

Sanchez, Graciela I., 1960-  Search this

Sanchez, Graciela I., 1960-  Search this

Interviewer:

Cordova, Cary  Search this

Subject:

Wilson, Liliana  Search this

Mondini-Ruiz, Franco  Search this

Anzaldúa, Gloria  Search this

Lorde, Audre.  Search this

Calvo, Luz María  Search this

Moraga, Cherríe  Search this

Guerra, Susan  Search this

Kasterly, Amy  Search this

Diaz, Eduardo  Search this

Perez, Cynthia  Search this

Vaughn, Genevieve  Search this

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center  Search this

Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Mexican American artists  Search this

Gay artists -- Texas -- Interviews  Search this

Hispanic American women artists  Search this

Theme:

Latino and Latin American  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12971

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)249047

AAA_collcode_sanche04

Theme:

Latino and Latin American

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_249047

Creator:

Jacques Seligmann & Co.  Search this

Jacques Seligmann & Co.  Search this

Subject:

Hauke, Cesar M. de (Cesar Mange)  Search this

Glaenzer, Eugene  Search this

Haardt, Georges  Search this

Seligman, Germain  Search this

Seligmann, Arnold  Search this

Parker, Theresa D.  Search this

Waegen, Rolf Hans  Search this

Trevor, Clyfford  Search this

Seligmann, René  Search this

Seligmann, Jacques  Search this

De Hauke & Co., Inc.  Search this

Jacques Seligmann & Co  Search this

Eugene Glaenzer & Co.  Search this

Germain Seligmann & Co.  Search this

Gersel  Search this

Type:

Gallery records

Topic:

Mackay, Clarence Hungerford, 1874-1938 -- Art collections  Search this

Schiff, Mortimer L. -- Art collections  Search this

Arenberg, duc d' -- Art collections  Search this

Liechtenstein, House of -- Art collections  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- France -- Paris  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this

La Fresnaye, Roger de, 1885-1925  Search this

Art, Renaissance  Search this

Decorative arts  Search this

Art treasures in war  Search this

Art, European  Search this

Theme:

The Art Market  Search this

Art Gallery Records  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9936

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212486

AAA_collcode_jacqself

Theme:

The Art Market

Art Gallery Records

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_212486

Creator:

Ranger, Henry Ward, 1858-1916  Search this

Ranger, Henry Ward, 1858-1916  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)17563

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)394192

AAA_collcode_ranghenr

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_394192

Collection Creator:

Hrdlička, Aleš, 1869-1943  Search this

Container:

Box 36

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1920-1941

Scope and Contents:

Includes reports for the Federal Bureau of Investigation on skeletal remains, letters from J. Edgar Hoover, and a letter from R.C. Bell thanking Hrdlička for help with the White Earth litigation and the roll of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota.

See also Series 3: Correspondence, "Department of Justice" and "Powell, Ransom J."

Collection Restrictions:

The Aleš Hrdlička papers are open for research.

Access to the Aleš Hrdlička papers requires an appointment.

Collection Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Collection Citation:

Aleš Hrdlička papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

The Repatriation Office, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, provided funds for the arrangement and description of the Aleš Hrdlička papers

See more items in:

Aleš Hrdlička papers

Aleš Hrdlička papers / Series 3: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-naa-1974-31-ref3812

Collection Creator:

Hrdlička, Aleš, 1869-1943  Search this

Container:

Box 22

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1916-1941

Scope and Contents:

Includes reports for the Federal Bureau of Investigation on skeletal remains, letters from J. Edgar Hoover, and a letter from R.C. Bell thanking Hrdlička for help with the White Earth litigation and the roll of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota.

See also Series 3: Correspondence, "Justice, Department of" and "Powell, Ransom J."

Collection Restrictions:

The Aleš Hrdlička papers are open for research.

Access to the Aleš Hrdlička papers requires an appointment.

Collection Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Collection Citation:

Aleš Hrdlička papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

The Repatriation Office, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, provided funds for the arrangement and description of the Aleš Hrdlička papers

See more items in:

Aleš Hrdlička papers

Aleš Hrdlička papers / Series 3: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-naa-1974-31-ref392

Collection Creator:

Kraushaar Galleries  Search this

Container:

Box 38, Folder 17

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1954

Scope and Contents note:

(regarding litigation over 2 paintings consigned to George Parker Interiors that were not paid for)

Collection Restrictions:

Use of originals requires an appointment. A fragile original scrapbook is closed to researchers.

