Hand perforator, no. 57687, by Muirhead and Co. Ltd.

In the 1850s and 1860s Sir Charles Wheatstone developed systems for the automatic transmission of telegraph messages. These systems used punched paper slip (tape) which was prepared in advance using this manual puncher. The operator, reading the message from the copy stand, used small hammers to press the buttons which punched Morse code into the tape. From the left the buttons are dot; space; dash. This method was faster than manual sending, as the message could be preprepared before being sent at high speed, making maximum use of the line.