Standard Morse key, 1880-1950

Standard Morse key 1222, made for the General Post Office Standard morse key 1222, General Post Office, unknown maker

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Standard Morse key 1222, made for the General Post Office
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Standard morse key 1222, General Post Office, unknown maker
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Standard Morse key 1222, made for the General Post Office, unknown maker, British, 1880-1950.

Morse keys were used to send telegraph messages using Morse code. It worked using a bar with a contact underneath. When the bar was depressed, the circuit was completed, and the current could flow. This type of Morse key was used by Post Office telegraph operators in Britain for many years. The rapid and repetitive action of sending messages via Morse code sometimes led to a condition called 'glass arm' or 'Telegrapher's paralysis', which we would know today as repetitive strain injury.

Details

Category:
Telecommunications
Object Number:
1970-358
Materials:
copper (alloy), wood (unidentified), plastic (unidentified) and iron
Measurements:
overall: 70 mm x 80 mm x 155 mm, .56 kg
type:
telegraph
credit:
Donated by the Great Northern Telegraph Company Limited of Denmark