Collection Rights:

Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Katherine Kaplan Degn, Kraushaar Galleries. Contact Reference Services for more information.

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Collection Citation:

Kraushaar Galleries records, 1877-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care Fund

See more items in:

Kraushaar Galleries records

Kraushaar Galleries records / Series 3: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-kraugall-ref2856

Creator:

United Telegraph Workers.  Search this

Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this

Extent:

452 Cubic feet (871 boxes and 23 map folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Patents

Scrapbooks

Contracts

Drawings

Articles

Administrative records

Clippings

Books

Photographs

Newsletters

Photograph albums

Specifications

Technical documents

Date:

circa 1820-1995

Summary:

The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.

Scope and Contents:

The collection is divided into twenty-six (26) series and consists of approximately 400 cubic feet. The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into twenty-seven series.

Series 1: Historical and Background Information, 1851-1994

Series 2: Subsidiaries of Western Union, 1844-1986

Series 3: Executive Records, 1848-1987

Series 4: Presidential Letterbooks and Writings, 1865-1911

Series 5: Correspondence, 1837-1985

Series 6: Cyrus W. Field Papers, 1840-1892

Series 7: Secretary's Files, 1844-1987

Series 8: Financial Records, 1859-1995

Series 9: Legal Records, 1867-1968

Series 10: Railroad Records, 1854-1945

Series 11: Law Department Records, 1868-1979

Series 12: Patent Materials, 1840-1970

Series 13: Operating Records, 1868-1970s

Series 14: Westar VI-S, 1974, 1983-1986

Series 15: Engineering Department Records, 1874-1970

Series 16: Plant Department Records, 1867-1937, 1963

Series 17: Superintendent of Supplies Records, 1888-1948

Series 18: Employee/Personnel Records 1852-1985

Series 19: Public Relations Department Records, 1858-1980

Series 20: Western Union Museum, 1913-1971

Series 21: Maps, 1820-1964

Series 22: Telegrams, 1852-1960s

Series 23: Photographs, circa 1870-1980

Series 24: Scrapbooks, 1835-1956

Series 25: Notebooks, 1880-1942

Series 26: Audio Visual Materials, 1925-1994

Series 27: Addenda

Biographical / Historical:

In 1832 Samuel F. B. Morse, assisted by Alfred Vail, conceived of the idea for an electromechanical telegraph, which he called the "Recording Telegraph." This commercial application of electricity was made tangible by their construction of a crude working model in 1835-36. This instrument probably was never used outside of Professor Morse's rooms where it was, however, operated in a number of demonstrations. This original telegraph instrument was in the hands of the Western Union Telegraph Company and had been kept carefully over the years in a glass case. It was moved several times in New York as the Western Union headquarters building changed location over the years. The company presented it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1950.

The telegraph was further refined by Morse, Vail, and a colleague, Leonard Gale, into working mechanical form in 1837. In this year Morse filed a caveat for it at the U.S. Patent Office. Electricity, provided by Joseph Henry's 1836 "intensity batteries", was sent over a wire. The flow of electricity through the wire was interrupted for shorter or longer periods by holding down the key of the device. The resulting dots or dashes were recorded on a printer or could be interpreted orally. In 1838 Morse perfected his sending and receiving code and organized a corporation, making Vail and Gale his partners.

In 1843 Morse received funds from Congress to set-up a demonstration line between Washington and Baltimore. Unfortunately, Morse was not an astute businessman and had no practical plan for constructing a line. After an unsuccessful attempt at laying underground cables with Ezra Cornell, the inventor of a trench digger, Morse switched to the erection of telegraph poles and was more successful. On May 24, 1844, Morse, in the U.S. Supreme Court Chambers in Washington, sent by telegraph the oft-quoted message to his colleague Vail in Baltimore, "What hath God wrought!"

In 1845 Morse hired Andrew Jackson's former postmaster general, Amos Kendall, as his agent in locating potential buyers of the telegraph. Kendall realized the value of the device, and had little trouble convincing others of its potential for profit. By the spring he had attracted a small group of investors. They subscribed $15,000 and formed the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Many new telegraph companies were formed as Morse sold licenses wherever he could.

The first commercial telegraph line was completed between Washington, D.C., and New York City in the spring of 1846 by the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Shortly thereafter, F. O. J. Smith, one of the patent owners, built a line between New York City and Boston. Most of these early companies were licensed by owners of Samuel Morse patents. The Morse messages were sent and received in a code of dots and dashes.

