Hand perforator
- maker:
- Muirhead and Company Limited
This image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Licence
License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseHand perforators, no. 57687, by Muirhead and Co. Ltd.
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
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.
Details
- Category:
- Telecommunications
- Object Number:
- 1989-1005
- Materials:
- metal (unknown) and wood (unidentified)
- Measurements:
-
width 110 mm
diameter 165 mm
height 70 mm
hand punches: length 100 mm
hand punches: diameter 30 mm
- type:
- hand perforator
- credit:
- Muirhead Vactric Components Limited
