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1961 Decline of the Telegraph
1961 Decline of the Telegraph
Gringo


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: The Year You Were Born (Basic Editing)
Collection: Hidden Portfolio
Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikon AF Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G IF-ED DX
Location: California
Date: Nov 17, 2006
Aperture: F4.8
ISO: 125
Shutter: 1/90
Galleries: Black and White, Water
Date Uploaded: Nov 20, 2006

 1961 The telephone became a more cost-effective means of communication and the decline of the telegraph began.

Date -/- Telegraph -/- Telephone
1850 -/- $1.55 -/- N/A
1870 -/- $1.00 -/- N/A
1890 -/- $0.40 -/- N/A
1902 -/- $0.40 -/- $5.45 3 min call
1919 -/- $0.60 -/- $4.65 3 min
1950 -/- $0.75 -/- $1.50
1960 -/- $1.45 -/- $1.45
1970 -/- $2.25 -/- $1.05
2006 -/- $9.95 -/- $0.01

The electric telegraph was one of the first telecommunications technologies of the industrial age. Its immediate predecessors were homing pigeons, visual networks, the Pony Express, and railroads.

In 1832, Samuel Morse returned to the United States from his artistic studies in Europe. While discussing electricity with fellow passengers, Morse conceived of the idea of a single-wire electric telegraph. No one until this time had Morse's zeal for the applicability of electromagnetism to telecommunications or his conviction of its eventual profitability. Morse obtained a patent in the United States in 1838 but split his patent right to gain the support of influential partners. He obtained a $30,000 grant from Congress in 1843 to build an experimental line between Baltimore and Washington. The first public message over Morse's line ("What hath God wrought?") echoed the first message over Chappe's system ("If you succeed, you will bask in glory"). Both indicated the inventors' convictions about the importance of their systems.

By 1864 only Western Union and the American Telegraph Company remained of the "Six Nations." The United States Telegraph Company entered the field by consolidating smaller, independent firms in the early 1860s, and operated in the territory of both the American Telegraph Company and Western Union. By 1866 Western Union absorbed its last two competitors and reached its position of market dominance.

The period from 1866 through the turn of the century was the apex of Western Union's power. Yearly messages sent over its lines increased from 5.8 million in 1867 to 63.2 million in 1900. Over the same period, transmission rates fell from an average of $1.09 to 30 cents per message. Even with these lower prices, roughly 30 to 40 cents of every dollar of revenue were net profit for the company. Western Union faced three threats during this period: increased government regulation, new entrants into the field of telegraphy, and new competition from the telephone. The last two were the most important to the company's future profitability.

Western Union's greatest threat came from a new technology, the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876, initially referring to it as a "talking telegraph." Bell offered Western Union the patent for the telephone for $100,000, but the company declined to purchase it. Western Union could have easily gained control of AT&T in the 1890s, but management decided that higher dividends were more important than expansion. The telephone was used in the 1880s only for local calling, but with the development in the 1890s of "long lines," the telephone offered increased competition to the telegraph. In 1900, local calls accounted for 97% of the telephone's business, and it was not until the twentieth century that the telephone fully displaced the telegraph.

The twentieth century saw the continued rise of the telephone and decline of the telegraph. Telegraphy continued to have a niche in inexpensive long-distance and international communication, including teletypewriters, Telex, and stock ticker. As shown in Table 1, after 1900, the rise in telegraph traffic slowed, and after 1930, the number of messages sent began to decline.

The telegraph accelerated the speed of business transactions during the late nineteenth century and contributed to the industrialization of the United States. Like most industries, it faced new competition that ultimately proved its downfall. The telephone was easier and faster to use, and the telegraph ultimately lost its cost-advantages. In 1988, Western Union divested itself of its telegraph infrastructure and focused on financial services, such as money orders. A Western Union telegram is still available, currently costing $9.95 for 250 words.