At this time other telegraph systems based on rival technologies were being built. Some companies used the printing telegraph, a device invented by a Vermonter, Royal E. House, whose messages were printed on paper or tape in Roman letters. In 1848 a Scotch scientist, Alexander Bain, received his patents on a telegraph. These were but two of many competing and incompatible technologies that had developed. The result was confusion, inefficiency, and a rash of suits and counter suits.

By 1851 there were over fifty separate telegraph companies operating in the United States. This corporate cornucopia developed because the owners of the telegraph patents had been unsuccessful in convincing the United States and other governments of the invention's potential usefulness. In the private sector, the owners had difficulty convincing capitalists of the commercial value of the invention. This led to the owners' willingness to sell licenses to many purchasers who organized separate companies and then built independent telegraph lines in various sections of the country.

Hiram Sibley moved to Rochester, New York, in 1838 to pursue banking and real estate. Later he was elected sheriff of Monroe County. In Rochester he was introduced to Judge Samuel L. Selden who held the House Telegraph patent rights. In 1849 Selden and Sibley organized the New York State Printing Telegraph Company, but they found it hard to compete with the existing New York, Albany, and Buffalo Telegraph Company.

After this experience Selden suggested that instead of creating a new line, the two should try to acquire all the companies west of Buffalo and unite them into a single unified system. Selden secured an agency for the extension throughout the United States of the House system. In an effort to expand this line west, Judge Selden called on friends and the people in Rochester. This led, in April 1851, to the organization of a company and the filing in Albany of the Articles of Association for the "New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company" (NYMVPTC), a company which later evolved into the Western Union Telegraph Company.

In 1854 there were two rival systems of the NYMVPTC in the West. These two systems consisted of thirteen separate companies. All the companies were using Morse patents in the five states north of the Ohio River. This created a struggle between three separate entities, leading to an unreliable and inefficient telegraph service. The owners of these rival companies eventually decided to invest their money elsewhere and arrangements were made for the NYMVPTC to purchase their interests.

Hiram Sibley recapitalized the company in 1854 under the same name and began a program of construction and acquisition. The most important takeover was carried out by Sibley when he negotiated the purchase of the Morse patent rights for the Midwest for $50,000 from Jeptha H. Wade and John J. Speed, without the knowledge of Ezra Cornell, their partner in the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company (EMTC). With this acquisition Sibley proceeded to switch to the superior Morse system. He also hired Wade, a very capable manager, who became his protege and later his successor. After a bitter struggle Morse and Wade obtained the EMTC from Cornell in 1855, thus assuring dominance by the NYMVPTC in the Midwest. In 1856 the company name was changed to the "Western Union Telegraph Company," indicating the union of the Western lines into one compact system. In December, 1857, the Company paid stockholders their first dividend.

Between 1857 and 1861 similar consolidations of telegraph companies took place in other areas of the country so that most of the telegraph interests of the United States had merged into six systems. These were the American Telegraph Company (covering the Atlantic and some Gulf states), The Western Union Telegraph Company (covering states North of the Ohio River and parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota), the New York Albany and Buffalo Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company (covering New York State), the Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph Company (covering Pennsylvania), the Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company (covering sections of Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois), and the New Orleans & Ohio Telegraph Company (covering the southern Mississippi Valley and the Southwest). All these companies worked together in a mutually friendly alliance, and other small companies cooperated with the six systems, particularly some on the West Coast.

By the time of the Civil War, there was a strong commercial incentive to construct a telegraph line across the western plains to link the two coasts of America. Many companies, however, believed the line would be impossible to build and maintain.

In 1860 Congress passed, and President James Buchanan signed, the Pacific Telegraph Act, which authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to seek bids for a project to construct a transcontinental line. When two bidders dropped out, Hiram Sibley, representing Western Union, was the only bidder left. By default Sibley won the contract. The Pacific Telegraph Company was organized for the purpose of building the eastern section of the line. Sibley sent Wade to California, where he consolidated the small local companies into the California State Telegraph Company. This entity then organized the Overland Telegraph Company, which handled construction eastward from Carson City, Nevada, joining the existing California lines, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Sibley's Pacific Telegraph Company built westward from Omaha, Nebraska. Sibley put most of his resources into the venture. The line was completed in October, 1861. Both companies were soon merged into Western Union. This accomplishment made Hiram Sibley leader of the telegraph industry.

