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.
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 :)
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?
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. :)
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
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.
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