Telegraph Cable

Title: Telegraph Cable
Date Created: c. 1850
Creator: Maxwell Dick
Identifier: T.1855.3
Original Location: Donated to National Museums Scotland in 1855 by the maker
Current Location: Not Found in Location at National Museums Scotland
Description: The invention of telegraphy transformed the way that information was transmitted across space. This particular object represents an early example, donated to National Museums Scotland in 1855, at a time when the first transatlantic telegraph cable was being laid. This particular object represents not just the material heritage of this critical communications technology—it also demonstrates the instability of that heritage. The object, despite being only the 3rd object collected by the museum, has for the last fifteen years been classified as ‘unlocated’ in its collections stores.

This object speaks to the history of the sources through which we tell the story of circulating knowledge. It also speaks to the fragility of this history—and how stories about loss of information are as critical to narratives of knowledge in transit as the stories that we find in the archives.
Credit: Blank image, Jointed Submarine Telegraph Cable, T.1855.3 National Museums Scotland.
Contributor: Dr. Geoff Belknap, Keeper of Science and Technology, National Museums Scotland