Piece of telegraph cable, c. 1869

Made:
circa 1869 in United Kingdom
Piece of telegraph cable reputed to have been laid between Piece of telegraph cable reputed to have been laid between Piece of telegraph cable reputed to have been laid between Piece of telegraph cable reputed to have been laid between

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Piece of telegraph cable reputed to have been laid between
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Piece of telegraph cable reputed to have been laid between
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Piece of telegraph cable reputed to have been laid between
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Piece of telegraph cable reputed to have been laid between
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Piece of telegraph cable reputed to have been laid between Lands End and the Scilly Isles, unknown maker, British, c. 1869

The idea of connecting Cornwall and the Sciliy Isles was promoted in 1869 by a company called Ashurst, Morris & Company, after the Post Office declined to make such a connection. The plan was originally for cables to connect all of the Islands, plus two lighthouses that sat off their coast. In the end, only one main cable was laid, connecting Lands End to St Mary's, the main town of the Sciliy Isles. The original cable was coated in hemp, rather than having iron armouring. It was laid between September 23rd and 25th, 1869, but failed soon after. It was repaired in April 1870 as a temporary measure, and that same year was replaced with an armoured cable.

Details

Category:
Telecommunications
Object Number:
1912-350
Materials:
steel (metal) and rope
Measurements:
overall (display space): 30 mm x 230 mm x 230 mm, .118 kg
type:
cable
credit:
Donated by C A Eva