Further consolidations took place over the next several years. Many companies merged into the American Telegraph Company. With the expiration of the Morse patents, several organizations were combined in 1864 under the name of "The U.S. Telegraph Company." In 1866 the final consolidation took place, with Western Union exchanging stock for the stock of the other two organizations. The general office of Western Union moved at this time from Rochester to 145 Broadway, New York City. In 1875 the main office moved to 195 Broadway, where it remained until 1930 when it relocated to 60 Hudson Street.

In 1873 Western Union purchased a majority of shares in the International Ocean Telegraph Company. This was an important move because it marked Western Union's entry into the foreign telegraph market. Having previously worked with foreign companies, Western Union now began competing for overseas business.

In the late 1870s Western Union, led by William H. Vanderbilt, attempted to wrest control of the major telephone patents, and the new telephone industry, away from the Bell Telephone Company. But due to new Bell leadership and a subsequent hostile takeover attempt of Western Union by Jay Gould, Western Union discontinued its fight and Bell Telephone prevailed.

Despite these corporate calisthenics, Western Union remained in the public eye. The sight of a uniformed Western Union messenger boy was familiar in small towns and big cities all over the country for many years. Some of Western Union's top officials in fact began their careers as messenger boys.

Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century the telegraph became one of the most important factors in the development of social and commercial life of America. In spite of improvements to the telegraph, however, two new inventions--the telephone (nineteenth century) and the radio (twentieth century)--eventually replaced the telegraph as the leaders of the communication revolution for most Americans.

At the turn of the century, Bell abandoned its struggles to maintain a monopoly through patent suits, and entered into direct competition with the many independent telephone companies. Around this time, the company adopted its new name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

In 1908 AT&T gained control of Western Union. This proved beneficial to Western Union, because the companies were able to share lines when needed, and it became possible to order telegrams by telephone. However, it was only possible to order Western Union telegrams, and this hurt the business of Western Union's main competitor, the Postal Telegraph Company. In 1913, however, as part of a move to prevent the government from invoking antitrust laws, AT&T completely separated itself from Western Union.

Western Union continued to prosper and it received commendations from the U.S. armed forces for service during both world wars. In 1945 Western Union finally merged with its longtime rival, the Postal Telegraph Company. As part of that merger, Western Union agreed to separate domestic and foreign business. In 1963 Western Union International Incorporated, a private company completely separate from the Western Union Telegraph Company, was formed and an agreement with the Postal Telegraph Company was completed. In 1994, Western Union Financial Services, Inc. was acquired by First Financial Management Corporation. In 1995, First Financial Management Corporation merged with First Data Corporation making Western Union a First Data subsidiary.

Many technological advancements followed the telegraph's development. The following are among the more important:

The first advancement of the telegraph occurred around 1850 when operators realized that the clicks of the recording instrument portrayed a sound pattern, understandable by the operators as dots and dashes. This allowed the operator to hear the message by ear and simultaneously write it down. This ability transformed the telegraph into a versatile and speedy system.

Duplex Telegraphy, 1871-72, was invented by the president of the Franklin Telegraph Company. Unable to sell his invention to his own company, he found a willing buyer in Western Union. Utilizing this invention, two messages were sent over the wire simultaneously, one in each direction.

As business blossomed and demand surged, new devices appeared. Thomas Edison's Quadruplex allowed four messages to be sent over the same wire simultaneously, two in one direction and two in the other.

An English automatic signaling arrangement, Wheatstone's Automatic Telegraph, 1883, allowed larger numbers of words to be transmitted over a wire at once. It could only be used advantageously, however, on circuits where there was a heavy volume of business.

Buckingham's Machine Telegraph was an improvement on the House system. It printed received messages in plain Roman letters quickly and legibly on a message blank, ready for delivery.

Vibroplex, c. 1890, a semi-automatic key sometimes called a "bug key," made the dots automatically. This relieved the operator of much physical strain.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Additional moving image about Western Union Telegraph Company can be found in the Industry on Parade Collection (AC0507). This includes Cable to Cuba! by Bell Laboratory, AT & T, featuring the cable ship, the C.S. Lord Kelvin, and Communications Centennial! by the Western Union Company.

Materials at Other Organizations

Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware.

Western Union International Records form part of the MCI International, Inc. Records at the First Data Corporation, Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Records of First Data Corporation and its predecessors, including Western Union, First Financial Management Corporation (Atlanta) and First Data Resources (Omaha). Western Union collection supports research of telegraphy and related technologies, and includes company records, annual reports, photographs, print and broadcast advertising, telegraph equipment, and messenger uniforms.

