'Cable Tree' decorative souvenir of the Transatlantic Cable, 1858

Made:
1858 in England
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Cable 'tree'
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Cable 'tree'
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Cable 'tree'
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Cable 'tree'
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Cable 'tree'
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Cable 'tree', decorative souvenir of the 1858 transatlantic submarine telegraph cable, made by George Rapson, England, 1858. Five short sections of original cable mounted vertically and joined by brass shanks, with seven thin disks of cable (originally 10, three missing) suspended from the mounted sections, plus a model sailor with three flags on top. Mounted on a velvet covered circular wooden plinth. Includes glass dome and small additional sections of cable

Cable 'tree', decorative souvenir of the 1858 transatlantic submarine telegraph cable, made by George Rapson, England, 1858. Five short sections of original cable mounted vertically and joined by brass shanks, with seven thin disks of cable (originally 10, three missing) suspended from the mounted sections, plus a model sailor with three flags on top. Mounted on a velvet covered circular wooden plinth. Includes glass dome and small additional sections of cable.

Cable souvenirs were very popular. The first advertisement for souvenirs in Britain appeared in the 'Illustrated London News' on 14 August 1858, two days before the first message was sent, and was listed as 'a slice of the cable, set as a Charm in gold or silver' and was sold by Edwards and Jones of Regent Street. This souvenir, a decorative model made out of slices of cable, also features three flags on top: a red ensign or 'red duster' (a flag flown by the Royal Navy and later the British Merchant Navy), the English flag and the United States flag. It is mounted on velvet covered circular wooden plinth with domed glass cover, and has an engraved brass plate records that the '1st message sent was Peace on Earth, and good will toward men'.

Details

Category:
Telecommunications
Object Number:
2000-578
Materials:
paper, steel (metal), mahogany (wood), glass, textile, brass (copper, zinc alloy) and paint
Measurements:
Glass dome: 590 mm x 170 mm diameter, 3 kg
Tree (at base): 590 mm 250 mm, 2.476 kg
type:
souvenir

Parts

Cable 'tree' decorative souvenir of the Transatlantic Cable, 1858

Cable 'tree' decorative souvenir of the Transatlantic Cable, 1858

Cable 'tree', decorative souvenir of the 1858 transatlantic submarine telegraph cable, made by George Rapson, England, 1858-1865. Five short sections of original cable mounted vertically and joined by brass shanks, with seven thin disks of cable (originally 10, three missing) suspended from the mounted sections, plus a model sailor with three flags on top. Mounted on a velvet covered circular wo...