With their large size and ornate machining, registers are probably the most impressive of the telegraph instruments. This gallery presents a timeline of telegraph registers from the earliest weight-driven registers to the more modern spring wound registers.
The first 2 pictures and picture #8 are probably the most famous registers. First we have the Vail Register which was used in the famous 1844 demonstration of the telegraph between the White House in Washington DC and Alfred Vail's home in Baltimore Maryland. Next, we have the 2 registers patented by Samuel Morse: The 1846 register (patent #4453) which looks quite similar to the Vail Register, and the 1849 register (patent #6420) which is a more compact, modern looking design. President Obama had the 1849 patent model on display in the Oval Office.
Below are some pictures of Telegraph Registers from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Click on each thumbnail to view the full size image:
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| An Experimental Telegraph Register Made by James Green. Ca. Late 1830's (Smithsonian Museum) |
The Experimental Register Was Used by Rev. Henry Sheib of Baltimore and Samuel Morse for Demonstrations of the Telegraph Around 1838 |
Original Alfred Vail Register from the 1844 Demonstration |
Samuel Morse 1846 Patent Model (Smithsonian Museum) |
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| Possibly Joseph Burritt, Ithaca NY, Ca. 1846 |
Joseph Burritt, Ithaca NY, Ca. 1848 (Smithsonian Museum) |
Another View of the Burritt Register (Smithsonian Museum) |
Daniel Davis Demo Register, Boston. Ca. 1848 |
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| Daniel Davis Demo Register, Boston. Ca. 1848 |
Early Demonstration Register by Palmer & Hall (Successors to Daniel Davis), Boston. Ca. 1849 |
Another View of the Palmer & Hall Demo Register |
Another Palmer & Hall Demo Register Ca. 1849 |
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| Samuel Morse 1849 Patent Model |
Early William Clark Harp Register. Philadelphia. Ca. 1847 (Smithsonian Museum) |
Another View of the Clark Harp Register. The Large Geared Wheel Was Used to Run a Flywheel for Speed Control |
William Clark Harp Register, Philadelphia. Ca. Late 1840's |
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| Very Early Register by Edward N. Kent, NY. Used in Germany. Ca. 1848 (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
Early Register by SW Chubbuck, Used in Germany. Ca. Late 1840's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
Very Early German Register by Watchmaker Friedrich Heinrich Bruggemann. He Copied an Early Chubbuck/Kent Design. Ca. 1848-1850 (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
Very Early Italian Weight-Driven Register by Carlo Dell'Acqua, Milano. Ca. 1848-1850 |
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| Early Register by Palmer & Hall, Boston. Ca. 1850 |
Another View of the Palmer & Hall Register |
A 3rd View of the Palmer & Hall Register |
A 4th View of the Palmer & Hall Register |
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| Close-Up of the Palmer & Hall Name Stamp |
Very Early German Register. Maker Unknown. Ca. 1850 (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
Very Early Key & Register Set by Beneche & Wasserlein. Ca. 1852 (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
Very Early German Register, Key, and Relay. Ca. Early 1850's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
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| Henry J. Rodgers, NY. Ca. 1850's |
Very Early Chubbuck Register. Utica, NY. Ca. 1850's |
James Clark Harp Register. Ca. 1850's |
James Clark Harp Register Ca. 1850's (w1tp.com) |
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| Hinds & Williams, Boston. Ca. Early 1850's |
JW Norton, NY. Ca. Early 1850's |
Self-Winding Register by James Clark, Philadelphia. 1853 |
Another View of the Clark Self-Winding Register |
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| Early Register by the Watchmaker, Lorenz Bob. Ca. 1850's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
Early German Weight-Driven Register by Siemens-Halske. Ca. 1854 |
Unknown Early Register. Ca. 1850's |
A Portable Telegraph Set by Siemens-Halske. Ca. Late 1850's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
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| Early German Telegraph Set With a Register, Key, and Relay. Ca. Late 1850's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
Thomas Hall, Boston. Ca. 1860 |
Caton Instrument Shops, Ottawa Illinois. Ca. 1860 |
Weight-Driven Register by Siemens-Halske. Ca. 1860 (Museum of Communication, Berlin) |
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| GM Phelps, NY. "Football" Register. Ca. Early 1860's |
GM Phelps, NY. Ca. 1860's |
Another View of the Phelps Register |
AS Chubbuck, Utica NY. Ca. 1860's |
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| Charles Chester, NY. Ca. 1860's |
Charles Williams, Boston. Ca. 1860's (Edison Museum, Ft. Myers FL) |
Charles Williams, Boston. Ca. 1860's |
Thomas Hall, Boston. Ca. 1860's |
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| Charles T & JN Chester, NY. Ca. 1860's |
Early Austrian Weight-Driven Register. Ca. 1860 |
JS Keeling, NY. Ca. 1865 |
Another View of the Keeling Register |
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| Weight-Driven Register With Markings From Both JS Keeling and EM Pierson. Likely Made by Pierson as the Hardware Matches Other Pierson Instruments |
James Clark, Philadelphia. Ca. Mid 1860's |
German Weight-Driven Register. Siemens. Ca. 1860 |
LG Tillotson, NY. Ca. 1860's |
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| Early German Weight-Driven Register. Ca. 1860's |
Late Model Weight-Driven Register by Wiesenthal & Co. Aaachen Germany |