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Western Union Telegraph Expedition, 1865-1867

This collection includes correspondence, mostly to Spencer F. Baird, from members of the Scientific Corps of the Western Union Telegraph Expedition, including Kennicott, Dall, Bannister, and Elliott; copies of reports submitted to divisional chiefs from expedition staff members; newspaper clippings concerning the expedition; copies of notes on natural history taken by Robert Kennicott; and a journal containing meteorological data recorded by Henry M. Bannister from March to August, 1866.

Separated Materials:

Artifacts (apparatus and equipment) were donated to the Division of Information Technology and Society, now known as the Division of Work & Industry, National Museum of American History.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Western Union in September of 1971.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Electric engineering  Search this

Electric engineers  Search this

Electrical equipment  Search this

Communication -- International cooperation  Search this

Electrical engineers  Search this

Electrical science and technology  Search this

Communications equipment  Search this

Telegraphers  Search this

Telegraph  Search this

Genre/Form:

Patents

Scrapbooks -- 20th century

Contracts

Drawings

Articles

Administrative records

Clippings

Books

Photographs -- 19th century

Newsletters

Photograph albums

Specifications

Photographs -- 20th century

Scrapbooks -- 19th century

Technical documents

Citation:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0205

See more items in:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0205

Collection Creator:

United Telegraph Workers.  Search this

Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this

Container:

Box 478A

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Western Union Telegraph Company Records / Series 12: Patent Materials / 12.9: Litigation Materials

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0205-ref10593

Collection Creator:

United Telegraph Workers.  Search this

Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this

Container:

Box B-71

Type:

Archival materials

Series Restrictions:

This subseries is in storage off-site. Contact Archives Center for terms of access.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

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Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Western Union Telegraph Company Records / Series 11: Law Department Records / 11.2: Law Department Publications

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0205-ref7640

Collection Creator:

United Telegraph Workers.  Search this

Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1840-1970

Scope and Contents:

Many of the patents in this series trace the development and improvements in the telegraph (and some telephone) apparatus between 1840 and 1954. The patentee subseries is arranged alphabetically by inventor: Charles Buckingham, Thomas A. Edison, Elisha Gray, Samuel F.B. Morse, George Phelps, Joseph Stearn, John Skirrow, and Charles Wheatstone. The numbered patent specifications, 1900-1954, are Western Union Telegraph Company patents. They are organized by type of improvement or invention. Among the patents represented in this subseries are those relating to: signalling systems; switching systems; automatic message exchange system; multioffice systems; storage systems; facsimile systems; oscillator systems; frequency transformation systems; printing telegraph systems; reperferators; repeaters; oscillators; generators; radio antennas; rectifiers; condensers; detectors; static reducers; and batteries. Most of the miscellaneous patents are for improvements to the telegraph, though there are several for electric time-controlling systems and electric clocks.

Arrangement:

The patent materials are arranged into nine subseries:

1. By patentee, 1840-1914

2. By patent number, 1900-1954

3. Miscellaneous patents, 1846-1908

4. Patent application files, 1954-1966

5. Contract Department correspondence regarding patents, 1927-1945

6. Invention records and submission forms, undated

7. Hazeltine Electronics Division Correspondence, 1960-[1963?]

8. Western Union Transcontinental Microwave System, 1961-1962

9. Litigation materials, 1851-1887

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0205, Series 12

See more items in:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0205-ref7796

Collection Creator:

United Telegraph Workers.  Search this

Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1851-1887

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0205, Subseries 12.9

See more items in:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Western Union Telegraph Company Records / Series 12: Patent Materials

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0205-ref8053

Collection Creator:

United Telegraph Workers.  Search this

Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this

Container:

Box 478, Folder 1

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Western Union Telegraph Company Records / Series 12: Patent Materials / 12.9: Litigation Materials

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0205-ref8054

Collection Creator:

United Telegraph Workers.  Search this

Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this

Container:

Box 478, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Western Union Telegraph Company Records / Series 12: Patent Materials / 12.9: Litigation Materials

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0205-ref8055

Collection Creator:

United Telegraph Workers.  Search this

Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this

Container:

Box 478, Folder 3-6

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Western Union Telegraph Company Records / Series 12: Patent Materials / 12.9: Litigation Materials

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0205-ref8056