Pioneers of Electric Telegraphy at the British Association

Framed photograph of 'Pioneers of Electric Telegraphy at the British Association Birmingham 1865', unknown maker, British, 1865.

This image is described as a photograph although close inspection suggests that, at the least, a great deal of retouching has been undertaken to make it resemble a drawing. It purports to be a view taken at the Birmingham meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science showing 29 of the 'pioneers of electric telegraphy'. These include William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone, who invented the first commercial electric telegraphy system in Britain; Samuel Morse, after whom 'Morse code' is named; Cyrus Field and Wildman Whitehouse, two of the men behind the first transatlantic telegraph cable; and W T Henley, the founder of W T Henley's Telegraphy Works Company, one of the major companies involved in the manufacture of telegraphic instruments and cables. It is possible that the 'photograph' is a carefully-made composite.