Web-site:

//eh.net/encyclopedia/article/nonnenmacher.industry.telegraphic.us

Statistics
Place: 10 out of 102
Avg (all users): 6.5116
Avg (commenters): 7.1200
Avg (participants): 6.4792
Avg (non-participants): 6.5176
Views since voting: 2539
Views during voting: 518
Votes: 303
Comments: 32
Favorites: 2 (view)

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AuthorThread
Nikon D200
Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 04/19/2007 12:36:52 AM
Hmmmm...this looks familiar. Is this taken at Paramount ranch?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon
 12/06/2006 02:30:32 AM
i've got to get out to CA one day so i can get really cool pics like you always get. love it! congrats on top 10! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-20D
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 12/03/2006 11:50:54 PM
Gringo: you always flip me out with your captures of this by gone world of yesterday! Deeply impressed. Congratulations on your top ten finish.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM III
 12/02/2006 01:28:00 PM
Congratulations on your top 10 finish. Great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 USM
 11/29/2006 09:37:14 AM
What an amazing picture! It just blows my mind that only in 1961, telegraph was the communication mode of choice! Have we come exponentially far in just 45 years or WHAT! This is just so cool. I love the artistic effect of that rounded building. I'm not sure if it was done with a wide angle or some sort of lens, or if it was that way naturally, but it really makes a great photo :)

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Sony Alpha a7 IV
Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS
 11/27/2006 05:58:28 PM
lol...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 11/27/2006 05:40:51 PM
I love the fisheye look & compo here. great duotone too!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-600D/T3i Rebel
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM II
 11/27/2006 05:26:44 PM
Nifty idea.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
 11/27/2006 03:02:03 PM
Your image has a nice vintage feeling. I like fisheye lenses, but it doesn't really add much to this scene. The scene feels older than 1961, how about a late 1950's vintage car to give us a clue? Also, a quick web search doesn't seem to indicate anything special about 1961 and the telegraphs, can you point us to something specific?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
 11/27/2006 12:30:12 PM
i like the way this is kind of concave looking
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D70s
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED
 11/27/2006 11:24:34 AM
Fisheye is distracting and disorienting
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D50
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6D ED
 11/27/2006 04:33:41 AM
very nice picture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D70
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D
 11/27/2006 02:33:52 AM
nice use of the lens. Very nice shot! 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM II
 11/26/2006 11:59:52 PM
Good use of a fish-eye lens here. I also like that you went with B&W to help convey the year and also the desolation of this place. There's an excellent balance of highlights and shadows, and the simple white border is a nice finishing touch. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Samsung SCD103 MiniDV
 11/26/2006 07:48:07 PM
cool curving effect
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM
 11/26/2006 07:38:09 PM
love the fishy effect.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Polaroid PDC 5070
 11/26/2006 03:57:36 PM
I love the fish-eye, and always love old buildings. Cool photo!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D70s
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED
 11/26/2006 01:12:11 PM
great b/w shot! 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D200
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED
 11/26/2006 12:30:05 PM
I like the fisheye effect!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D700
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 11/25/2006 12:29:35 AM
I really like this shot and I like the idea for the year, but I don't feel like the shot illustrates the year very well. There is nothing here to bring me past the 40's except the fisheye view. This shot would do even better in the right challenge. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II
 11/24/2006 11:16:09 AM
This is excellent! The B&W lens to the era while giving this a little more haunting look. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus E-400
Olympus 14-42mm f.3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital Zoom
 11/24/2006 07:32:13 AM
Well done: great nostalgia and sense of things past. Love it. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D3
 11/24/2006 01:16:01 AM
I thought it was going to be the year that telegraph was invented. I was seriously impressed. ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D70
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 11/23/2006 12:37:01 PM
i like the sepia treatment, composition, subject, a bit high-key treatment. although not very sure whether the fisheye effect adds anything to the shot. doesnt change my high vote though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 11/23/2006 05:10:32 AM
Love the fish-eye look here.....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D200
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 11/22/2006 09:35:11 PM
I like this idea, and you have a subject with a lot of character, but I don't care much for the fisheye lens.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-20D
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
 11/22/2006 09:05:26 PM
love the wide angle....great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM
 11/22/2006 03:36:22 PM
Nice decision to go with the fisheye! It really gave a fun flavor and dynamism to what could have been a dull subject. Well done! 8o)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7200
Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G
 11/22/2006 03:08:00 PM
I think this would have been better without the fisheye lens but good job anyway. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 11/22/2006 02:17:14 PM
very nice, i'm a big fan of fish eye and these tones. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
 11/22/2006 11:40:58 AM
Nicely composed. 8.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D70
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G
 11/22/2006 03:15:16 AM
What a beautiful location. I like the angle and the duotone.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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