Fleming & Potter, Philadelphia. Ca. 1870 (w1tp.com) |
Knox & Shain, Philadelphia. Ca. 1870 (Smithsonian Museum) |
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| Another View of the Knox & Shain Register (Smithsonian Museum) |
A Nickel Plated Version of the Knox & Shain Register, Philadelphia. Ca. 1870 |
Electrical Construction Co, San Francisco. Ca. 1872 |
George Bliss, Chicago. Ca. Early 1870's (Smithsonian Museum) |
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| Relief Writer by Siemens-Halske. Ca. 1870's. Used to Punch a Paper Tape |
Charles T Chester, NY. Ca. 1870's |
Hochhausen, NY. Ca. 1875 |
A Very Late Weight-Driven Register by Partrick-Bunnell, Philadelphia, Ca. 1872 |
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| Another View of the Partrick-Bunnell Register. The Design is Nearly Identical to the Later Registers Made by Charles Chester, NY |
GM Phelps Spring Wound Register. Ca. 1875 |
Spring-Wound Register by L.G. Tillotson, NY. Ca. 1870s |
Another View of the Tillotson Spring-Wound Register |
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| Early Spring Wound Register Styled Like a Tillotson Weight-Driven Register. JH Bunnell, NY. Ca. Late 1870's (Smithsonian Museum) |
Austrian Register by K.K.T.W. (Kaiserliche Konigliche Telegraphen Werstatte). Ca. Late 1870's |
Frederick-Pearce, NY. Ca. Late 1870's |
Another View of the Frederick-Pearce Register |
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| Frederick-Pearce, NY. Ca. 1880 |
JH Eckling, Austria. Ca. 1880 |
Lewert-Berlin. 1881 |
French Register by Digney |
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| A Small Embossing Register by Breguet |
Another View of the Breguet Embossing Register |
Swedish Register by Anton Oller. Ca. 1880's |
Oki Japanese Boxed Register & Key. 1890 |
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| A Later Embossing Register Possibly Made by ES Greeley, NY. Ca. 1890s |
Weiny-Phillips Printing Telegraph. JH Bunnell, NY. Ca. 1890s |
Another View of the Weiny-Phillips Printing Telegraph |
A Third View of the Weiny-Phillips Printing |
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| A Swiss Register by Hasler & Escher, Bern |
Dutch Register Made by Caminada, Rotterdam (PA3EGH Collection) |
A Dutch Register Made by Funckler, Haarlem |
An Italian Register by Standard Elettrica Italiana |
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| An Italian Register by Societa Telefonica Lombarda |
A Combination Set Consisting of a Key, Register, Galvanometer, and Relay by Siemens-Halske |
Another Siemens-Halske Key & Register Set With a Galvanometer on the Side |
French Key, Register & Galvanometer Set by Ste. Indelle des Telephones |
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| Another View of the French Combination Set Showing an Unusual Candle Holder Attachment to Provide Illumination for the Operator |
French Register by Vinay |
French Register-Breguet. Ca. 1900 |
Swedish Register-LM Ericsson. Ca. 1900 |
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| A Boxed Portable Key, Register, and Galvanometer Set by Siemens. Ca. 1900 |
A Top View of the Siemens Portable Set |
A Very Complex Swedish Key & Register Set by LM Ericsson |
Danish Register-Evald Andersens, Copenhagen. Ca. 1900 |
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| A Small Register by Evald Andersens, Copenhagen. Ca. 1900 |
Close-Up of the Andersens Name Stamp |
Swiss Register. Hasler & Escher. 1909 |
Austrian Register. Nissl & Co. Vienna. Ca. Early 1900's |
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| Austrian Register, Key, and Galvanometer on Board |
A Danish Key, Register, and Galvanometer Set by Store Nordiske Telegrafselskabs. The Register Was Made by Siemens & Halske |
Another Similar Danish Set Minus the Tape Wheel |
Close-Up of the Name on the Galvanometer |
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| Italian Register. Ca. Early 1900's |
Small German Register by Gebrueder-Naglo, Berlin. Early 1900's |
Unusual Australian Register Used by Victoria Railways |
Close-Up of the Australian Register Showing the Lever That Forms Part of a Sounder |
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| Dutch Demonstration Register by Van Sonsbeek & Co, Utrecht (PA3EGH Collection) |
Dutch Demonstration Register by Merkelbach & Co, Amsterdam (PA3EGH Collection) |
Dutch Demonstration Register by M. Prins & Co, Utrecht (PA3EGH Collection) |
A Small Austrian Demonstration Register |
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Another Small Demonstration Register Similar to the Previous Register |
A Hungarian Novelty Key & Register Attached to a Dance Card. 1915 |
A View Inside the Dance Card. Measures Only 87x60mm |
Register, Key & Galvanometer Set Used by the French Military |
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| Another View of the French Military Set |
Italian Army Register, Key, and Galvanometer in Carrying Case by Pio-Pion, Ca. 1920 |
Another View of the Pio-Pion Register Set |
Compact Portable Set with Register, Key, and Galvanometer. Maker Unknown, Probably German |
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| Another View of the Portable Register Set |
Miniature Italian Key & Register Set. Just 4.5" Wide |
Oki Japanese Register. 1939 |
Australian Key, Register & Galvanometer Set |
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| Russian Register, Key, and Galvanometer Set. Ca. Early 1940's |
Unusual Register Built Into a Carrying Case. Made by Foote-Pierson, NY |
Register Contains a Sheet Listing Codes Associated With Different Cities. If Anyone Knows How This Register was Used, Please Let me Know |
Danish Register & Key by Great Northern Telegraph Co. Made in 1960 |
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The Back Side of the GNT Register |
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