Canadian Keys

Canada produced some very interesting straight keys, notably some exquisite camelback style keys. At first glance, one might think they date back to the dawn of telegraph but in fact they probably date to the 1860's & 1870's.

The first telegraph instruments in Canada were from The Montreal Telegraph Co (M.T. Co.), although they did not make most of their own telegraph instruments. They were supplied by SW Chubbuck from Utica, New York. Keys by Montreal Telegraph Co. were sometimes stamped with "M.T. Co." but many times there are no markings at all.

In 1868, Dominion Telegraph Co. was formed and quickly became a competitor with Montreal Telegraph. As with M.T. Co. instruments, sometimes they are marked with the Dominion name, sometimes not.

Then in 1880, The Great Northwest Telegraph Company of Canada was formed. Their instruments were often stamped with "G.N.W." Not long after they were founded, GNW merged with Dominion Telegraph.

(Click on the pictures below to see larger versions of the photo)

A nice example of an early Canadian camelback key. Maker unknown, possibly Montreal Telegraph, which means it might have been made by SW Chubbuck, Utica, NY.